Team Saskatchewan in tough at Nationals

At Drummondville QC, Jun 12-16, the team from Saskatchewan met with some stiff opposition at the NDFC Nationals, finishing up in 10th place overall.

Our best performance was by the men's doubles team of Steve Kristjansson and Jason Skinner, who made last eight.

The team is shown above in the official NDFC team picture. Back Row, L-R: Ashtin Bear, Myles Charles, Steve Kristjansson, Jason Skinner, Karsten Larsen, John Brann, Curt Gamble, Marcus Stephanson (SDA), Jim Dennis, unknown piper. Front row, L-R: Sharon Acker, Angela Aucoin, Elaine Walker, Aspen Hall, Stacey Stephanson, Melanie Thomas, Shelley Stephanson, Bev Roth.

Full results are posted at the NDFC web site.

Youth Nationals report

Youth Nationals were held in May. Here's Youth Director Shauna Grassing with her report from Drummondville:

The 2018 Youth National Darts Championship held in Drummondville, Quebec is all wrapped up.  Team Saskatchewan finished in eighth place overall. We sent a full team of four boys and four girls, as well as four adult chaperones. Some parents also joined us in Drummondville.

The entire team played in the Bursary Shoot on Thursday evening as a warm up to the national events. The provincial directors voted that evening to approve a new bursary. National Finance Director Don Crookshanks proposed a bursary being paid out from Swiftflyte sponsorship. This will mean a significant increase in the bursary being awarded doubling the top prizes to $1000. It is Don’s hope this will attract more youth to play in the event which is open to all NDFC youth members.

Savanah Solomon, our lone graduating player, carried the Saskatchewan flag for opening ceremonies Friday morning.  The singles events were played following team pictures. 

Three of the girls advanced from their sections in the singles events; Rianna December, Taryn Kristjansson and Savanah Solomon. Junior Girl Rianna December had the best showing, finishing with a bronze medal (joint third). Unbeknownst to the youth, the directors also voted to pay the youth cash prizes in the singles events.

Unfortunately, Rianna met teammate Taryn three times in the knock out rounds over the weekend, in the singles event, Americas Cup Qualifier and the World Masters Qualifier, limiting our chances for more points.

One highlight of the weekend was junior boy Joshua Adrian shooting a 180 during a playoff game for fourth position and winning the game to advance in the Americas Cup Qualifier. Rianna December also shot a 180 and a 171 in competition.  Both players were recognized with a national pin at the awards presentations.

Even though the team did not return with many trophies or medals, they did return with memories that will last a life time. For senior player, Savanah Solomon, this was her last opportunity to compete as a youth player and she will be missed by all. Her friendly smile and gentle nature makes her a favorite with everyone. The team presented her with gifts of appreciation at the banquet. We hope to see her continue to play as an adult.

On a sad note, this was National Youth Director Carol Collett’s final year.  After running the youth nationals for thirty years she is stepping down. She will be truly missed by everyone. Her commitment to the youth program has be unmatched.

I also have enjoyed many years on the SDA executive and my two years as youth director.  I am pleased to say the youth will be in good hands with Mel December. Mel was able to attend the youth directors meeting with me and I think that alone will make for a smooth transition.  I would like to thank this year’s chaperones: Brad December, Jack Grassing, and Becky Arndt and the parents for being supportive of our players.  Good luck to everyone involved in hosting nationals next year.

Thanks Shauna! Congratulations to all our youth players. Here's the official NDFC photo of Team Saskatchewan:

Pictured at 2018 Youth Nationals: Back row, L-R: Jack Grassing (chaperone) Dillon Dumont, Joshua Adrian, Saul Arndt, Jaymes Swenson, Brad December (chaperone). Front row, L-R: Shauna Grassing (Youth Director), Taryn Kristjansson, Shaukeena McKay, Carol Collett (National Youth Director), Savanah Solomon, Rianna December, Becky Arndt (chaperone).

Georgina and Ashtin win Provincials

Georgina Ratt of Stanley Mission and Ashtin Bear of Prince Albert are your 2018 Provincial Champions!

Georgina repeats her win from last year and Ashtin is lifting the trophy for the third time. They'll lead our SK darts team to NDFC Nationals at Drummondville, QC in June. 

Both players won by a comfortable margin, with Georgina taking two firsts and a second, Ashtin a first and two seconds out of the three days of competition.

Joining them in the group of Nationals qualifiers are the following:

1. Ashtin Bear Prince Albert	1. Georgina Ratt Stanley Mission
2. Steve Kristjansson Saskatoon	2. Melanie Thomas Spiritwood
3. Jason Skinner North Battleford	3. Angela Aucoin North Battleford
4. Jim Dennis Regina	4. Stacey Stephanson Saskatoon
5. Karsten Larsen Saskatoon	5. Aspen Hall Mortlach
6. Myles Charles Stanley Mission	6. Elaine Walker Saskatoon
7. Curt Gamble Moose Jaw	7. Shelley Stephanson Saskatoon
8. John Brann Regina	8. Sharon Acker North Battleford
Alt. Austin Morrison Rosetown	Alt. Randi Friess Nipawin

The 2018 Adult Provincial Championships were held in Saskatoon April 13-15, with 45 men and 19 women competitors from all four corners of the province, representing all 10 zones. Here are the day-by-day highlights:

Day One - Enter Angela!

Opening day saw the North Battleford contingent take the honours. First-time competitor Angela Aucoin dominated the women's event completely, not losing a single match on her way to top spot, defeating Georgina Ratt in the final. In men's action, Jason Skinner of Battleford overcame Ashtin Bear in a second final to finish day one in first. The team from the Battlefords also scored a third and a fifth in the women's event.

Day Two - Class tells

The second day is a test of mettle, and true to form our reigning champions showed the way. Ashtin Bear of Prince Albert and Georgina Ratt of Stanley Mission both went undefeated. Ashtin beat Myles Charles of Stanley Mission in the men's final, while the women's runner-up was Aspen Hall. Pictured L-R: Myles, Ashtin, Georgina, Aspen.

Shot of the day goes to Grant Dye of Saskatoon for his 170 finish. Nice darts!

Dart Board meeting

Before play started on Day Two, the SDA called an extraordinary meeting, where elections were held for executive positions. We have two new incoming board members this year: Mel December was elected Youth Director by acclamation; Jason Skinner was acclaimed Member-at-Large. Bev Roth was re-elected to the Finance Officer post and Wayne Hudson retains the 1st Vice-president position. Those are all two-year terms.

Also on the agenda was a tabled motion to change the format of play at Provincials back to the full round-robin, which was defeated by a vote of 51-26.

Sharon Acker reminded us of the devastating loss of young hockey players in the Broncos bus tragedy and we observed a moment of silence.

SDA president Elaine Walker expressed our condolences to Laurie Kitzul who had to withdraw from play for bereavement, and also to well-known Saskatoon members the Schmidt family for their loss.

Day Three - Final reckoning

After 280 knockout bouts and 390 round-robin encounters, the 39th annual SDA Provincial Championships is in the books. Today saw Saskatoon player Steve Kristjansson battle past Ashtin Bear over two final matches to take first place and finish up second overall. Georgina Ratt once again ran the field until Stacey Stephanson gave her a tough match in the final, where Georgina won at the second attempt. Stacey ends up fourth.

Earlier in the day the draw was made for the $1,000 prize on the squares that were sold for the 2019 Youth Team. The winner is Red Veters of Manitoba. Thanks to everyone who bought a square.

The team for Nationals includes two rookies - Melanie Thomas and Angela Aucoin made second and third place respectively. Nationals should be an eye-opener for them both!

Thanks to host zone Saskatoon, SUDO and our friends at the Anavets Club for a great weekend of darts.

You can see the final results here.