CALYPSO DARTS
You are unlikely to see too many darts players here sporting a sun tan at the end of November but if you do it is more than likely that they have just returned from participating in the Brydens Barbados Darts Festival!
Hosted by the charismatic Wayne Mardle, the Festival, now in its eighth successful year broke all previous attendance records and a great time was had by all – both on and off the oche.
Catering for darts players of all standards and their family and friends, the Festival combines tournament darts with social darts – and incorporates a social programme designed so that everyone can enjoy all that Barbados is so justifiably famous for. It is certainly not all darts!
This year’s Barbados Darts Festival was memorable for so many people in so many different ways – glorious weather, azure blue sea, an introduction to Barbados rum, fun-filled excursions, highs and lows on the oche, generous and genuine Bajan hospitality, flying fish, questionable handicaps on the golf course, dodgy tips at the race track, green monkeys in the trees, breath-taking sunsets, snorkelling over reefs and wrecks, over confidence on the jet skis – and Wayne’s close encounter of the turtle kind!
As well as around forty Brits, other participants came from the Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago to swell the overseas contingent to nearly 100.
A decent number had attended at least once before but there were a good number who could count this as their first experience of a long haul destination. They seemed to lap it up – particularly the drinks on sale at the tournament bar with prices that could not be beaten even at a British supermarket!
Wayne and his wife Donna were as engaging as ever and always entered into the spirit of things. A county standard darts player in her own right, Donna entered all the tournaments and won the most prestigious of them – The Oh Henry Ladies Singles.
Other performances worthy of mention in dispatches were those men of Dorset, Terry Murphy and Patrick Dunham, who were losing finalists in the Warrens Motors Mens Pairs and the ladies team of Joan Calvert and Sharon Larney who made it to the semi-finals of the Lipton’s Pairs.
Festival Director, Michael Heal says:
"This event could not be staged without the support of The Barbados Tourism Authority, The Tourism Development Corporation and our major sponsors. Without their contribution the costs of staging such an event, which offers such superb value for money, would be prohibitively expensive".
Michael is now preparing for the 2010 Festival which will be from
November 1 – 11 and prices for the 10 day package are from around £850 per person ( 2 sharing a room ).
Further details from Festival Director, Michael Heal:
Tel: 0775 157 1936
E:
michael.heal@btconnect.com