North Battleford Dart Club members, from April 2019. (submitted photo/Noel Aucoin)

By Keaton Brown

Hitting the mark

North Battleford to host 2019 Saskatchewan Open Darts Tournament

Sep 19, 2019 | 3:05 PM

Competitors will be looking to hit the mark this weekend in the Battlefords.

The North Battleford Dart Club is hosting the 2019 Saskatchewan Open Darts Tournament from September 20 to 22.

Every year there are two nationally ranked tournaments like this in Saskatchewan; one in Saskatoon and another in Regina. Regina had issues this year with hosting the tournament so the North Battleford Darts Club stepped up and offered to host this year’s event to prevent it from being cancelled.

This will be the first time the tournament will be held in the Battlefords.

Tournament Director Noel Aucoin explained why they did not want Saskatchewan to lose one of their nationally ranked tournaments this year.

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“What is special about these tournaments is they hold national ranking points for singles competition. So those attract more competitors, especially from out of province. They also demand a bigger prize pool for them as well,” he said.

The prize pool for this year’s tournament is over $5,600.

The rankings are part of the National Darts Federation of Canada (NDFC). That means singles results will go toward the national rankings for singles.

Aucoin said the tournament also counts toward competitors’ provincial rankings.

“It is a Saskatchewan Darts Association ranked tournament so any Saskatchewan participants who finish high enough will also receive ranking points for our own provincial body,” he said.

The darts season recently began this month and will conclude in April, so points from this tournament will be valuable to competitors looking to get off to a good start.

Aucoin said the North Battleford Dart Club is among the most competitively successful clubs in the province.

“Among the competitors in the province our small members list rank fairly high among the provinces’ competitors. For nationals last season we sent eight competitors from the Battlefords to the provincial championships and five made the national team,” he said. “Between our men and women we have three competitors ranked in the top 10 players in Saskatchewan.”

It is an open tournament, meaning anyone can sign up and register to play this weekend.

The tournament offers six different categories for competitors including men’s and women’s singles and doubles, a blind draw and mixed doubles.

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Keaton.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow