Two Flin Flon dart players are heading to nationals after the Saskatchewan provincial competition held last weekend at the Creighton Sportex.
Darrell Nash placed seventh and Wendy Hrechka eighth to earn spots on Team Saskatchewan.
In all, 47 dart players were in town for the Saskatchewan Dart Association 2015 Provincials, vying for spots on the 16-man provincial team. The top eight men and top eight women from the weekend will move onto the Canadian Nationals in St. Catherine’s, Ont., this June.
Local players Gwen Blatz and Eric Fernandes will be alternates for the national team. Both placed ninth in their respective categories.
“The weekend went really well,” said northeast zone director Brian Humphreys, a member of the Flin Flin Northern Flights Dart Club.
Last weekend’s competition was Creighton’s first time hosting the Saskatchewan Dart Association’s provincial event. The Flin Flon group, a former member of the Manitoba Dart Association, also hosted the Manitoba provincials more than two decades ago.
Typically held in a curling arena, Humphreys says the Sportex was the perfect venue for the competition.
“The setup was good. It went like clockwork. There was a lot more space this weekend,” he said.
Flin Flon’s dart club had been working on the tournament for two years, following word they won the bid in 2013.
“It shows a lot of confidence in the local committee,” said Humphreys, who said the local club beat out numerous other locations across the
province.
While the Sportex was ready to house more than the 50 players who committed to the weekend, Humphreys said the turnout was still greatly appreciated.
“The shortfall [of the weekend] was in the reduction in numbers,” he said. “Sometimes people just don’t travel the same as if it were in a larger centre. But, we need to hold it once in awhile in other areas to [not only] promote the game, but to have people travel the area. We had [representation] from all parts of the province here.”
Big names
The Creighton Sportex housed some serious competition over the weekend.
The ladies were led by Bonnie (the Hammer) Lapierre, who earned her 19th women’s trophy.
Danny Mckenzie earned his eighth men’s title.
“We had a few local players do really well,” said Humphreys of Nash, Hrechka, Blatz and Fernandes
Six ladies and 12 men represented the Flin Flon Northern Flights Dart Club. They were joined by 18 men and 11 women from across Saskatchewan.
Hosting
Flin Flon dart players have a busy month ahead. They will host the 2015 Provincial Command Darts Championship this weekend at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #73. The Flin Flon Open will be held April 24
to 26.
