World’s FIRST interactive, accessible darts board to be unveiled at O’Neill’s Southampton!

The FIRST EVER interactive, accessible darts board has been unveiled just in time for the Paris 2024 Paralympics at O’Neills Southampton.

This exciting new concept won’t be unveiled by just anyone – but the WORLD NUMBER ONE para-darts player, Vincent D’Hondt.

O’Neill’s Southampton is the FIRST Arrowsmiths in the UK to feature an oche designed specifically with wheelchair users in mind. The oche features step-free access and two dart boards: one at standing height and one at wheelchair height, enabling guests to play together and removing the need to manually make changes to the board and anyone feeling ‘other’ again.

D’hondt, who has 30 titles to his name, will be visiting O’Neill’s on Friday 23rd August to showcase the pub’s new Arrowsmiths – a digital darts concept in which the electronic boards do all the maths for you, allowing players to focus on having a good time with friends and family. During his visit on Friday, D’hondt will also be playing a friendly game with staff and locals to test out the new oche.

Andy Moore, General Manager at O’Neill’s Southampton, said: “We’re so proud to be launching the first ever accessible interactive dart board. It’s a timely moment, with the Olympics and Paralympics inspiring more people to get back into a sport – and we’re keen to offer that to as many people as possible.

“My girlfriend first came up with the idea of providing a wheelchair heightened board in the accessible area when we were looking into bringing Arrowsmiths to Southampton.

“Seeing the idea come together has been so exciting and has elevated the mood at the pub. It’s a great opportunity to give all residents of Southampton a chance to play one of the nation’s favourite sports. We can’t wait for Vincent to experience the fun of Arrowsmiths. Hopefully, he’ll inspire others to come and give us a go.”

501 Entertainment who supply the interactive Arrowsmiths’ dart boards teamed up with O’Neill’s Southampton’s General Manager Andy Moore to help bring his idea to life.

Johnny Powell, CEO of 501 Entertainment said: “We love a challenge, especially a tech-based one. So, when O’Neill’s approached us with their idea, we knew we could use our track record in product and game design to find the perfect solution.

“By having two darts boards side by side we’ve removed the barriers to play and enabled wheelchair users to play darts alongside others without having to move the dartboard and interrupt the flow of the game.

Arrowsmiths is a digital darts experience where guests over the age of 18 can book a 90-minute session from just £11 per person. The Southampton site features 6 individual booths for groups of up 12 people — perfect for a mid-week outing or a weekend blow-out with friends, colleagues or anything in between.

The accessible Arrowsmiths oche is available to the public now, to book your experience at the new Arrowsmiths visit: https://www.oneills.co.uk/national-search/south-east/southampton#/ or call 023 8022 5464.