Week 5 Dart Highlights

Before I get into the thrilling, blow-by-blow descriptions of this week’s matches, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about the DartMares folding mid-round and what that decision set in motion.

The first order of business was reworking the remaining five weeks of the schedule and eliminating the weekly bye. The Executive pulled together to brainstorm solutions, and within just 12 hours of learning the news, there was a revised schedule ready for Executive approval. It was a great example of everyone working together to keep the league running smoothly!

Next came the task of removing the stats recorded from the now-defunct matches. Unfortunately, this meant that a couple of players lost their spots on the Leader Board because those scores no longer counted. The good news? There’s still plenty of time to earn those scores back and make another run at the Leader Board!

With the bye weeks eliminated, the second half of the first round will now run for seven weeks. We also needed to address the balance of teams playing at each venue. With five teams at the Parksville Legion and only three at the Eagles Hall, a little adjustment was needed.

Thankfully, the Oceanside Triples stepped up without hesitation and graciously agreed to move to the Eagles Hall, helping us balance the schedule. A big thank-you to the Triples for being so accommodating and helping make this change possible! Your willingness to pitch in is very much appreciated.

Your Voice Matters: The Scoring System

At Wednesday’s Executive meeting, feedback from some members prompted a discussion about the new scoring system. After considering the comments received, the Executive decided to reach out to all league members to get a clearer picture of everyone’s thoughts on keeping the current system.

Each member was sent an email asking for a simple yes or no vote. The goal is to give the Executive a clear understanding of members’ preferences before calling a Captains Meeting to discuss the possibility of returning to the total-points scoring system used two years ago.

If you haven’t yet responded, please check your email, including your junk folder, and send in your yes or no vote.

Don’t have an email address? No problem! Please contact Pony at 250-228-1851 and let him know your vote.

It’s important that everyone has a chance to weigh in, so please take a moment to make your voice heard. The more members who respond, the clearer the picture will be for the Executive as we decide how best to move forward.

Thanks, everyone, for your flexibility, cooperation, and continued support of the league.

Now, on to this week’s matches!

Playing at the Eagles Hall, the Darts of Hazzard hosted the Legion Bristle Bashers in a see-saw battle of darts.

Taking all three doubles games, the Hazzards came out strong and claimed the first set. The Bristle Bashers rallied to take the second singles set, and the teams continued trading sets in a back-and-forth battle right through to the end. When the dust settled, the Eagles Hall Darts of Hazzard came away with an 8–6 win on set points!

Leading the charge for the Hazzards, Captain Heath Mahoney lost only to Basher Larry Fuller and nailed a 125 in his doubles match to claim the team’s high score of the night.

The Bristle Bashers fielded a five-player lineup this week after losing teammate Don Enockson. Sorry to see you go, Don! Wishing you all the best and a very happy retirement!

Leading the Basher pack was Ken Hayes, who won five of his six matches. Ken’s offspring, Ember Hayes, kicked things off with the first 140 of the match, and Ken added two more 140s a couple of sets later. Those big scores earned them a share of the top score of the week!

Final score Eagles Hall Darts of Hazzard – 21, Legion Bristle Bashers – 12

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Getting together at the Parksville Legion, the Legion Remark-A-Bulls hosted the Eagles Hall X-Men and suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of the Men!

The X-Men came out swinging, winning the first 14 games of the match before one of the newest Remark-A-Bulls, Michelle White, put an end to their winning streak by defeating X-Men’s Pony Moore. Michelle W. wasn’t finished there, either! She doubled out against Fraser Vincent in the final game of the match, earning herself the top wins spot for the Remark-A-Bulls that night.

Teammate Anita Hopps managed to snag the only other Remark-A-Bull point, besting Todd Burnham. Along the way, Anita also fired in a 133 to claim her team’s high score of the night.

Leading the charge for the X-Men, Glen Dilworth and Vern Phillips were both undefeated in their six singles games. The pair also made their mark on the scoreboard, with Vern landing a 100 and a 101, while Glen pinned two 100s and a 124 to take top honours for the team’s high score.

With the X-Men dominating from start to finish, it came as little surprise that the set points ended in a decisive 14–0 whitewash over the Remark-A-Bulls!

Final score Parksville Legion Remark-A-Bulls – 3, Eagles Hall X-Men – 30

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Back at the Eagles Hall, the AMC Straight Arrows faced off against the Rotor Maxx Renegades in a rousing night of 33 games of darts!

The Renegades roared out of the gate, doubling out in 10 of the first 13 games played and putting the home team Arrows on the back foot early.

Leading the charge for the Straight Arrows was the father-and-son duo of Rob Clark and Alem Beyene-Clark, who each bested four of their six opponents. Alem had a particularly impressive game against Renegade George Wallis, firing in a 140 high score and following it up with a respectable 76 checkout in the same game!

Captain Rob Clark had an even bigger moment, earning the honour of hitting the first perfect score of the season with a spectacular 180! Breaking the age-old darts jinx that a 180 spells doom for the win, Rob went on to defeat Renegade Larry MacDonald. Congratulations on the perfect score, Rob!

Over on the Renegades’ side, Terry Strawson was the only player to remain undefeated, succeeding in all five of his trips to the oche. Thom Ford was hot on his heels with four wins of his own.

Captain Lorraine Paquette may have recorded just one score over 99, but what a score it was! Her 140 topped the night’s high-score charts, edging out Terry’s 135 and Thom’s 136 to claim top honours.

When the final darts had landed, the Rotor Maxx Renegades secured a 10–4 victory on set points over the AMC Straight Arrows. A strong team effort from the Renegades, but a memorable night for Captain Rob and his season-opening 180!

Final score AMC Straight Arrows – 13, Rotor Maxx Renegades – 20

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Filling up the boards over at the Parksville Legion, the Deep Bay Consulting Oceanside Triples met the Legion Short Sighted Crew for a nail-biting match of darts!

Both teams brought their A-game, with a generous sprinkling of high scores across 33 games of action. The match remained close, with the Crew holding a narrow 15–13 lead as the final set got underway. But the Oceanside Triples found another gear, unleashing a burst of wins to surge past their opponents and claim the victory!

Leading the charge for the Triples, Darren Tabler bested four of his five opponents. Keith Reimer took home high-score honours, nailing a 140 in his winning match against the Crew’s Jeff Rhode. Captain Jim Hood also made his mark, landing an impressive 87 checkout against Mike Rundstedler to earn himself a spot on the Leader Board.

Despite this loss, Mike led the way for the Short Sighted Crew, winning four of his six trips to the oche. One of those matches brought an extra reason to celebrate, as Mike posted a 98 checkout to join Jim Hood and first place holder, Rob Clark.

When the final darts landed, the home team Oceanside Triples emerged victorious, taking the set points 8–6 in a hard-fought battle.

Final score Deep Bay Consulting Oceanside Triples – 17,

Parksville Legion Short Sighted Crew – 16

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