Dave Kelly, Darts Pro Send EMail to Dave

Well, as usual, it's been a busy month. I have been to Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Almost all of the tournaments I have been to were soft tip. That's not all bad. For those steel tip players out there who have still not given soft tip a chance, you don't know what you are missing. I'm having a great time going to soft tip tournaments all over the country.

In the beginning there were Arachnid tournaments. I have a lot of great memories of the BullShooter tournament series, particularly the Chicago tournament. Tony Payne of Ohio took me to my first tournament which was the BullShooter. I met my wife, Sally, there (twice, one year apart, but that is another story.) I have now attended several of the regionals as well. I have not missed the BullShooter since the first time I went. A lot of praise goes to Sam Zammuto and Bob Mills for keeping the tournament series fresh and current. They always add new games, different divisions, and of course, more money to keep our interest.

One of the biggest honors I have had was to be the captain of the American Team at the BullShooter. I have gotten to play on a team with great players like Jerry Umberger, Ray Terronez, Bill Gay, Terry Mutton, and many more. It is a great feeling to be working hard to accomplish something not only for ourselves, but for every cheering fan in the room. I would play with anyone of those guys anytime.

Merit then added their "hat" to the tournament ring. I went to the World Series tournament in Indy. I was newly married and had newly migrated to the Midwest, Illinois to be precise. My wife is from South Bend, IN and knew the area and many of the shooters. So we jumped in the car and went to Indy to check it out. We showed up without any partners at all. Luckily, I had the hospitality of tournament coordinator Bob Wiles, host Mike Smyth, and people like Tom Brooks and Terry Brown to make me feel right at home. That is the joy of darts. It is all one big family. If I were still living in the area, I would go to that tournament every year. Not only because it is such a good tournament, but because I might be able to talk Tom Brooks into shooting with me again!

Now, please forgive me for my lack of information on my next subject, the National Darts Association (NDA). Being from Boston, we have very, very limited access to soft tip darts. As you probably know the NDA is exclusively a soft tip organization. I attended one of their Vegas Team Dart Tournaments from pool-side. That is literally true. Sally was a tournament official working for the tournament director, Gary Benson. I went along to see the sun and tables. I didn't get to see a lot of the tournament, but I was impressed with the operation. The NDA has expanded from their Team Dart Tournament to include the Singles and Doubles Tournament. I look forward to learning more about the NDA.

Valley Recreation also looked at the tournament arena. They offered a tournament for operators who use their boards. While in Springfield, I won a qualifier to attend the Valley Gold Tournament. As you may remember, I wrote a lot about it in my column. I managed to win the Vegas Valley tournament too. After a long tie breaker, a good friend, Paul Lim took second, so we were off to Germany together to play on the USA team. Valley offered us amazing hospitality. We took tours of the area (including wineries) and managed to do a lot more than be in a smoky dart hall for 12 to 15 hours. Again, it was an amazing experience.

Now, here comes the new Valley Gold. And that, is my cliffhanger. Next month I'll let you know more about Valley's plans and future. So, until then, good darts!!

Dave Kell