Winner of the men's pairs tournament - NZ professional Mark (the Maestro) Cleaver, left and Stu Irwin with the organisers Zoe and Alan Skayman.
Winner of the men's pairs tournament - NZ professional Mark (the Maestro) Cleaver, left and Stu Irwin with the organisers Zoe and Alan Skayman.
KEY POINTS:
Players dart in to Katikati for tournament.
What a great day for darts Saturday turned out to be for the Katikati RSA and Citizens Club, with 124 competitors turning up to take part in the inaugural Men's and Ladies' Pairs Darts tournament competitions.
A trip to the Shot Darts shop next door was the first thing many of the players did before enjoying breakfast at the club, before the 10am start time.
Ladies eyeing up their shots at the men's and ladies' pairs darts tournament in Katikati.
The ladies' sections had 22 pairs split into four sections of five or six pairs playing best of five legs in a round-robin, with nine legs required to qualify for the main round. This saw 15 pairs going through to play for the $600 winner's prize and the trophy.
The men's competition had 39 pairs with four groups of six and three groups of five playing the same format as the ladies. This saw 23 men's pairs qualifying for the main round.
After some intense competition, the finalists for each category were found.
Many different techniques were displayed by darts players when taking shots.
For the men, one of the pre-tournament favourites Mark Cleaver and his partner Stu Irwin were to play Josh Roberts and Mike Ritchie, and the ladies' final was an intriguing encounter with Wendy Harper and Judy Fenton taking on Tina Osborne and Lorene Earnshaw.
The ladies' final went the way of Wendy and Judy winning 4-1 in a hard-fought battle between the two joint New Zealand number 1s and their respective partners.
Women's pairs winners from left NZ No 1 darts player, Wendy Harper and Judy Fenton with tournament organisers, Zoe and Alan Skayman.
The men's final was a classic with the Hamilton pairing, Mark Cleaver and Stu Irwin coming out 5-3 victors and taking home the $800 prize.
Local players featured in the event with several pairings making it through to the main round for the men and one pairing making it through in the ladies.
Junior players Bailey Black, 15, from Ōpōtiki and Jack Sheppard, 14, from Taupō enjoyed their rounds and are making inroads into men's darts tournaments. Jack said his dad starting teaching him darts for maths when he was 4.
Junior players making inroads into men's darts tournaments from left Bailey Black, 15 from Ōpōtiki and Jack Sheppard, 14 from Taupō.
Organiser Zoe Skayman said, all in all, it was a great day for Katikati with numerous pairings making it a weekend away in our town.
"A big thank you to our many sponsors and the numerous helpers who made this event possible."
Planning is already under way to try and make next year's event bigger and better.
