The hosts of the national dart championships left no doubt as to which province reigns supreme in 2012.
The hosts of the national dart championships left no doubt as to which province reigns supreme in 2012.
Team Alberta won five of the eight divisions en route to capturing the overall title at the Elks Canada National Darts Championships, May 26 at the Okotoks Elks Club No. 31.
“It feels great,” Okotoks Elk Joel Turcotte said of winning the national title in his hometown. “I think ultimately we’re just happy about putting on a successful event. With the logistics and everything it’s a lot of work to put in, the volunteer hours are immense.”
The 85-person tournament featured participants from B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. All 16-members of Team Alberta competed in all five divisions of competition including singles, doubles, mixed doubles, mixed quadruples and men’s or women’s quadruples.
“I made the men’s doubles final and I was a little disappointing for the rest of them,” said Turcotte, who was paired with Alberta captain Chris Hatton in doubles. “But overall as a team, Alberta made the final in every single event which is unheard of, so it was really, really good.”
Turcotte was a member of the third-place Team Alberta contingent at the 2011 national championships in Yellowknife. He said having the tournament at home allowed for Team Alberta to have its best dart throwers at its disposal.
“Yellowknife didn’t really represent Alberta because not everyone who was here this year could afford the trip last year,” Turcotte said. “Now that we’re in our home province everyone could afford the travel and this (event) really represents the talent we have.”
The Okotoks Elks – represented at Nationals by Turcotte, Sam Young, Richard Galicio, Roy Andreason, Nadine MacLean, Pat Riehl and Priscilla Caines — practiced twice a week all season, but had to limit their practice sessions in the weeks leading up to nationals in order to plan and organize the event.
Fortunately for Team Alberta, rust didn’t factor into the equation for the local dart throwers. Turcotte said the Okotoks contingent benefited from a home lodge advantage in the championships.
“We’re used to it, it’s our lodge,” Turcotte said of the Elks No. 31 hall in downtown Okotoks. “We’re comfortable here, we know where everything is, we’re not disoriented so that probably helped.”
Galicio, a High River resident, was part of Team Alberta’s winning foursome in the men’s quadruples. The Albertans won the best-out-of-five final three games to one over Team Saskatchewan to clinch the overall title for the Wildrose province.
The fourth match was a back-and-forth nail biter with Saskatchewan clinging on for dear life in the must-win game. The teams were at a deadlock with 497 points each and for several turns they missed scoring a double two to finish the game. Finally Team Alberta sniper Ron McLeod, the men’s singles winner for the second year in a row, doubled-out to erase the four points (double twos) left on the board and insure Alberta’s spot on top of the podium.
The 35-year-old Galicio, in just his first season with the Okotoks Elks, said the magnitude of the big stage was difficult to deal with.
“We couldn’t hit the doubles right away because of the high tension and pressure, but it’s all good,” said Galicio. “My shooting and my performance in that last game were not really good, but I was still lucky.”
His nerves weren’t apparent as Galicio drew on his decade of experience in the sport dating back to his native Philippines to make several key shots in the final for Team Alberta. Being a new member of the Okotoks Elks, Galicio said it was rewarding to win the national championship with his peers at his home club.
“I feel so glad to be a member of the Elks club, they’re all good to me, they’re all good friends of mine,” Galicio said.
Fellow Okotoks Elk Priscilla Caines won the women’s doubles division paired with Alberta teammate Doreen MacIntosh defeating a British Columbia team in the final.
The full results from the Elks National Dart Championships will be posted on the Elks Canada website at https://elks-canada.org/html/sports.html.
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