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 The Super Show® 2002 was held Monday, January 20, through Wednesday, January 22, at the Sands
Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. This was the 18th year for the event, hosted by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA),
where virtually every aspect of the sporting goods industry is featured. It was the last year for the Super Show® to be held in Las Vegas as the venue
for the 2004 show will move to Orlando, Florida, where some of the sporting goods item may be demonstrated out doors. Attending the Show provides
the opportunity to see nearly all the manufacturers and distributors in a particular industry of sporting goods and then to see, touch, and feel all the
new and continued products available.
While The Super Show® remains the largest sporting goods show servicing
sporting goods retailers, the focus is mainly toward the larger sporting goods retailers, national retailers such as: Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Sport
Authority, and many others. Hence, all sporting goods were divided up into
21 distinct product shows within The Super Show®. Dart manufacturers and
distributors who provide dart products to national retailers were present to meet and service the buyers present from their major clients.
There are other specialty sporting goods shows that offer dart manufacturers
and distributors additional opportunities to promote and sell their products to smaller, perhaps, more regional retailers. The Billiard Congress of America
Show (BCA Show) is one of these specialty shows. As a result, more dart manufacturers and distributors are often present at the BCA Show than at
The Super Show®.
 Major dart manufacturers and distributors with booth space at this year’s Show
were Dart World, Inc., DMI Sports, Inc., Escalade Sports for their Accudart line, General Sportcraft, Ltd. for their own line
and for Unicorn, Great Lakes Darts Manufacturer, Inc., Regent Sports Corporation with their Halex brand of darting equipment, and new comer,
Beijing Huakong Technology Co., Ltd..
Entering the main hall at The Super Show®, one was struck by the immense
size of the show. There were booths on several floors and it seemed to go on forever. If you were at the Show to see everything, you simply would not be
able to do so in the time allotted for the show. Most buyers are focused on a specific sporting area or a few areas, which helps in getting see the product
you are interested in.
Finding the dart booths was relatively easy. Large Icons helped to direct
buyers and members of the media to specific areas within the convention hall. Darts and pool were in the same area and all one had to do was to
follow the Bowling, Billiards & Darts Icon to find the appropriate area.
 The Regent Sports booth. Regent had many new products on display including a stand up cabinet
with a Halex® electronic dartboard for under $200. Regent’s Halex® electronic dartboards range from $14.99 up to $199.99 for ones with all the bells
and whistles and dozens of different game options.
Regent’s newest addition to their dartboard line
provides ‘the best of both worlds’ and is called the X-22 featuring their exclusive BristleTech playing surface, which allows play with soft or steel tip
darts. Retract the display and use the X-22 for steel tip play with electronic scoring or put the electronics away for the traditional feel of a bristle
dartboard. The new X-22 is sure to be a must have for the dart enthusiast. This electronic scoring dartboard is for both steel and soft tipped darts.
Regent introduced an extensive line of dart under the Halex brand name along
with many new cabinet designs for electronic darts and standing cabinets for the feel of tournament or league play at home for under $200.
Regent believes their newest product line will be attractive to specialty
dealers as well as their traditional mass merchants. They will actively seek to introduce their Halex products to the specialty dealers in the coming year.
 Dart World, Inc., with Mark and Donnie
Amirault along with Robert Pringle of Harrows were on hand to promote their newest products. Dart World featured numerous new products including their
newest additions to the Harley Davidson® branded product, new cabinets, Budweiser dartboards and accessories, and more.
Featured in this issue will be the new
Harley Davidson® licensed -H-D® Racing Cabinet, -H-D® Racing Dartboard
and -H-D® Milestone (Spark Plug) Darts offered by Dart World, Inc. The
Harley Davidson® Dartboard is made of fine quality African sisal fibers, it also has a staple free bullseye.
Escalade has given Accudart® a face lift developing a series of Accudart®
dartboards and lines of darts matched to a person’s skill level. The new Accudart® product line is coordinated to make the best impression in the
market place and upon the consumer.
DMI Sports, Inc. was present with a tremendous selection of new dart
cabinets and backboards. Their new Touch Pad Scorer device was present and is an added convenience to any steel dartboard set-up. It features
electronic scoring at the touch of a button. No mess or chalk dust to clean
up after the match. Perfect for the home or apartment. The scorer comes
with an A/C adapter but also has a battery option. It automatically scores 24 games with 132 options. Up to eight players can play at a time.
Gary and Paul Giegerich were on hand to greet potential customers, while
Travis Kennedy, DMI Sport’s marketing and Product Development Coordinator, provided the details of each line. DMI’s strong line of dart
products include Nodor® dartboards, Arachnid electronic games, and several of the finest steel tip electronic dartboards on the market. DMI also featured
a new standing cabinet for under $200 retail that rivals all fine furniture.
 Great Lakes Dart Manufacturing. Great Lakes
continued their expansion into many indoor games including pool and billiards, foosball, shuffelboard,
air hockey. For their dart line, they have included a few new cabinet designs that were quite impressive and attractive for the home. They
continue to offer electronic home dartboard models with their new Viper® leading the way.
A new comer to the dart manufacturers present at this year’s Super Show was Beijing Huakong
Technolgy Co., Ltd. Amy Liao was on hand to represent their company and present their newest line of electronic dart machines.
Different from most electronic games, the Huakong Video Darts & Network
(Model III & IV) is a kind of soft-tip electronic dart machine which uses video and audio output to a television or CRT monitor. The visual effects offer
outstanding color and sound with many interesting game options, even for the youngest of dart players. Games like Ludo, TicTac Toe, Moving Targets, Rats,
and Super Scram will get kids involved in darts at an early age.
Another very attractive feature is that the Huakong Video Darts networks with your
personal computer adding additional options to the games offered. It has a media for advertising with a USB interface and has an optional coin slot for
pay play.
Video Darts & Network from Beijing Huakong Technology Co., Ltd.
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