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We will be publishing periodic reports on ADA events by a writer who is an ADA member. The member has asked to remain anonymous and has chosen the pen name Adam Ember. We hope you enjoy the following article, a tour of the recent ADA Mid Atlantic Regional Championship.
Once I decided to attend the Mid Atlantic Regional Championship I contacted a good friend who plays darts in an amateur league to meet me there.
She is a very good darter and a veteran of many tournaments. As an avid darter she enjoys everything about our sport, the skill and determination it requires, the social aspect of the matches, she loves it all. However she wants more from the sport than she is getting from amateur league play.
I tell her that the ADA is well worth investigating. As a non member she knows little of the ADA and the American Dart League but agrees to attend. A Regional Championship will provide her the opportunity to witness the differences between an amateur tournament and an ADA event.
On our way to Hampton, Virginia we provide her some background info explaining to her that the ADA is the only national, professionally managed organization in the United States. Simply stated, the ADA is the major darts league organization in this country.
The ADA operates for profit and expands the sport of darts nationally through franchises, just as other major league sports do (NFL/NBA/MLB). When I mentioned the ADA has the only established program whereby players become certified as professionals her ears “perked” up. “Tell me more about becoming a Pro”. We inform her she’ll learn more about this at the “Pro Darter Clinic” on Friday.
Of note also, is the fact that the ADA is the only national organization whose authority encompasses both steel-tip and soft-tip darts competitions. It’s somewhat like when the AFL and NFL merged. They did so for the simple reason that they both played the same game. It just made sense, same logic holds with soft-tip and steel-tip in the ADA.
Our friend is an avid sports fan and understands the analogy immediately.
We also remind her that the Mid-Atlantic is not a tournament. ADA Championships are open to ADA members only.
“Then how can I play, I’m not an ADA member?” she asks. We explain that she can obtain her ADA membership at the door, when we arrive on Thursday.
“Thursday?” Our friend queries,” All the dart events I’ve been to are weekend events that start on Friday night.”
We remind her that this is not an amateur managed event; the ADA is a professional organization. And the organization approaches darts as a professional sport, not a hobby – for ADA members, our sport is not just a weekend pastime.
Upon arrival at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center we check in at the Registration Center. We hand our bar-coded membership cards to ADA personnel who “scan” us into each event, similar to how we purchase our groceries. Our friend enrolls into the ADA & a card is printed out for her. “I’ve never seen this anywhere in darts”, she comments. Rightfully so as the ADA is the only darts organization to have this system.
Thursday is 501 singles. The format is best of 3 – best of 3 sets. We point out like professional tennis, golf or bowling each match can be accomplished in a minimum of 4 games or maximum of 9 games. It also means the finalists will be identified by 6 p.m. on Thursday. Even though the finals will not be until Sunday.
There are a couple of other surprises for our veteran of darts. First is the “Leader Board” an electronic computerized system that displays the Championship bracket. Members locate their match & report to the Control Center, located outside of the Competition Room. They pick up their match card and upon completion of the match the winner is circled with the card returned to the Control Center. The Championship Director “scans” the bar coded winner who is then electronically advanced on the Leader Board.
Our friend is now beside herself, “Now I realize why there are no constant annoying calls on the microphone, the members are responsible for the flow of the event”.
The second surprise– the finals for the singles as well as other events are on Sunday. “Why?” she asks. Just wait, we tell her, you’ll see. The ADA format is not only more professional, but it’s more fun, more exciting than those amateur competitions she’s participated in, which usually culminate with “the last man standing” at the conclusion of each event.
At ADA Regionals the finalists get to savor their qualifying victories for 3 days. The 501 singles finalists are congratulated and looked up to by their peers from Thursday to the Championship rounds on Sunday.
Following the singles is a draw doubles 501. We wish her the luck of the draw, it’s a great way to meet fellow members and forge lasting friendships.
The next day, Friday, our friend is captivated by the action of the Cricket singles matches. Again it’s best of 3 – best of 3 sets. And again the finalists will enjoy the prestige of having qualified for the Championship rounds throughout the rest of the event.
Prior to the Friday night Cricket draw doubles we attend a Pro Darter Clinic moderated by the ADA President. The meeting is open to all darters but is attended mostly by the Certified Professional darters who participated at this Regional. At this meeting he provides Pros an update on the program & some exciting developments.
Saturday hosts the team events; Mixed Doubles, Mixed Triples, Women’s Doubles, and Men’s Doubles. Our friend receives her first and only disappointment as we inform her she cannot participate in the Neutralizer competition, the ADA’s handicapped events.
“Why?” our friend says, “I am an ADA member, I have been since Thursday”.
True, we agree. But to participate in these events, you must establish the necessary statistical base to determine your handicap. This is accomplished through weekly American Dart League play. And those competing in the Neutralizer competitions must pre-register on the ADA website.
As Saturday comes to a close, we stop by and talk to George Sizemore, the owner of Bit of England, the official darts vendor of the Championship. We stock up on darts supplies and purchase a commemorative Regional shirt. We then take our friend to the Holiday Inn’s atrium lounge for a drink and review the activities from the previous three days. As we enjoy a couple of Budweiser beers and our friend sips her Jim Beam Black and water she shakes her head. This is by far the best darts event she has ever participated in and now understands the ADA benefits available to her.
On Sunday, in addition to the Finals there are Neutralizer singles and a final draw doubles. Our friend is pleasantly surprised to find that we are going to a different area of the Regional to attend the finals.
“This is so different from the amateur tournaments,” she says,” there they just announce over a loudspeaker what dart board the final match will be played. They clear a couple of dart boards on either side as there are usually several other events going on - all in the same room.”
Once again, we remind her this is professional “Major League” darts event– not to be confused with the club darts and weekend, ballroom tournaments of the amateur leagues. The “competition room” is where all qualifying matches are played.
The Championship Room is where the finals matches take place. This is a separate area with theatre style seating so the action can be viewed clearly by all of the audience in the room. No craning your neck to see around the person in front of you. The spectators sit on tiers looking down at the dart court, somewhat like fans at any professional game.
In the event the media attends, Finalists are summoned to a room adjacent to the Championship Room for interviews with the media. Our friend has never seen a reporter or TV camera at any of the amateur dart events she has participated in; she wonders, “How does the ADA can attract media attention?”
We inform her the ADA forwards press releases to television, newspaper & radio stations in a 30 mile radius provided by the local Chamber of Commerce.
We settle in to watch the Finals. As a new member she does not recognize many of the finalist but witnesses some of the best darts she has seen anywhere in her travels…..two 10 dart games by eventual winner Bill Cross, Jr. in the best of five 501 singles! She is amazed!
At the conclusion of each final match we watch as the ADA president conducts the closing ceremonies. The Champions are congratulated and awarded a personalized framed certificate commemorating their achievement.
Again our friend expresses surprise, or better statement, admiration.
“The framed Championship Certificates are much more prestigious than those impersonal trophies that you get at some of the amateur events,” she says,” you know with the little darter figure on the top.”
After the President’s congratulations and presentation, the audience surges to the dart court to offer their congratulations and best wishes to the Champions & runner ups. Everyone seems genuinely delighted with the event finale.
The Champions are then taken to the media room for interviews & photographs.
We prepare to leave with our friend, but linger for a while to talk with fellow ADA members. It’s been another great ADA event and we discuss attending our next one.
Our friend sums it up as she heads for the door, “Thanks for the invite & I look forward to seeing you again in Orlando!”
Thanks, Adam. The ADA also thanks our business associates for their cooperation & support in making the Mid Atlantic Regional Championship a success:
Hampton Holiday Inn
Budweiser Beer
Jim Beam Black Kentucky Bourbon
Bit of England Dart Shop
Tidewater Area Dart Association
A special thanks to host Hampton ADA Representative, Rob Coleman for his assistance throughout this four-day event.
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