A Steinbach local is on a mission to grow the game of darts across the southeast.
Reg Wiebe, a member of the Eastman Darts Association, believes darts is a sport worth picking up.
“There are never enough things to do around this town, especially for adults that isn't expensive or too physical or time-consuming. So, this is a good hobby to pick up. It's accessible, mildly athletic and fun, and it pairs well with a whole bunch of stuff. So, we're trying to get that going.”
Wiebe first started hosting dart tournaments out of his garage. That passion eventually led him to take part in more competitive events.
“I kind of realized that there was no provincial zone for Steinbach, which feels wrong. There are so many people here, plenty of opportunity. But I was looking around for a weekly league, I was looking around for anything.”
While nearby communities like La Broquerie and Ile des Chenes once had leagues, Wiebe says those have fizzled out. That’s when he decided to take action and start something in Steinbach.
“Now we started a weekly league at the Public Brewhouse on Main Street every Wednesday, come on out. And my garage thing is still going, and we're just trying to grow it. It's mostly just me being neurotic and realizing there's kind of a gap in the sport market and trying to give it a go.”
His first taste of competitive darts came at the 2024 Manitoba Open, an experience he won’t forget.
“I was super nervous, honestly did better than I thought I was going to do. And I've just kind of been hooked ever since.”
Wiebe says his main goal is to grow the sport locally and beyond.
“It's a pretty small core group of people. And that's partly why I wanted to grow darts here, like the membership base for Manitoba Darts is very small. Which it used to be up to in the several hundreds in the 80s, 70s, 60s, and now there's maybe 60 people that are members in the province, and we're trying to pump those numbers up, get more people to go and grow the game.”
Looking ahead, he hopes to get more people, and local businesses on board.
“There are youth programs that we're trying to get started, hopefully, eventually tie in maybe with the SRSS, and I've been in talks with Smitty's as well. Maybe at the Frantz, we're trying to just get to get games going, get people playing and hopefully eventually create a provincial zone here that can eventually send an actual provincial team or a group of players from Steinbach to go compete at provincials and maybe go to nationals and it becomes a whole big thing.”
For now, darts players can join the weekly league on Wednesdays from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Public Brewhouse.
“We are currently doing week seven of our Season 1. Playoffs are going to be the following the following week, and then we're going to hopefully keep rolling through seasons every two to three months or whatever and try and keep it rolling.”
With files from Corny Rempel