Huw Ware sits down with World Darts Federation referee Lee Rodger to discuss the Rainbow Laces campaign and the LGBTQ+ darts community Out on the Oche. Renowned PDC referee Ware is an LGBTQ+ ambassador for the PDC, and spoke with WDF referee Rodger as part of a new series to speak about the thriving LGBTQ+ […]
Huw Ware sits down with World Darts Federation referee Lee Rodger to discuss the Rainbow Laces campaign and the LGBTQ+ darts community Out on the Oche.
Renowned PDC referee Ware is an LGBTQ+ ambassador for the PDC, and spoke with WDF referee Rodger as part of a new series to speak about the thriving LGBTQ+ community in darts and the Rainbow Laces campaign.
The Rainbow Laces campaign is an initiative ran by Stonewall, a UK human rights charity. The campaign promotes LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport, increasing visibility and encouraging the removal of barriers that prevent the LGBTQ+ community from being involved in sport.
The PDC has been supporting Rainbow Laces since 2018, and Ware and Rodger spoke on the importance of the campaign.
“To me it’s quite an important thing,” said Rodger.
“A lot of people outside my close friends don’t know that I’m openly gay myself.
“I keep that quite private and I don’t really like to talk about it too much.
“Coming from a background where I’ve always felt a bit lonely in the world of darts, if I can sit and talk about it, I can make myself feel better.
“If one person can watch this and think, ‘I feel a bit better about it myself too’, then that’s a job done.
“Campaigns like this are so important to let people like myself out there know that they’re not alone – that, for me, is the most important thing.
“You can be your true self and find people out there going through the exact same thing as you, you can be yourself and live your best life with it.”
The LGBTQ+ darts group Out on the Oche is a community on Facebook with almost 200 members.
The community is an inclusive space for darts fans and members of the LGBTQ+ community like Rodger, with an online darts league where members of the group play against each other.
“I’ve made friends and met people through this group,” continued Rodger.
“It’s such a comfort to be somewhere where I don’t inadvertently hide who I am.
“Being in that sort of environment for me is such a relief, to be around people who know what it’s like to go through this and know how it feels. There’s a lot of comfort in that.
“Having Out on the Oche and having the Rainbow Laces campaign, for me especially and hopefully so many more people out there, they can be their true selves and know that there’s a place in darts that they belong in.”
Ware’s full interview with Rodger is available to watch on PDCTV and on the PDC’s various social media channels.