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What a rich history the National Dart Association (NDA) has with their TEAM DART tournament. Beginning in 1986 in Chicago, IL, TEAM DART I had a total purse of $25,000, a very large sum for their first National Championship in those days.
TEAM DART II stayed in Chicago the second year and the purse grew a modest $2,000 to $27,000. But the attendance out grew the facility, and in 1988, TEAM DART III was moved to Geneva, WI, with a healthy jump in prize money to $36,000. I was at that event in 1988 in Geneva, WI, and even with a larger and beautiful facility, the attendance overwhelmed the staff, but what a great job they did and what a great tournament.
The NDA realized that a new home for their TEAM DART tournament needed to be found that had room for growth. They found that home in 1989 in Las Vegas, NV, where the tournament has been held every year since. It’s interesting to see the growth of the prize money from year to year. Such growth, even during the tough years, represents a strong organization that services it’s members. Dawn Orloff and Mike Gannon are the only NDA staff members who have attended all 18 TEAM DART tournaments.
1986 TEAM DART I $ 25,000
1987 TEAM DART II $ 27,000
1988 TEAM DART III $ 36,000
1989 TEAM DART IV $ 43,000
1990 TEAM DART V $ 53,000
1991 TEAM DART VI $ 68,000
1992 TEAM DART VII $ 100,000
1993 TEAM DART VIII $ 112,000
1994 TEAM DART VIX $ 131,000
1995 TEAM DART X $ 160,000
1996 TEAM DART XI $ 170,000
1997 TEAM DART XII $ 200,000
1998 TEAM DART XIII $ 250,000
1999 TEAM DART XIV $ 250,000
2000 TEAM DART XV $ 250,000
2001 TEAM DART XVI $ 350,000
2002 TEAM DART XVII $ 350,000
2003 TEAM DART XVIII $ 400,000
I had the chance to speak with Leslie Murphy, the Executive Director of the NDA
for the past 6 years, at TEAM DART XVIII and asked her the 64 million dollar question. Can this tournament continue to grow?
“Yes, absolutely,” Murphy said. “We are up 20% from last year right now. We
feel that the addition of new and different events provides more opportunity and more interest from players that might like to attend.
We continue to support and encourage our league operators to include TEAM DART into their league schedules. That’s one reason we have so many skill levels at the National Championship. We try to provide all players with the opportunity to look forward to and compete in an International Championship at a skill level they feel confident in.”
“To accommodate our growth, we have secured more space for 2006. This
allows us to have room for more boards, and we can add events and have more people playing at the same time, increasing the efficiency of the tournament.
It will also provide us with some flexibility with our schedule of events.”
In order to qualify to compete in a TEAM DART International Championship, players are required to establish a Points Per Dart average by competing on machines manufactured by AMOA NDA manufacturer members in NDA sanctioned league play. A minimum of 96 games within one year is required to establish eligibility.
The key to the success of the NDA and TEAM DART 2003 is their organiztion and being prepared. That means service to their members, including manufacturers, league operators and the players.
TEAM DART 2003 kicked off Friday evening with special Draw Doubles events. Then at a crisp 8:00 AM on Saturday morning, the battle for the Singles titles in both 501 and Cricket began. Play continued until the early hours of Sunday morning when the final champions were determined. Shortly after, again at a crisp 8:00 AM, the battle for the 501 and Cricket Doubles began. The first two days of darts were long and competitive.
The most attractive feature for the NDA players is the skill levels offered.
Based on the results of the many league games each player has played during the year, a PPD average has been established for each player which helps determine the level that player can compete in at the tournament. There are 8 to 10 different skill levels for each event meaning players will compete against players of similar skill.
Each level of competition is just as important to the players competing as the
Masters Level is to the best players in NDA.
The prize money for lower level players is just as large as the prize money is for the top level players. The skill level divisions makes the TEAM DART tournaments truly a championship event for all players in the NDA.
Wednesday featured the International Team Championships.
Teams in both Women’s and Men’s catagories represented Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the USA. The team competition was a double elimination championship event and on the Women’s side, Team Germany took the title. The ladies playing for Team Germany included: Stephanie Evers, Miriam Breuer, Bernadette Buchner, Jana Riemann, Dominique Koch, Anna-Maria Michael, Silke Herzog, and Inge Iakubiak.
The Men’s competition was very fierce with spectators roaring their appovals for
good turns and team wins. In the end, the USA faced Spain in the final for the title.
Team USA came out victorious, having the home court advantage and huge spectator support. The USA members included: Scott KirchnerThe brackets for both the Women’s and Men’s International Team competitions illustrate how the teams advanced to the championship.
Presentations of the awards for the International Team Champions were made at the
Wednesday night NDA player’s party where the draft was free and the tables had bowls of chips and pretzels for all. NDA officials presented very nice
appreciation gifts to all their sponsors including the AMOA, Arachnid, Inc. and Valley Electronic Darts. Players were able to purchase souviner shirts, jackets and hats from Lamarie Screen Printing and pick up darts supplies from Magic Darts all through the tournament. Of course, Bull’s-Eye
News was on hand to cover the event and Menifee Valley Awards & Productions took care of the trophy awards for the top 4 in each event and photos for the NDA, Throwlines magazine.
It was a long week of competition which concluded Saturday evening with the player’s farewell party. Player’s were pretty well darted out by then and the need to get home, refocus on league play, and begin to prepare for TEAM DART 2004 was the agenda of the evening. It was time for hugs and kisses, photos, and “You better be here next year!”
Click here to view complete NDA Team Dart 2003 event results...
Also included in our July/Aug 2003 print edition ONLY, you will find
over a whopping 40 photos of event winners and participants in this year’s NDA Team Dart 2003! (Pages 48 - 57)
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