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I decided to chat with a young man that I have known for a number of years, ever
since he was in the NDFC youth program.
When I first met Sebastien, he couldn’t speak English at al. Since that time, he has worked very hard and his oral and written English are just improving all the time. At the Nationals, you always see him busy talking with the guys who speak English and this has certainly helped him to master a second language.
Hello Sébastien.
Thank you very much for agreeing to chat with me. As usual, I am going to start with a few personal questions so that we know a little about the man behind the darts.
What do you do for a living?
 I am a computer engineer in a small company
where I have been working for the past two years. When I finished university, I worked for Nortel for a while.
Is your employer supportive of the time that you may have to take off for darts?
Yes, they were very supportive until they decided
they needed to save money. So, they cut staff – now I have lots of time to take part in my favorite pastime!
I know that your girl friend, Julie, is also a dart player. I imagine that she is
very supportive of the time that you are away at tournaments?
Julie and I have known each other since we were in the youth program, and
yes, she is very supportive and tries to come to almost all of the tournaments with me. She’s always cheering me on when she’s not playing herself, and
even when she is playing she finds time to come to see how I’m doing. We play mixed doubles and triples together and have won a couple of
tournaments together. As you well know Kip, Julie’s mother Lise is also a dart player who has been a member of Team Quebec many times and she
gives lots of encouragement.
What is your favorite food?
I don’t think I have a favorite food. I like everything, especially the meals that
Julie makes for me. (I’m going to stay in her good grace.)
What is your favorite TV show?
I really don’t watch much TV, but I do enjoy Survivor. I usually put the TV on
but don’t watch it – just have it as background noise while I am practicing my double 16.
Do you have any other pastimes or hobbies that you do when you are not
practicing or playing darts?
I try to do a lot of things. I try to play hockey a couple of times a week, and
during the summer, I play tennis and softball. I like to participate in sports and although it’s fun playing darts, it’s not the best thing to keep a person in shape.
When and where did you first start playing darts and who got you involved?
I started playing darts in the basement at home with my parents. My father
used to organize dart tournaments and I was lucky enough to be allowed to participate.
How many years have been involved with darts at the provincial and national levels?
I played my first tournament when I was 13 years old with the youth darts
program in Quebec. I represented Quebec at the Youth Nationals in 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1994, and in 1994 I won the Senior Male event. Since
graduating from the youth program, I have been a member of Team Quebec three times 2001, 2002 and 2003. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it this year.
It is very hard to qualify for the team in Quebec. There a total of 234 players
vying for eight (8) spots so it is very hard to qualify as a team member. The players are put into 32 sections and play a round robin from which the top 4
of each section come out. Now we are down to 128 players. These are put into 16 sections of 8 and again the top 4 from each section come out (64
players left). Now we go into 8 sections of 8 players and again the top 4 come out (32 remaining). The final round robin is 4 sections of 8 players with
the top 4 coming out. We are now down to 16 players who go into a knock -out situation. To make the team you must win the first of the knock-out
rounds. All of these play-offs are played on one day and take about 14 hours so as you can imagine there are some very tired players by the end of the day.
As a former youth player, do you have any words of encouragement that you
would like to give to the youth players?
They should all remember that the best way to win is to believe in yourself. If
you don’t, you have no chance at all. When you reach that important double the only thing that you need to think is, “I can do it.”
What is the best standing that you have achieved at the Canadian Nationals?
That is the easiest question that you have given to me. The best moment in
my darts life was at the 2001 Nationals when I reached the Singles final and had to play against John Part. I believe I played the best darts I have ever
played in my life in that play-off, although John was the eventual winner (which was to be expected). The funny thing in that match was that I gave
my drinking water to the announcer – he was coughing so much he couldn’t tell us what score was left!
Like all competitive dart players, I am sure you have a goal that you want to
achieve. How much have you achieved and do you still have something that you would like to add to your resume?
My goal is easy. I want to play darts as long as Dave Bicknell. He is over
72 years old and he still plays darts and beats a lot of good players. This guy taught me to have fun and appreciate the game of darts. I think if I do
something good in darts it’s because of him and of course my girl friend. You can win any tournament, but if you don’t have fun it far less valuable.
How much time do you spend practicing during the regular season?
I try to practice as much as I can, but I don’t have a lot of time. In fact, I only
have Tuesday nights free for practicing and any tournaments that may be held on the weekend.
Do you play in any leagues and do you travel to participate in tournaments?
Yes, I play in a dart league once a week. During the dart season, I play
almost every weekend. I like to travel all around Québec and even Canada to go to tournaments. This year I went to Winnipeg for the Manitoba Open as
you know! I also went to a couple of tournaments in Ontario and participated
in all the tournaments in Québec. One thing I like about the traveling is that
you meet some great people and make good friends. It’s funny, the last time I went to the Nationals I was talking to some Québec friends who speak very
little English. Everytime somebody passed by they said “Hey Seb,” or stopped to talk with me. My friend said to me, “I can’t believe that everybody knows you here.”
Are you interested in other sports, either as a participant or a spectator?
I get confused when you use the word “sports” when you are making
reference to darts, because I don’t think that playing darts is a sport. However, to answer your question, I like cycling, tennis, softball and hockey.
This is something that the NDFC has been trying to accomplish for years and
that is to have darts recognized as a sport across Canada. Some provinces do give it the recognition but we would like to see them all. Anyway, I believe
that you have been a member of Team Canada. Would you please outline the event that you participated in as a Canadian team member?
As the result of my standing at the 2001 Nationals, I went to England for the
World Master’s in December 2001. I lost out in the first round to Ritchie Burnett but it was a great experience.
Do you think, with the means that we have available, that there is something
that could be done in Canada to improve the level of darts?
This is a hard question. I think the NDFC is getting better and better and the
web site is certainly very good and helps to provide a lot of information that wasn’t available before. I wish it were possible to hold all of the finals of the
ranked tournaments that are held in the provinces on stage. This would give our players the recognition they deserve and also prepare them for any stage
play that they may become involved in at the national level. However, I realize that this is a provincial problem.
Thank you very much Sébastien for the time that you have given me and the
information provided by you. I certainly enjoy knowing the feelings of our dart players from around the country and providing their thoughts to our many
readers. I hope we see you and Julie in Winnipeg again in March for the Manitoba Open.
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