Darts - Dennis Aitken Newsletters, 1995-1998 - Cyber/Darts
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Dennis
Aitken's
ADO Region III-I
Newsletters
The 1998 Area III Youth
Tournament will be held this year in Houston, Texas at the Compaq
Center (formally known as the Summit), Saturday, June 20,
1998.
The Houston Darts Association has been invited to hold a $500.00
blind draw tournament prior to a professional Arena football game
with the Houston 'Thunderbears' and they have graciously invited the
ADO to hold the area youth tournament at the same time. The starting
times have not been established yet, but the tentative schedule will
be as follows: First will be the ADO youth tournament.
Hopefully we will start around 10:00am to 10:30am. The Houston
Darts Association Blind draw tournament should start about 12:30pm
and finish around 4:30pm to 5:00pm. During the blind draw tournament
the Compaq Center will supply free pizza and soft drinks. Prior to
the start of the football game there will be an awards ceremony on
the field announcing the winners of both the youth tournament and the
blind draw tournament.Those people who have entered either the youth
tournament or the blind draw tournament will have special seating for
the football game. After the game there will be some guided tours and
hopefully player meetings. Also tentatively scheduled after the
football game is a party/rock concert. This will be only for the dart
players and their parties. What does all of this cost? Well the youth
tournament entry fee is still $35.00. The winner goes to Las Vegas in
August for entry into the youth National tournament at the North
American Open. Entry to the Compaq Center, parking, the football game
and the events following is $11.00. The entry fee for the blind draw
tournament is $5.00. The American Darts Organization has decided to
pay the $11.00 for each of the youth dart players who enter the Area
youth tournament. Parents who come with the youth players will be
required to pay the $11.00 entry fee and those who come for the blind
draw tournament will be required to pay the $11.00 plus the $5.00
blind draw entry.
Now the catch. I must have the entry fees for all of the youth
players and the people coming with them by June 1st. This is required
by the Arena operators so the tickets can be mailed out. As more
information becomes available I will endeavor to get it out to all of
the clubs and those youth players who have expressed an interest in
coming. I can be reached at 281-392-0103 in the evenings, 281-392-
0190 for fax or for the internet at KVGP42A@PRODIGY.COM. Because of
the location and type of event, a dress code WILL be enforced. Please
don't come a long way and not be able to play.
Dennis Aitken
ADO Manager, Area III
ADO Region III-1 News, August
1996
ADO REGION III-1 NEWS
Director; Dennis Aitken (713) 392-0103 or Fax (713) 392-0190
ADO NEWS
WHO ARE WE?
Not to long ago at one of the ADO meetings at a tournament I had a
chance of attending one of the members of the local clubs Board of
Directors brought up an interesting problem. It seems the clubs ADO
rep. wasn't holding enough local tournaments for Pacific Cup and All
Star play to suit him. He stated that since this person works for me
I should contact him and make him hold more local playoff
tournaments.
Recently I received a pretty irate phone call from a club member
from a club here in Texas complaining about a rules change his clubs
board of directors had just voted on. It seems that the past rule for
the start of league play stated that the choice to throw the cork
first went to the winner of a coin toss. That board decided to change
the rule to read that the visiting club would have the choice for the
first leg with the loser having the choice for the second leg and the
home team having the choice for the third leg if it went that long.
This person didn't like the idea and stated that it was in violation
of ADO rules of play. He demanded that I call his Board of Directors
and demand a change back to the old way.
Earlier in the year I had a clubs ADO rep call me and tell me
about a problem he had had with a local player during a local ADO
qualifier and demand that I ban this player from playing in any
further ADO sanctioned tournaments for a year.
Now, these three individual problems don't seem like they have
anything in common with one another, but in reality thay have
everything in common. They all bring out the basic relationship that
the ADO has with its member clubs. It points out WHO WE ARE.
I informed the local board member that thier ADO rep didn't work
for me, he worked for them! His board elected him to represent them
to the ADO and to represent the ADO to them. If he isn't doing the
job, they should replace him. Not me.
I told the irate club member that I had no jurisdiction over any
rule his club made regarding the playing of their local league games.
That's not the function of the ADO. Yes, we do have rules that we
adhere to in our tournaments, such as Regionals and Nationals. And
yes, we do have a coin toss before the match. But the local club can
do it any way it wants to. Visiting club, coin toss, best shirt,
who's buying or anything else they decide on. We don't care. Now we
do care that the boards are of an approved kind, the tow line and
height of the board is correct and the lighting is good. But even
then that's so that if any one throws a ton eighty or comes in or
goes out with a ton seventy they can get national recognition and an
award.
I told the ADO rep pretty much the same as the others, I could not
do anything to any local club member, no matter what his alleged
crimes. Even though the tournament he is hosting is called an ADO
shoot, it really is a local club event and comes under that clubs
rules and regulations. If a local member is misbehaving he should be
ruled on by the local club, not us.
What all of this means is just this. The ADO is not a league
governing body. Yes we do govern our own tournaments, but that is as
far as it goes. The mission of the ADO, in its relationship with the
local clubs, is to bind those local clubs to one another with an
information flow that goes down through the Board of Directors, the
Area Mangers the Regional Direcors and finally through the local ADO
reps and then BACK UP AGAIN! We do this by getting out information
concerning darts nation and world wide, and holding tournaments first
in regions or areas and then nation wide. Some of these tournaments
produce the very finest darts players in the United States. We
sanction local clubs major and not so major events and in so doing
require that the tournament be run in a manner consistent with both
national and international rules. This is so that someone can go to a
sanctioned tournament anywhere in the country and play on boards
mounted to the same specifications as those he plays on at home, no
matter where he is from. We recognize success in singles competition
at sanctioned tournaments and award points that measure prowess in
our sport. We use this points system to help us select the very best
players in our sport. We represent the American darts players to the
world through our membership in the World Darts Federation. We hold
tournaments and sanction events that produce players that we send to
world competition.
What we don't do is tell the member clubs how to run their own
affairs. Our function is not to control the leagues but to bind the
clubs together. From this union we hope to promote the game here in
the States.
The ADO has the same function that every one of our club member
have, PROMOTE THE GAME OF DARTS. The results of our efforts, from the
member clubs ADO rep all of the way up to the President and Board of
Directors, can only be measured by the success of our sport. If we as
a national organization succeed in getting national recognition and
exposure with things such as sponsorship, television or international
competion, everybody benefits, all of the way down to the newest
league player. If a local club, through its ADO rep can get a
tournament sanctioned, everybody benefits again, all of the way to
the top.
Keep up the good work!!
Dennis
MASTERS REGIONALS
The Masters Regional tournament for Region III-1 is being hosted
by the Fort Worth Dart association at the VFW Post #5617 in Fort
worth. The address is -- 7501 Wyatt Drive. the Phone # is (817)
246-0891. Or you can call John Gerhart at (817) 763-5452 for info. As
usual, I would like to start about 10am so I'll start sign up around
9:15, 9:30.
The national finals will be held this year at a new tournament
called the Midwest Open in Council Bluffs Iowa on September 27th. The
tournament, which will offer $8,300 in prize money, is a joint effort
of the Eastern Nebraska Dart Association and the Des Moines Dart
Association. The tournament site will be the new Harvey's Casino.
Council Bluffs is about 15 miles from Omaha, Nebraska.
I need to start thinking about the Mixed Triples Regionals
location. anyone interested, let me know.
ADO Region III-1 News, August 1995
Volume 1 Issue 7 - May 1995
ADO REGION III-1 NEWS
Director; Dennis Aitken (713) 392-0103 or Fax (713) 392-0190
ADO NEWS
The ADO has made some very important announcements this past month.
Because of time and space constraints I'm going to shorten the
announcements as necessary.
The ADO has announced an agreement with North American Darts
Supply, a division of General Sportscraft, Co., Ltd.
Member organizations may order dart boards for Sanctioned
tournaments and ADO regional and national playoffs directly from
NADS.
The new arrangement requires a minimun order of four boards.
Special ADO pricing is available; freight will be charged from New
Jersey and 30-day payment terms have been arranged. Event organizers
may order by contacting Tom Howard in Boston at (508) 384-4100; or
(508) 384-4141-fax.
MORE ON THE TRIPLES TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
The ADO is in the process of finalizing the arrangements for the new
Mixed Triples Championships coming this fall. The format used will be
as follows: Triples 601 SSDO Triples Cricket Singles 301 DIDO Singles
Cricket Singles 501 SSDO Each game will be one leg and worth one team
point. Each team member will play only one of the singles events.
Each team makes their own decision regarding who plays which game.
ADO championship points will be awarded to the top 87 finishers at
the regional level. Point values will be awarded to the "team"
(divided by 2) and awarded to each member of the team. Point values
will be rounded up to divide by three.
The cost of entry into the regionals will be $270.00 per team and
we will advance one team of every 8 in competition to the nationals
to be held in Houston, in conjunction with the Bluebonnet Classic of
1996. (My press release says Katy instead of Houston here, but the
wife says we are NOT having them at our house, no matter what the
press release says).
The National mixed triples finalists will receive their air fares
to the nationals plus $150.00 each toward hotel accommodations and/or
expenses.
There will be a minimum of $2,500.00 cash payouts awarded at the
nationals based on a minimum of ten national finalist teams.
Now for the kicker for the whole thing. The members of the teams
do not have to be from the same club or even the same town! The only
restriction are that they are all from the same region!! In other
words a player from Houston can be a team made with another from San
Antonio and a third from Austin. As long as they are all from the
same region, in our case Region III-1, Texas, they can play on the
same team. I foresee some awful strong teams in this tournament!!
There is mention in the press release that local playoffs will be
handled by association Reps., with the regionals handled by the
Directors. I don't completely understand how that is going to work as
the teams are not necessarily coming from any one club or town. I'm
sure as time gets closer explanations will be forth coming.
This tournament is unique as far as the ADO is concerned, first in
that a team format is being used and second that the prize is in the
form of MONEY!! All in all it sounds like a lot of fun.
Many thanks should go out to Bob Ditzler, our long suffering Vice
President for ram rodding this program into being. I hope it works as
well as it should, and with Bob behind it I'm sure it will.
MASTERS
The Masters Regionals are Saturday, August the 26th. in Houston. The
sign up time is 9:30 a.m. with the start as close to 10:00 am as
possible. I'm including a flyer along with this newsletter that shows
the location along with a small map for directions. The bottom line
is that it is on South Main, which is a major street by the
Astrodome, one block south of the south loop, which is the major
highway just in front of the Astodome. Should be easy to find, but if
you get lost, CALL!!
A little reminder for those coming to the Masters Regionals. If
you come representing a club you can pay with a club check. If you
use a money order or cashiers check you should have a letter from the
club stating that you are representing that club. If you are an
individual member of the ADO, you can pay with a business check or a
money order/cashiers check. Have your ADO membership card available.
CASH will not be accepted under any circumstances. The entry fee is
$100.00 per person, same as the All Stars. The checks should be made
out to the ADO.
The Houston open was held the weekend of July 21-23, and was a
roaring success. Record or almost record attendance was seen on every
event. The results are going to be in the Double Eagle as well as
Bulls Eye News. They are already on the Internet for those of you
with internet connections.
The August issue of Bulls Eye News has an article about Barbara
Barnes of Dallas. It is accompanied by a photo right out of "Vanity
Fair". That is one great photo of the very pretty lady!! Oh, by the
way, the story is very good, too. It was written by Jay Tomlinson and
does Barbara the justice she rightly deserves. If you don't get Bulls
Eye on a regular basis, you need to pick the August issue up.
Because of requests by several people at the Houston Open, I'm
going to start sending a copy of this newsletter to all of the
individual members within Area III-1, starting with this issue. If
you know someone needing a copy and is not getting one, let me know.
COMING TOURNAMENTS Here is a list of tournaments that have
been sanctioned in III-1.
September 1,2--the $3,100.00 Spring Open II, in North Houston. For
info call Sam Hall @ (713) 937-1857.
Sept. 15,17-- the $10,000 Sparkling City Open in Corpus Christi.
For info contact Ron Fledderman @ (512) 937-4035.
October 13,15 the $5,000+ Treasure Island VII in Galveston. For
info contact Mike Teel @ (409) 762-2156.
As I'm writing this I am in the process of sanctioning the Cowtown
Open for October 6-8th. in Fort Worth. It will be for $7,500. For
info contact Erik France @ (817) 336-7077.
Tropical Darts is going to host a tournament the 2nd week in
November on South Padre Island at one of the resorts there. No other
info on it as of now.
Till next time, Dennis.
ADO REGION III-1 NEWS, July 1995
Volume 1 , Issue 6
Director: Dennis Aitken (713) 392-0103 FAX: (713) 392-0190
ADO NEWS
The ADO has released the following as a press release dated the
26th of June: THE AMERICAN DARTS ORGANIZATION has announced it will
begin accepting membership into its "Points Plus" program in
September. Full details will be available in the august issue of the
DOUBLE EAGLE; membership applications will also be available in Las
Vegas in August.
The "Points Plus" program is designed to award players for
participating in the sport - even if they never win!
Because of questions from across the country, players should note
that smoking will be permitted in the tournament hall at the Gold
Rush San Francisco Open scheduled for August 4,6,1995.
Remember, only those who are individual members receive individual
points printouts. Players should remember that points earned at
tournaments are not always reported immediately, points cannot be
awarded until the report forms are received. Points published in
other media are up to date as of the publication's deadline, other
points may be earned between that time and the publication date. All
tournament players can help the proper reporting of points by making
sure they give tournament personnel their ADO affiliation and by
encouraging tournament committees to file reports at the earliest
possible time after the conclusion of the tournament (but no later
than 10 days).
The ADO has hired some part time help. Players calling may reach
an unfamiliar voice-please be patient with these folks while they
learn the ropes.
Anyone wishing to donate items to the early pool of awards for the
Points Plus Program (tournament fees, membership fees, darts supplies
and other goods) should send a description of the item to be
available in the awards catalog to Sandi Cain at PO Box 694, Laguna
Beach, CA 92652. All those donating rewards will be given credit on
the quarterly listing of rewards available beginning in 1996.
These press releases are usually faxed to me from California.
Along with my fax line and regular phone line, I am on the internet.
My address is: kvgp42a@mail.prodigy.com.
BARRY TWOMLOW COMING
Barry Twomlow, a British darts professional, better known as the
"Ambassador of Darts", is coming to Houston the 31st of July through
the 3rd of August. He will be hosting exhibitions and accepting
challenges during the day at Rick's Darts and Games and also giving
exhibitions and challenging local players at three locations in the
evenings during his stay.
On July 31st, he will be at BJ's pub on Bissonnett at the
southwest freeway.
On August 1st, he will be at the University Sports Bar in
Galveston located at 800 University.
On August 2nd, he will be at Mamma Hatties in the Humble area.
For further information and times you can contact Rick or Loretta
at Rick's Darts and Games -- (713_ 952-5900 or (800) 835-8385.
If you would like to see a real English darts player perform, a
former News of the World Champion, you need to catch this guy. He is
quite capable of cleaning the clock of anyone you know, and then have
them thank him for the lesson!!
REGION III-1 SANCTIONED TOURNEYS
There are more tournaments being sanctioned in our region. As this
is being written, the following tournaments have been ADO sanctioned:
- The Houston Open--$13,000+
- July 21-23
- Contact Randy Schlesinger @ (713) 392-1270 or me at the #
above.
- The '95 Water Tank Summer Open--$3,500+
- August 4,5
- Contact bobby Brewer @ (512) 244-5936
- The 1995 Spring Open II - $3,150
- Sept. 1,2
- Contact Sam Hall @ (713) 937-1857
- The 1995 Sparkling City Open - $10,000
- Sept. 15-17
- Contact Ron Fledderman (512) 937-4035
- The Treasure Island VII - $5,000+
- October 13-15
- Contact Mike Teel @ (409) 762-2156
There are more tournaments on the way. I have it on pretty good
authority that the amateur tournament may be coming back this year.
Although not ADO sanctioned, it has been a very popular tournament in
the past. I can't buy any ADO points this year so I might get to play
in this one.
A GENTLE REMINDER
There is a small problem that has cropped up recently having to do
with flyers for "sanctioned" tournaments. The most recent version of
our logo, the "Double Eagle" has a small 'R' in a circle under it.
This means that the logo is "registered" and is a means of protection
so others cannot use it without permission. This logo change was made
as a result of a lengthy lawsuit that we won and it is very important
that the correct logo with the small circled 'R' be the logo used.
I know a lot of flyers for tournaments have a master flyer that
the copies are made from each year and that these flyers probably
have the old logo on them. Please update these master flyers to
reflect the new version of the logo.
While I'm on the subject, the rule is that a flyer is not to carry
the "Sanctioned by the ADO" logo until it actually is, in other words
the sanctioning paper work has been received back from the ADO with
approval. Also, the statement "Sanctioning Applied For" should not be
used either, and that is with or without the addition of the
sanctioning logo. If there are any questions on this matter please
contact Katie Harris at the ADO office @ (714) 254-0121 or me at my
numbers.
VACATION
I recently went on vacation to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to visit
some relatives and do some fishing. On the day after I arrived, a
Saturday, the local darts league in Biloxi held a nice little
tournament at a bar I can't remember the name of. The people at the
tournament treated me great and I would like to thank them for their
hospitality.
While I was there I got to meet with Butch Barton, the ADO Area
III Manager and with Bob Ditzler, the ADO Vice President. I
appreciate the time they both took to talk with me.
I'm doing a study of past darts tournaments, trying to see where
the Moines and players come from for a successful tournament against
one not so successful. I discussed the preliminary findings with both
Butch and Bob.
They kicked my butt at the dart tournament. I lost a small fortune
at the casinos on the beach in Biloxi, and I didn't catch the first
fish. Other than that, I had a great time.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
In my original newsletter in February I stated that the main
thrust of this newletter would be communications!! I firmly believe
that as an organization we are going to be most successful if news of
the happenings within our sport has a method of getting to everyone
that is a member of our group.
I hope you, as the ADO reps for your individual clubs, are not
just reading this newsletter and then throw it down on the coffee
table or putting it in your briefcase and forgetting it. As the
author of this newsletter I don't have any kind of illusions of
grandeur, after all the thing is pretty primitive compared to some of
the things I've seen published. But it is the best I can do with what
I've got and it is at least getting some kind of information out to
the membership. Please take the information to your respective clubs.
A lot of clubs have their own newsletters that can be used. You
should have the right as an ADO rep for your club to report to your
respective boards of Directors with information. But, whatever
methods you select to use, don't sit on it, get out!!
ADO Region III-1, May 1995
Volume 1 Issue 4
DIRECTOR: Dennis Aitken (713) 392-0103
ADO REGIONAL TOURNAMENT RULES CHANGES
Recently the ADO announced a change in the policy regarding
participation in Regional tournaments. The change made allows dart
players with "individual" membership with the ADO to enter an ADO
regional tournament without having to go through a local club
qualifying tournament. Payment could be made with a money order,
cashier's check, or dart club/business check. Cash or personal checks
will not be accepted.
There seems to be some kind of misunderstanding about who can
enter a regional tournament with out the benefit of a local
tournament. Basically, if you are not an Individual ADO member, the
only entrance fee to the regional that will be accepted will be an
affiliated club check, or a cashiers check/money order with a letter
from the represented club stating that the bearer is a representative
of that association. An associate member, one who does not hold an
ADO Individual membership, cannot enter the regionals without an
associate clubs check or letter.
If you are a club member of an ADO affiliated club, and the club
has not held local tournaments, either for the ALL STARS or MASTERS,
or you have not qualified in one of the local tournaments for what
ever reason, your choices to play in a regional are: (1) join the ADO
as an individual member and enter that way (2) have the club issue
you an affiliated club check made out to the ADO or (3) have the
club, on their letter head write a letter to the regional director
stating that you are a representative of that club and submit a
cashiers check or money order.
All payment, no matter how configured, must be made out to the
ADO. Personal checks or cash will not be accepted.
ADO NEWS
ADO President Sandi Cain has started a new policy of getting
information out to the general membership. She is sending press
releases out to the Area managers and Regional Directors once a
month, or more if there is breaking news. This is a very good method
of getting information out in a more timely manner than a quarterly
newspaper and I am finding it very useful.
I was originally going to copy the press releases in to this
newsletter but have since decided to just copy them and include them
with the newsletter. I hope people reading this newsletter pass on
the information to their club membership so everyone is kept up to
date.
REGION III-1 NEWS
The Texas State Team Championships have just been completed.
Thirteen teams were entered and the top four teams were:
More articles are going to be written about the tournament, and
you should be able to read them on the internet @ Cyber/Darts and in
the BULLSEYE NEWS magazine.
I'll just say this. It was everything last years Team Championship
was and more. Some of the finest darts I've seen in a long time were
thrown at this tournament and the winning team had to really play
hard and together to get the trophy.
It also had the same flavor as last years tournament, with team
members staying in the area of their match and rooting their team
mates on, no matter if they were playing that round or not.
The best shirts had to be the ones from the two Dallas area teams,
Dallas Dart Attack and Team Dallas. Very colorful and well made. I
have trouble getting shirts made for me, Abdul the Tent Maker had
been sick these past few months and Ken Smiley got my last order with
a bribe that I can't repeat or match.
I've recently processed sanctioning for the Houston Open, so that
makes the next sanctioned tournaments in our area the Summer Splash
II in Austin on Saturday, July the 8th., put on by the Capital
Classic Ladies League--Angie A'Hearn @ (512) 346-6025, The Houston
Open July 21-23, for info contact Randy Schlesinger @ (713) 392-1270
and the 1995 Sparkling City Open in Corpus Christi on September
15-17, for info contact Ron Fledderman at (512) 937-4035.
Of course the next ADO event in Texas is the Regionals All Star
Shoot in Austin. Again, try to bring a score keeper with you to help
out. Any one needing directions quickly should contact me with a fax
# and I'll fax you a copy of the flyer.
The next ADO event is the Masters series of tournaments. These are
played locally just like the All Stars tournaments with the Regionals
this year being in Houston. The nationals, as you will read in the
bulletins are going to be held in New York City this year. The
explanation is in the bulletins and in the Double Eagle magazine.
Anyone needing any information on these sets of tournament should
contact me and I'll try to fill them in on anything they need to
know.
NEW TO THE NEWSLETTER
Several years ago when I was president of the Houston Darts
Association, my son had a friend named Danny Weir. Now, Danny wasn't
a dart player at all, in fact he didn't know anything about the
sport. But Danny was an artist! You could describe a situation to him
and he could create a cartoon about it in less than an hour that
would astound you. Rick Osgood of "Rick's Darts and Games" fame saw
some of his work and had Danny draw him a shirt design from one of
his cartoons he had originally drawn for me. The result is the
drawing at the start of this newsletter. My thanks go to Rick for
permission to use this drawing and if you ever want a tee shirt with
this drawing on it contact Rick.
In future newsletters, time and space permitting, I will insert
some more of Danny's work. I think you will find them entertaining as
well as having a small insight into our sport of Darts. I hope the
quality of my copy is good enough to do Danny's art work credit, but
this is the first time I have ever tried to insert graphic art work
into a file such as this and I'm basically playing it by ear.
I have it on good authority that there are other accomplished
artists out there that are dart players. (are you reading this
Ruben?) If you would like me to run one or more of your material
about darts, send me a copy that I can digitize or send me a diskette
in a format that 'Word' can interpret and I'll run it.
NON-SANCTIONED TOURNAMENTS
I recently got a flyer in the mail from the Toledo Bend area
describing a nice little dart tournament for the end of May. Now the
tournament was not set up so that it could be sanctioned by the ADO
because it did not have the required singles matches of the minimum
guaranteed money. However, it was close in that after all was said
and done the money paid out probably easily covered the requirements
of the ADO for sanctioning.
With very little effort some of these small tournaments can be
brought into a format that will allow sanctioning. Of course with
sanctioning comes ADO 'points' and there are some local players that
would love to go to a small sanctioned tournament for the points. Any
other time they would rather stay home and play at a local weekend
event for the money.
If you know someone in your area thinking of putting on a nice
little tournament, have them put it into a format that the ADO can
sanction. It may be that the extra players drawn to the points
potential may surprise you. I have sanctioning forms for the asking
and I can push through sanctioning if necessary, although the bosses
like 45 days lead time.
MORE BITS AND PIECES
Have you ever caught a bounce out by the point? Then tell everyone
(and everybody saw it) that it don't hurt. ME TO! (once)
ADO REGION III-1 NEWS
Volume 1 Issue 3 - April 1995
ADO POINTS LEADERS
The final points leaders for 1994 for Region
III-1 have been announced by the ADO office. They are:
Men's
1st - Tom Biesenbach
2nd - Gary Lowe
3rd - Wade McDonald, Stuart Jones (tie)
Women's
1st - Brenda Gandy
2nd - Donna Schubert
3rd - Hope Carroll
Congratulations all! on a fine season.
Copies of the entire Region III points totals for both men and
women will be included with this newsletter.
TEXAS STATE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
Hey! Your Mudder Wears Combat Boots! And she dresses you funny
too!!
The Texas State Team Championship Tournament will take place in
Houston May 20, 21 1995 at the Adams Mark Hotel, 2800 Briarpark, just
off of Westheimer and the Beltway 8 toll road. The phone # for the
Hotel is (713) 978-7400.
They have upped the entry fee to $300 per team, so the pay out is
going to be more than last year. Ten teams competed last year, with
Team Dallas the winner. I understand that they are expecting 15 to 20
teams this year, and I have been personally assured by one of the
team captains from last year that Team Dallas doesn't have a chance
of repeating as the winners. Of course this guy went out on the first
days play last year, so what does he know.
They have changed the sponsorship requirements this year to make
it easier to enter teams. Team make up is the same as last year with
9 regular players consisting of 6 men and 3 ladies. Play format is
unchanged from last year as well as the round robin system used.
Preliminary matches will be played on Saturday, May 20 and the finals
played on Sunday the 21st between the top qualifying teams.
There will be a blind draw tournament Friday night at one of the
local pubs and another blind draw tournament at the hotel Saturday
night. Last years Saturday night blind draw tournament drew 96
entries and was a great success.
Anyone wanting information about the tournament can contact Jay
Domser at (713) 933-3057 home or (713) 933-8200 work or Kris Beyer at
(713) 277-6322 home.
I hope this tournament is as much fun as last years because we
sure had a great time and got to see some very superior dart play to
boot.
TREASURE ISLAND VI, $5000+, GALVESTON ISLAND
The Galveston Area Dart Association hosted their sixth ADO
sanctioned tournament May 17-19, 1995 at the Ramada Resort Hotel, 600
Strand, Galveston.
The Seafood Depot Restaurant, 61st Street and Ave S, co-sponsored
the tournament. Rick's Darts and Games took care of the dart
supplies. The $5,000+ tournament paid out $6,980! There was a total
of 831 individual entries in all of the events. The Galveston Area
Dart Association thanks everyone who participated and invites you to
return with more of your friends to Treasure Island VII, October
13-15, 1995 at the same location.
The hotels two-story, atrium lobby was the site. Twenty-eight
boards were set up in clusters around the indoor pool, between the
plants, and on the enclosed patio. Music played over the PA system,
the long-necks were cold, the liquor was premium, the price was
right, and a good time was had by all.
One Hundred Twelve (112) darters signed up Friday evening for the
Blind Draw 501 from all over Texas (Oklahoma even - if you count Chad
Sylvan). Most of the players were locals from Galveston and Houston
with groups from Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur, San Antonio, Corpus
Christi, McAllen, Austin, Dallas, and Fort worth. Things were running
so well that a second chance blind draw was held with 74 shooters
participating in a 100% payout event which finished about 2:30am.
Saturday started early (10am) with the Ladies Singles 501,
followed by Men's Singles 501, and Open Singles 301. Mixed Triples
601, Open Doubles Cricket, and Blind Draw Cricket Doubles concluded
the guaranteed payout on Saturday. Because the Ladies wanted more
opportunities to play, two 100% payout events were added on Sunday;
Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles 501. Since the turnout was
excellent, the Association will probably add these events to the
guaranteed payout next tournament. A final blind draw
501/Cricket/Diddlers choice was held Sunday afternoon. The official
results of all events are posted in CYBERDARTS and will appear in the
Bulls Eye News and Double Eagle.
Special thanks to Mike Teel, Tournament Director, and John
Barryman, Tournament Coordinator for pulling off a well-run
tournament. These guys are doing it again in October so call Mike
Teel at (409) 762-2156 for Treasure Island VII information.
Ralph Schomburg
NEWS FROM ON HIGH
The ADO has announced that the Youth Scholarship Fund is being
changed to a "Trust" fund. This will give it a tax emempt status for
those people or groups donating to it.
REGIONAL PLAYOFF LOCATIONS
The All Stars Regional will be held in Austin as announced in last
months news letter. A flyer for that tournament is included with this
newsletter. The Austin Darts Association is asking for help in
scoring for that tournament, so if possible, please bring along
someone with you to help score if you have qualified for the
regionals.
There will be a nice blind draw tournament Friday before the
Regionals and that is also included in the flyer.
The ADO Masters Regionals will be held in Houston August 26th. The
Houston Darts Association will provide information as to the location
and the starting times. They are also planning for a large blind draw
tournament the day before the regionals for those who come early.
THE NEXT BIG TOURNAMENT
The next big tournament in Region III-1 is the 'River City
Classic' in San Antonio April 28 through 30. For info contact Maureen
Jefferson at (210) 675-3146 or the Seven Oaks Hotel at (210)
824-5371.
The next big tourney in III-1 after that is the Texas State Team
Championships, in Houston.
SMALL BITS AND PIECES
Have you ever gone to the line to start a game of 501 and
inadvertently looked at the score board to see what you have left?
Busted a Ton Forty or better?
Smiled when a novice is announced as your partner in the biggest
blind draw of the year?
ME TOO!!
ADO REGION III-I NEWS Volume 1 Issue I
NEW Regional Director
Region III-I has a new director. My name is Dennis Aitken of
Houston, Texas. I've been a dart player for a little over eight
years. I started like most other people in a novice division in our
local league and over a period of time have worked my way up into the
top division where I have been playing for the past six years.
In my local league (The Houston Darts Association) I have served
on the board of directors for over five years in several capacities,
ranging from statistician, to league coordinator to President for two
years. I most recently served for four years as the local ADO rep.
Your holding in your hands one of the main reasons I ran for this
position. Communications from this office to the local clubs is
probably one of the most important things I can accomplish while I
hold this job. If I can be successful transmitting information from
the upper echelons of the ADO to the local associations and from ONE
CLUB TO ANOTHER within our region, I think many new and exciting
things can be accomplished.
The main thrust of this newsletter will be to inform clubs of the
darting activities within Texas first, and throughout the rest of the
country next. I therefore am requesting from all of the ADO reps to
please supply me with information of events taking place in your
local associations. Any information will be useful.
The following is my address and phone numbers. The best time to
get to me is usually in the evening around 6 p.m. Before then I may
not be home yet and after then I may not be lucid--or out playing
darts!!
Dennis Aitken 103 Asheboro Katy, Texas 77450-1711
Phone: (713) 392-0103 home, (713) 392-0190 fax
NEWS AND REQUESTS FROM ON HIGH
Sandi Cain, our new ADO president, has requested I pass along the
following to all of the local clubs for your help.
The first involves addresses of dart stores in the local areas.
She would like to be updated so the stores can be asked to advertise
in the 'Double Eagle'. If you would, please ask the store owner in
your city to update the ADO with their address. Don't forget the NEW
ADO address!
The second project involves a new program that will be introduced
to the membership this year - The ADO Points Plus Program- that will
enable darters of all skill levels to earn rewards for taking part in
the sport of darts. To help get that program off of the ground, we
need to gather prizes that can be claimed by qualified players.
Details of the program will follow as I get them.
What the main office wants now is for local associations to donate
prizes that will be useful to players. Some of those mentioned were
such things as free entry into local tournaments, free club dues for
a year or anything that can be added to the Points Plus pool each
year. Again, I don't have too many details yet, but it is something
to talk about. Any club wishing to participate can simply note their
donation to the pool in writing on league letterhead and forwarding
to Sandi Cain.
REGION III-I News
I am taking bids for the ALL STARS and MASTERS REGIONALS from the
local associations in our region. The All Stars Regional takes place
the weekend of June 9-10-11 and the Masters the weekend of August
25-26-27. I have been told by several association representatives
that their clubs are hesitant or not willing to host one of these
tournaments because of costs to the local clubs. I can well
understand this problem as the local club here in Houston is having a
devil of a time finding a venue for their own regularly scheduled
tournaments.
A lot of this problem is caused by the high percentage of rented
rooms in local hotels through out the south. It seems that when these
hotels get full, they don't want to bargain. At least that's the way
it is here in Houston, and I understand Austin is worse yet.
You will notice however, that I said 'Bids'. What I have in mind
is for local dart bars within each city to bid. Offer them a large
Blind Draw tournament the night before the playoff, showing them the
profit potential that a well attended Blind Draw tournament can
generate. Tell them that your club will make sure the out of town
players know about the tournament, make up some flyers, and tell me!
Bingo- Big Blind Draw tournament the night before the playoffs,
resulting in a happy dart bar owner and a place to hold the playoffs
cost free! Most of the larger dart bars have enough extra room that
added dart boards can be brought in and set up.
Anyway, I need to know who wants one of these tournaments as soon
as possible so I can make the decision and get it back out to you.
Lets make the deadline the first of April, somehow that seems
appropriate.
One of the things that bothers me is the 'Invisible', behind the
scenes' character the ADO seems to have acquired. You can go to a
large tournament with a hall full of people and, except for an area
management or director with their fancy shirts on, not see any ADO
presence there at all. And the trouble is there may be 10 or 15 ADO
local reps in the hall all along and no one knows or sees them. I
know I've said this before, but I'm in a position to do something
about it now. Starting now I would like all of the ADO reps to try
and come up with a design for a lapel pin to be worn by ADO
representatives. The design must be based on the ADO Double Eagle
logo and should not be so complicated that no one can make it.
Please submit your idea to me as soon as possible because I would
like to have the pins made and distributed to the clubs by Summer.
Understand that the design chosen becomes the property of the ADO.
You will, however, get to keep all bragging rights. The lapel pins
will go with the job of ADO rep. and not with the person. When the
person resigns, his successor gets the pin. One of the advantages of
a pin is, unlike a shirt that can only he worn a limited amount of
time, a pin can be worn ALL of the time, even to local events. I
think it would make a neat badge of office.
One last thing I would like to talk about in this initial
newsletter. It also has to do with the 'invisible' ADO. Several local
ADO reps., myself included, have from time to time run into problems
at the end of the year trying to get their associations to join up
for another year with the ADO. Time after time we hear "Well, what
has the ADO done for me?" and time after time we have to remind them
of the benefits, such as 'Double Eagles', tournament sanctioning, the
All Stars, Master and Pacific Cup events etc. etc. I think one of the
things we are over-looking however is timing.
The events that the ADO puts on itself, the All Stars, Masters,
and Pacific Cup all take place the first part of the year. By the end
of June or the first part of July, if the local association is not
hosting a Regional toumament, the ADO as an active entity has
disappeared, for up to six months! If the local club is holding a
major tournament the sanctioning is usually handled by the ADO rep
and is usually invisible to the general membership as far as the nuts
and bolts of sanctioning are concerned. Double Eagles are passed out
four times a year and generally thought of as just another dart
publication, much like the 'Bulls Eye News'.
I have formally asked Dutch Barton (our local dart god in
Gulfport) to submit to the ADO board of directors suggestions for
changing the rules of sanctioning to allow 'regional' toumament (not
open) sanctioning. This would allow sanctioning for such things as a
Texas Team Championship tournament, or an Open Doubles Cricket
tournament for both men and ladies. This could lead to challenge
matches between regions within an area and between areas in the
country. The local playoffs could end say in September, regionals in
October and the Nationals, if it goes that far, in November. the
Cricket idea is from the ADO rep in Austin. I personally like Cricket
and think that idea is a good one.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in some sort of activity later in
the year, and have a good idea on a format to play, please let me
know and I'll see what transpires.
I've used up enough of your time for now. Again, if there is
anything going on and you want others within our Region to know,
--CONTACT ME!!! Lets COMMUNICATE!!.
Dennis Aitken
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Copyright ©1995 RC Osgood. All rights
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