Kamloops Youth Darts players head to the Nationals in Quebec

10 Kamloops Youth Dart Players participated in the B.C. Provincial playdowns in February of 2007 in Nanaimo, B.C.  Of the 11 players on the B.C. Provincial Team this year, 5 of those players, who all attend Westsyde Secondary, are from Kamloops.  These players will be travelling to Lachine, Quebec the 16-21 of May, 2007 to compete in the Canadian National Youth Dart Competition.
 
In 2006, Kamloops had 2 players make the B.C. Team who competed in the Canadian Nationals in Saskatchewan.  Over 120 youths from across Canada competed in this National event.   Bryce Book, then a junior player, took 1st Place in his division at the B.C. Provincial playdowns. While at Nationals he won 1st Place in the Bursary Shoot, winning himself a $500 University Scholarship.  This year Bryce will be returning to the Nationals after securing 1st Place in the Senior Boys Division.  Kandice MacKenzie will also be competing in the Nationals after winning 1st Place in the B.C. Junior Girls division two years running.  Kandice, while being a strong competitor also won the sportsmanship award while at the Provincial Playdowns this year.  Marshal Davy, another Kamloops player, also came home with a sportsmanship award.
 
Jared Brown, a second year players, won 2nd Place in the Junior Boys playdowns this year after a close game with Dustin Inskip, also a second year player from Kamloops. These two junior boys, along with Hailey Prokop, a first year player (junior girls 3rd place) are on their way to compete in Montreal.
 
Although not widely advertised, darts is a viable, alternative, organized sport for many youths across our Province.  It is a 'gentleman's game' and teaches good sportsmanship while offering both the social aspect and the competitiveness which many of the youth aspire to.  Darts enhances mathematical aptitude; many players have been known to excel in their math skills from the learning associated with the sport.  
 
The Youth Dart Program has operated in Kamloops for the past 10 years with various volunteer coaches.  In 2004/05 there were no coaches to support the program which challenged the sustainability of this option for the youth in Kamloops.  In Sept of 2005 Helen & Scott MacKenzie & Connie McGonigal, along with the support of the Moose Lodge and Sean Smith at the City of Kamloops, committed to rebuilding the youth program, as the youth players are the future of darts in Kamloops.
 
Kamloops Youth Darts is broken into three divisions - Peewees (ages 7-10 yrs), Juniors (ages 11-15 yrs) and Seniors (ages 16-18 yrs). The dart season runs from September to April with Provincial in March and Nationals in May each year hosted by a different Province.

This season, over 40 youths participated in this program.  With the closure of the Moose Lodge on Fortune Dr., the ANAVETS clubhouse on Tranquille Rd. welcomed the youth players to their use space in their facility without cost. They regularly treat the players to chips and pop and allow the program to host youth/adult shoots to generate funds for the youth program.  They also made a $200 donation to the Youths travelling to Nationals to cover the costs of their banquet tickets and their photo packages.
 
Without any source of funding for this youth program the youth and their parents have certainly learned the concept of fundraising.  The players who competed in the B.C. Provincials fundraised just over $3,000 to pay for the registration and expenses associated with the team travelling to the Island to compete in the playdowns. The Royal Canadian Legion also helped with a $600 donation to help cover costs.
 
With the Canadian Nationals being in Quebec this year, it has created an even bigger challenge for those players who had earned their spot on the B.C. Team to raise the $8,000 that it was going to take to get them there in just 3 months.  Players who should be spending their time practising have been spending more time participating in bottle drives, Canadian Tire car washes, bbq's, fundraising dinners and selling raffle tickets door to door.  
 
As departure time grew closer, the anxiety of raising enough funds has increased the stress levels of players, coaches and parents alike.  With the BCDA (who also must raise their own funds) covering the $500 registration fees and buying the shirts for all 16 members of the BC Team, we still had a long way to go.  Although each player and his/her family has contributed to the amount required to pay for the flights, we will always strive to keep the sport as an affordable option for all families.  Even those players not attending Nationals this year have helped with the fundraising.  
 
A giant thank you goes out to: Jim Fenwick, Joe Stewart, Dean Martin, Scott MacKenzie and all of the Kamloops Dart players who have made individual and league donations to the youth program; Domino's Pizza; Malone's on 8th, the Westsyder Pub and the Westsyder Pump have been very helpful supporting 50/50 draws for the youth program.  The Westsyde Community Development Society and its members have provided fundraising opportunities to assist this program and the community of Westsyde has been great at donating their bottles and buying all of our tickets. To Jim Fenwick, for all his help with our fundraising this year - we can't thank you enough.
 
In our committment to keep the player/family portion manageable, we were still coming up short of our $8,000 goal.  With one week to go we received an unexpected phone call from where it all started for this group of youths - at the Moose Lodge.  With the closure of the Moose Hall we had not approached them for support, but they had heard of our challenge and stepped up to meet it.  I met with members of the Moose Lodge at their new location at the North Shore Community Centre, where they offered the program a $1,500 donation, the cost of the accomodations and some of the expenses for the team while at Montreal.  With most of our fundraising ventures resulting in $100 - $200 profit after costs for each event, we were elited, this had made the possibility of Montreal a reality.  We cannot thank them enough.  
 
Further to the donation from the Moose Lodge, their new facility is attached to the North Shore Community Centre, which provides a perfect location for the program to host the B.C. Provincial Youth Shoot scheduled for Kamloops in March of 2008.  We secured space at the Community Centre for the provincial playdowns and for the banquet to accomodate the youth players who will be travelling from various locations throughout B.C. to compete in the playdowns.  Planning can now begin and we will be looking for sponsors for this Provincial event.  As many parents and spectators of all ages attend the provincials, the Moose Lodge, who is actively pursuing their liquor license and anticipates reopening soon at their new location, will provide an adjacent venue for the adults attending the playdowns.
 
Kamloops has, over the last 20 years built a reputation throughout the Province of its ability to host ranked shoots and has produced many of B.C.'s finest dart players; players have competed at National and International levels.  Each year Kamloops hosts the 'Kamloops Classic' the first weekend of November, drawing players from around the Province to our community. 
 
In 2008 Kamloops Darts will be hosting the B.C. Provincial Youth playdowns in March at the Northshore Community Centre.  The 2007/2008 Youth Dart Season will start again in September of 2007.  New youth players aged 7-18 years of age are encouraged to come and check out the program, what a great way to travel our Country while meeting other youths across Canada.

Kamloops Darts has also been asked to host the B.C. Provincial Adult playdowns in March of 2008, although the ability to secure an appropriate venue to accomodate the number of players who will participate in the Adult Provincial Shoot  is still holding us back on our final committment to the B.C.Dart Association.
 
Ron Godin has been instrumental at supporting Darts Kamloops by managing the website development for the various programs that fall under the umbrella.  To learn more about darts in Kamloops and the Youth Dart Program visit the site at:
 <http://www.dartskamloops.com/>  follow the youth links and see how this program has developed and truly provides another option for the youths in our community.  

Helen MacKenzie

Kamloops Youth Darts Coordinator/Coach