Organizers of all remaining SDA-ranked tournaments in the 2019-20 season have announced the cancellation of their tournaments for public health reasons.

We wish everyone in our darts fraternity the best of health and we look forward to seeing you again soon "on the oche".

Main Event cancelled

Event organizer Elaine Walker of the Saskatoon United Darts Organization cancelled this year's Main Event tournament because of COVID-19 preventive measures. It was booked for April 3-5.

Provincials postponed

Due to restrictions in Saskatoon because of COVID-19, the SDA postponed the 2020 Adult Provincial Championships until further notice. They were scheduled for March 28-29.

Elections for the SDA executive positions of 1st Vice-president, Youth Director and Member-at-Large, as well as the appointment of a Finance Director, will also be postponed until the next Provincials or the next AGM, whichever comes first.

Adult and Youth Nationals have been cancelled by the NDFC. See www.ndfc.ca for more information.

Youth provincials 2020

Youth Provincial Team (not travelling): Senior Boys William Shepherd and Tyce Glass (both Maple Creek); Senior Girls Kya Scott (Maple Creek) and Taryn Kristjansson (Saskatoon); Junior Boys Joshua Adrian (Nipawin) and Jaden English (Saskatoon); Junior Girls Verity Pahtayken (Maple Creek) and Thary Stephanson (Saskatoon).

Pictured above are the participants at the 2020 Youth Provincials in Saskatoon, February 23. No names, you know who you are!

With a report here's Mel December:

Well another year’s Provincials has come and gone and it was a great weekend and turnout for Saskatchewan’s 2020 Youth Provincials.

This year we saw an increase in the number of players, having a total of 23 youth participate!  The event was held in Saskatoon and was held over 2 days from February 22 to February 23.  We started off the weekend with a bit of fun, taking the youth and families who could make it to play laser tag at Prairie Jurassic!

The largest group again was our Junior Boys having 8 participate and we have seen growth in all of the other categories bringing out some great competition!  All of the youth displayed great sportsmanship and were eager to play their very best while also having fun along the way.

For the Junior boys, the winner was a repeat of 2 years ago, Joshua Adrian of Nipawin SK.  In second place, we had another repeat from last year with Jaden English from Saskatoon. It was a close finish for our Alternate, Matthew Sheppard from Maple Creek SK.

The Junior girls division had 5 players compete, with Verity Pahtayken taking first place from Maple Creek SK and Thary Stephanson coming in second from Saskatoon SK. Amy Scott placed in the Alternate position from Maple Creek SK.

With the Senior boys, we had a total of 5 competitors and William Sheppard from Maple Creek took first place.  Taking second place was Tyce Glass from Maple Creek SK. The Alternate position was another Maple Creek youth player, Falco Berreth.

Our Senior Girls also had a total of 5 compete.  There was a close competition throughout the weekend between the girls that took the top 3 placements. Our first-place winner was decided between a two way play off game of 701 with Kya Scott from Maple Creek edging out Taryn Kristjansson from Saskatoon SK who took second.  The Alternate position for this years Provincials was Rianna December of Saskatoon SK.

There was a total of 4 180s shot over the weekend; one by Rianna December, one by Tyce Glass and two by Joshua Adrian!

As usual the players were asked to vote for the female and male sportsmanship awards.  We again had repeat winners of Kya Scott and Gabe Lachapelle from Maple Creek SK.  Way to represent! Thanks to BD Delivery and Living Skies Dart Supplies who donated a $25 Gift Certificate for each of the Sportsmanship awards!  This was a great bonus and thanks to their generosity!

Congrats to those who made the team and to all the other youth who played their hearts out throughout two long days of darts.

Thank you to all the parents, coaches and volunteers!  You guys helped make this event a great success!

Mel December, Youth Director

Thanks Mel. Congratulations to all the winners!

Regina results

Regina held its annual tournament the Pat Copeman Memorial January 25 and the winners' circle was like a blast from the past!

Veteran local players Rick Hanson (Team Sask '96, '97, '99, '01) and Randy Boehm won the doubles event, and Randy took the singles with a win over new player Jon James of Saskatoon. See full results here.

Jason wins Heminger, Angela repeats

Jason Skinner of Battleford wins the Al Heminger Memorial title for the first time, defeating Ashtin Bear of Prince Albert in the final January 4 in Saskatoon.

Angela Aucoin of North Battleford repeats her win from last year with the victory over 2018 winner Stacey Stephanson (Martensville). That result puts those two into a tie at the top of the women's rankings.

Taryn and Mel	Jason and Ashtin	Stacey and Angela	Karsten and Brad

Doubles winners in men's are Karsten Larsen and Brad December of Saskatoon; women's champs are Taryn Kristjansson (Saskatoon) and Mel Thomas (Chitek). You can see full results here.

The Al Heminger Sportsmanship awards are decided by a ballot of the players present. This year's winners are Shelley Stephanson and Tyron Wilson.

Changes to SDA by-laws, policies

At a meeting January 3, the SDA executive and zone directors passed a resolution that updates some of the by-laws and policies in our manual.

There's one change to the SDA Constitution. The Executive now includes the elected position of Membership Director, which was added according to a resolution passed at the 2019 AGM.

One important change to the By-laws to report: By-law 11.16 states that the post of Finance Director will now be appointed by the Executive and not be an elected position.

The policies regarding tournament rules and Provincials have been updated. One notable change: players wishing to play Provincials this year should note that the buy-in fee for non-qualifying players is now $160.

You can see the updated Constitution, By-laws and Policies and Procedures on our Manual page.

Darts 101

Saskatoon darts players held a night of coaching at the Thirsty Scholar pub, where six brand new players learned the game.

Sean Shea and Steve Kristjansson (back row, right) will be holding more sessions on Monday nights in the weeks to come and the Thirsty Scholar is now "on board" to join a local league. Nice job fellas.

Stacey doubles, Austin on top in Lloydminster

Austin Morrison defeated Brad December to take men's first place at the Darts on the Border tournament November 30. In women's, Stacey Stephanson defeated Angela Aucoin to take the title, which makes it three times in a row that those two have met in the final as they battle for the top of the women's rankings. Stacey then teamed up with Rianna December to win the doubles.

Men's doubles winners are Doug Spearey and Sean Shea of Saskatoon, while Friday night's blind draw went to Chester Sakebow and Linda Miles. You can see full results here.

Charles a triple winner at Hudson Bay

John Charles of Stanley Mission took the men's singles title at the Northeast Classic (November 15-17) with a win over Bob Goodbrand. John went on to partner with Myles Charles to win the men's doubles. Later, the Charleses partnered with Lowine Binkley to win the triples event.

Women's winner is Angela Aucoin of North Battleford, who defeated Laurie Unger of Nipawin. Angela then partnered with LeeAnn Walker of Prince Albert to take the doubles. Blind draw doubles went to Noel Aucoin and Bob Goodbrand. See full results here.

The long-standing tournament was hosted by the Cleaveleys, who welcomed players from across northern Saskatchewan and Flin Flon MB for six events. You know that was a good time!

Football winners announced

Winners in the 2019 Riders football pool are the following: Gwen Blatz (Creighton), Audrey Henry (Creighton), Chelsey Peutert (Belle Plaine), Marsha Van Buskirk (Kyle),Judy Gowen (Maple Creek), Dale Gowen (Maple Creek), Jaret Gray (Rosetown), Rick Farrell (Rosetown), Glenn Gunderson (Kyle), Jay Lyons (Flin Flon) Griffin Lyons (Flin Flon), Darryl Komar (Flin Flon). 

Pool organizer Bonnie Lapierre is asking all player-sellers and zone reps to return sold and unsold tickets to her at this address: P.O. Box 236, Vibank SK S0G 4Y0. Thanks for your support! And Go Riders!

Veep for victory at North Battleford

At an SDA board meeting in the men's final at the Northern Harvest shoot November 2, vice-president Wayne Hudson of Saskatoon (far left) defeated president Jason Skinner of Battleford.

In women's, local star Angela Aucoin (far right) met Stacey Stephanson of Martensville in the final, and took the title for the first time.

Angela went on to win doubles with her partner Tia Crowe of Prince Albert. Men's doubles goes to Karsten Larsen (Saskatoon) and Chester Sakebow (Chitek), pictured centre. See full results here.  

Family affair at Fall Fling

Singles titles went to two members of the same dart-throwing family at Rosetown October 26, while a dad-daughter combo cleaned up in mixed doubles.

Stacey Stephanson (Martensville) and Marcus Stephanson (Regina) are your singles winners. Steve Kristjansson and Taryn Kristjansson (Saskatoon) took the mixed. See the full results.

Northern Classic returns to Prince Albert

Results are in from Prince Albert's new venue the Rock and Iron sports bar, where 32 men and 11 women played four events on September 28. 

SDA President Jason Skinner (North Battleford) made a ruling - on the board - to take the men's title with a win over Steve Kristjansson (Saskatoon). Women's champ is youth star Rianna December (Warman) who defeated Georgina Ratt (Stanley Mission) in the final. That's back-to-back titles in September for Rianna as she gears up for her trip to the World Masters.

In doubles, Steve teamed up with Danny Mckenzie (Stanley Mission) to win the men's event. Melanie Thomas of Chitek Lake and Laurie Kitzul of Saskatoon are your women's winners.

It's a welcome return to the SDA calendar for the Prince Albert zone. Thanks to organizers Cindy and Rod Swenson for taking over.  You can see full results here.

Wins for SK youth at Klondike

Matthew Shephard and Rianna December came back from Edmonton with first place finishes. For a report and photos please see our Youth page.

North Battleford: new home of the Saskatchewan Open

A mainstay of the NDFC darts tour since the 1980s, the Saskatchewan Open was played in North Battleford for the first time in its history on the weekend of September 20-22, and it was a great success. The spacious Tropical Inn venue was a big hit.

Organizer Noel Aucoin and his team of volunteers welcomed players from across the province and several top shots from Alberta and Manitoba for six events with a payout totalling $5,600.

Men's singles winner was Rob Mills (AB) who defeated SK's top-ranked man Steve Kristjansson in the final.

Mills, pictured right, went on to win men's doubles with his partner Mike Dwyer. Mixed doubles winners are Steve Russell and his partner Nikki Henderson (all AB).

Another milestone for Rianna

Rianna December of Warman takes the women's title with a win over Stacey Stephanson of Martensville in the final. That's seventeen-year-old Rianna's first win in an NDFC-ranked adult event. Congratulations to her! Rianna and Stacey are pictured left.

Women's doubles champs are Kelly Stewart and Amanda Pilkington (AB). In Friday evening's blind draw event, Steve Russell teamed up with local player Eric Sese to take first place. You can see full results here.

North Battleford is rapidly becoming a major darts venue. They'll now host the Saskatchewan Open each year as well as two SDA-ranked tournaments.

Jason Skinner elected president of SDA

At the 2019 AGM in Saskatoon September 7, Jason Skinner of Battleford was elected SDA president. He takes over from Elaine Walker, who served as president for the last three years, and previously from 2003 to 2008. Elaine was elected to the newly-created position of Membership Director.

The new Second Vice-president is Noel Aucoin of North Battleford, who was also elected by ballot of the members present. Your new Secretary is Jessica Lobb of North Battleford, who was acclaimed. The third addition to the executive is Stacey Stephanson, who takes over as interim Member-at-Large for one year.

The new-look executive takes effect immediately. Stepping down from their positions are Brian Humphreys and Judy Cleaveley, whom we thank for their years of service.

Rianna taking off to the World Masters

Rianna December of Warman is heading to London, England to play in the youth event at the World Masters in October. Seventeen-year-old Rianna is pictured as Elaine Walker presents her with a cheque for $500 from the SDA and a further $200 from Saskatoon zone to help pay for the trip. Rianna qualified by coming second in the Americas region. Congratulations!!

Provincials downsizing

It was announced that the SDA Provincial Championships will now take place over a two-day weekend in late March or early April. The number of entries to Provincials has been declining for years and doesn't really justify a full three-day event any longer. This will also reduce costs to the host zone and to players travelling for the event.

Steve, Georgina take honours at AGM tournament

Steve Kristjansson defeated Karsten Larsen (pictured left, both Saskatoon), to take the AGM men's singles title for the third time in four years.

In women's action, provincial champion Georgina Ratt (right, Stanley Mission) overcame Angela Aucoin (North Battleford) in the final of the singles.

SDA legend Danny Mckenzie (Stanley Mission) teamed up with Rod Swenson (Prince Albert) to win the men's doubles, while Stacey Stephanson (Saskatoon) partnered Angela Aucoin for the win in women's. They're pictured left.
Full results can be seen here. The SDA thanks all the volunteers from Saskatoon zone who helped set up and tear down the boards for the event.