{"id":7758,"date":"2018-07-17T13:08:17","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T13:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2018\/07\/column-561-preparing-for-darts-in-cape-town\/"},"modified":"2018-07-17T13:08:17","modified_gmt":"2018-07-17T13:08:17","slug":"column-561-preparing-for-darts-in-cape-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/2018\/07\/column-561-preparing-for-darts-in-cape-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Column #561 Preparing for darts in Cape Town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday, July 17, 2018
\nColumn 561
\nPreparing for darts in Cape Town<\/strong><\/p>\n

As I take aim at checking out the darts scene in Cape Town, South Africa (hopefully with a meet up arranged by PDC professional Devon Petersen) I am reminded of one of my more unusual experiences, from 1997\u2026 ______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve thrown darts in some strange places. Some really strange places. The rainforests of Congo. The back allys of Bombay. But no venue \u2014 not anywhere in the world \u2014 rates as more bizarre than where I have just finished playing. Tonight, I stood at the line inside the gates of Johannesburg\u2019s high security Diepkloof Prison.<\/p>\n

The last time I passed through South Africa\u2019s capital city I struggled hard, but failed miserably, to find a decent place to throw. I whiled away a couple of hours in front of an electronic board at a pub called McGintys. I don\u2019t recommend the place. Their board or their beer.<\/p>\n

This time I managed to connect up in advance with George Sharpe, the General Secretary of the Southern Transvaal Darts Association (STDA). George, a virtual Jockey Wilson look-a-like, owns G.S. Promotions \u2014 one of Johannesburg\u2019s largest suppliers of darts and accessories. George is \u201cMr. Darts\u201d in this neck of the bush. As strange as his advice sounded I followed it to a tee.<\/p>\n

George said that darts was big within the correctional community. To get a good game what I needed to do was drive to the outskirts of Soweto (easily one of the top half-dozen most unsafe areas on earth) and up to the main entrance of Diepkloof Prison (which I knew to be \u201chome\u201d to some 20,000 killers and rapists and worse). Then he gave me a sort of password.<\/p>\n

So last night in the dark and the mist and in the middle of nowhere, and against the better judgement of everyone I know (but with a couple of friends in tow), I pulled up to the gate of this place. Before me loomed a sprawling cement fortress, surrounded by consecutive two-story high walls of barbed-wire. Soft light from inside illuminated the bars on the cellblock windows. One could sense movement. The hopelessness of the forgotten souls inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here for the darts\u201d, I said (remembering the \u201cpassword\u201d) as the guard approached our car. Satisfied, and apparently unconcerned that two 5\u20199\u2033 white guys and a blond might be there to bust somebody lose, the guard promptly flicked the switch to open the gate. Just inside we stopped again and asked for directions. We asked if we were safe. The guard laughed.<\/p>\n

Eventually I found myself inside the prison recreational center, which as unlikely as it might seem, is one hell of a place to throw darts. Eight boards. Great lighting. Raised oches. There\u2019s even a little bar right in the middle of the place. No Budweiser though.<\/p>\n

The STDA boasts a membership of some 700 shooters. About sixty of them representing a half-dozen or more teams (with locally appropriate names such as Just Tigers and Red Ants) were in the midst of league play. George introduced me around and proudly shared some of the league\u2019s statistics (they\u2019ve got one guy here named Ryder who has racked up 134 maximums, a ten-dart game and a 170 out in just the last couple of years of league play). George then arranged for me to take on two of the best shooters in the place.<\/p>\n

For the next hour or so, two prison guards, both twice my size, and I duked it out at 501. I quickly won the first couple of games (which attracted the attention of several dozen onlookers) and I\u2019m pretty sure I could have won a few more \u2014 if they hadn\u2019t tear gassed me and pounded me with billy clubs.<\/p>\n

Okay, not really. But the result was about the same. These guys could shoot. Damn, they could shoot. By the end of the night there was no question in anyone\u2019s mind, certainly not mine, that I\u2019d been taken prisoner at Diepkloof Prison.<\/p>\n

Inmate Number 20,001.<\/p>\n

From the Field,<\/p>\n

Dartoid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I take aim at checking out the darts scene in Cape Town, South Africa (hopefully with a meet up arranged by PDC professional Devon Petersen) I am reminded of one of the more unusual experiences, from 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I take aim at checking out the darts scene in Cape Town, South Africa (hopefully with a meet up arranged by PDC professional Devon Petersen) I am reminded of one of the more unusual experiences, from 1997\u2026","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":15,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"dartoid","display_name":"Dartoid","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2024-02-13-12_01_31-Dartoids-World-_-The-most-widely-read-column-about-darts-in-the-world.png","url2x":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/2024-02-13-12_01_31-Dartoids-World-_-The-most-widely-read-column-about-darts-in-the-world.png"},"first_name":"Paul","last_name":"Seigel","user_url":"http:\/\/www.dartoidsworld.com","job_title":"","description":"\"Dartoid\" is the pseudonym of Paul Seigel, a prominent chronicler of darts for over 35 years. His columns are celebrated for their wit and insight, often detailing his quest for a game in exotic locales worldwide. His writing offers vibrant commentary on the competitive darts landscape, including players, organizations, tournaments and the sport's unique culture. Dartoid's articles are highly regarded among darts enthusiasts, solidifying his role as a pivotal figure in promoting and documenting darts as both a recreational pastime and professional sport."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7758"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dartoidsworld.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=7758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}