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This is an old press release article that was sent to me by Michael Heal explaining, how the Caribbean and America's Cup Tournaments, have come to be held in Barbados and have become associated with the Brydon's Darts Festival, (hosted by the World Superstar Darts Celebrity John Lowe,) that is held there annually. ……..PRESS
RELEASE ………. PRESS RELEASE ……… PRESS RELEASE …… Updated 2 May 2006
BARBADOS
TO HOST 2006 CARIBBEAN AND AMERICA’s
CUP DARTS TOURNAMENTS At
a recent meeting between the officers of The Caribbean Darts Organisation (CDO)
and their counterparts at The Barbados Darts Association, it was agreed that
Barbados would step in, at short notice, to stage the Caribbean and America’s
Cup tournaments – the most representative and prestigious darts events in the
Caribbean darts calendar. The tournaments, which take place every two
years, were originally scheduled to take place in Guyana from July 14 – 24,
2006. However these dates now clash
with elections in that country and the authorities could not guarantee the
safety of the 300 plus participants and supporters at that volatile time.
Faced with this dilemma, the President of the CDO, Trevor Lloyd,
approached the BDA to step in and take on the role of staging the events – a
sizable organizational task given that the host country normally has two years
to plan for them Brian Evelyn, President of the BDA, is delighted to be given the opportunity to make Barbados the venue for such a large and prestigious event. “Barbados last hosted these events in 2000 and we gained a lot of practical experience from this. We have also been hosting successfully the Barbados Darts Festival for the last four years and this has cemented our links with darts organisations around the world. Although it is at short notice, it is
gratifying to know that the executive board of the CDO has the confidence in our
organisational abilities. They
commented on how they appreciated the wide range of hotels and the superb
facilities at Sherbourne Centre”. Fourteen countries from the Caribbean, Central and South America plus Florida send teams comprising of 8 men, 5 women and 3 officials to contest the Caribbean Cup, played over five days. These teams are then joined by teams from the USA and Canada and, hopefully Peru, to contest the WDF America’s Cup and in previous years the Canadian team has included World Champion John Part – no stranger to these shores! Trevor Lloyd, President of the CDO, comments;- “Barbados
was already the automatic first choice to replace Guyana because they were the
official runner’s up for the 2006 bid. That
they organised such a successful event in 2000 merely underlined the faith we
have in their organizational skills – even though they will have only eight
months to plan for it. We have also
been impressed by the assurances of financial assistance from both the
government and corporate Barbados”. The Barbados Darts Association and The
Masters Darts Club have also been able to introduce another ingredient which is
sure to give these events an extra dimension.
As organisers of the Barbados Darts Festival in November for the last
four years they have secured the right from The Professional Darts Corporation,
the world governing body for the professional game, to stage an event which sees
the winner from the region have the chance to qualify for one of the remaining
16 places at the Ladbrokes.com World Championships in England in December. Together with Michael Heal, Festival
Director of The Brydons Barbados Darts
Festival, it was agreed that for 2006 only this event will be staged during
the Caribbean Cup tournament to enable many more darts players from the region
the chance to step onto the world stage and compete against the world’s top
professionals. The winner will
compete in the UK ( all expenses paid ) on December 2nd for one of
the 16 places remaining for The PDC World Championships later in the month where
he will be guaranteed £3,500 and has the chance of winning the £100,000 first
prize! Michael Heal comments;- “This
change of plan for 2006 will in no way detract from the appeal of the Brydons
Barbados Darts Festival – it will remain a popular date in the darts
calendar. In fact, we hope that by
meeting up with more of the regions top players here in July we can encourage
them to participate here against the Brits and the celebrities in November.
The PDC qualifier for the World Championships will return to being part
of the Brydons Barbados Darts Festival from October 2007.
This will mean that we have two great tournaments in 2006 - great for darts and darts players in the region!” Editor’s note: The Caribbean Darts Organisation consists of ;- Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands. Florida is also allowed to compete as it was a founder member in 1976
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