About the Beantown Soft Tip Dart League:

The Beantown Soft Tip Dart League is a not-for-profit, soft-tipdart league. Matches are played at and sponsored by local gay and lesbian bars in Boston, as well as several individually sponsored teams. The BSDL is one of the fastest-growing sports in Boston's gay, lesbian and bisexual community. Helping to build a sense of community and friendship between host bars and players is our mission. Playing darts with a competitive spirit and providing a social atmosphere to meet new people and make friends is our goal.

The term "soft-tip" applies to dart points which are made of plastic rather than steel. The plastic points were originally intended as a "safety" dart to replace those steel points which someone obviously discovered can pierce flesh. The dartboards used are molded in plastic and are full of holes to accommodate the darts. Each hole is beveled to ease the darts' entry. These are typical of the electronic dart boards that are becoming increasingly popular.  But in the BSDL, we use the traditional English bristle board that is usually associated with steel-tip darts. 

The BSDL was started back in the spring of 2002. To gauge the interest of darts in the GLBT community, the BSDL began as a short eight-week season, and had a surprisingly good turnout of four teams comprised of three players each. The league just finished its fourth season, which lasted 15 weeks and proved very competitive with six teams.

Because matches are played at bars, anyone over 21 years of age is invited to join the league. BSDL does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, economic status, ability or sexual orientation.