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For ADA members the National Championship is THE event. On July 24th, the doors open, lights are dimmed, curtain goes up and the "Big Show" begins! ADA members compete in year round league play… Practicing… Planning… Strategizing... for their shot at "The Stage". The ADA National Championship brings together teams from the American Dart League throughout the country in a competition to crown the "best" for the year, the National Champs!
This year's event looks to be one of the biggest and best ever. After the past 3 years enjoying the bright lights and sands of Las Vegas, the National Championship returns to Chicago, IL. Chicago is certainly no stranger to the ADA National Championship having hosted 5 of the first 8 National Championships. This will be the 4th time that the Ramada Plaza has been the host site for the National Championship.
Over $70,000 in cash and prizes is on the line as members make their way to the Windy City for the 12th National Championship. But how does a member get on stage?
The ADA National Championship is a team-based championship where members bring their teams from local league to compete at the highest level of the American Dart League. Teams are formed during the league year preceding the National Championship with the hopes and dreams of competing in the team finals event on stage. The American Dart League offers two different league types and formats. It starts with two team types, Team League (4-6 member teams) or Express League (3 member teams). These team types are offered to league members in both steel-point darts and soft-tip darts. In addition, they can be played in either the ADA's Neutralizer (ADA's copyrighted handicap system) format or Open (scratch) format. This creates eight team events at the National Championship. However members coming to the National Championship can only compete on ONE team.
So how do teams make it to the "Show"? What earns them their right to compete at the National Championship? It may come as a surprise, but all teams simply qualify through weekly league play. Teams and members are required to play a minimum number of games during weekly league play. Then, come the end of the Spring Season (April-May), they register their team for the National Championship.
The registration is unlike any other dart tournament process. The team Captain, after gathering the required information from their team members (name, address, etc.), simply goes online to the ADA web site. There they locate the link to the online registration form and complete the required information for the team, along with the Singles event registration for each of their team members. After submitting the form they receive an email certification statement from ADA headquarters. They print this email, get the team to sign it as indicated and forward it directly to their local ADA Representative along with the pre-registration entry fees. This must all be completed by May 15th.
Next, their local ADA Rep verifies the team information and forwards the registration to ADA Headquarters. Next starts the exhaustive qualification process. Each team is reviewed. The requirements, as outlined in the National Championship Rules and Eligibility, are verified. Team captains are then contacted via Internet e-mail confirming their team roster and indicating that their team has been qualified or there are problems that need resolved.
Once all the teams have been qualified, a process that can often take four weeks or more from the May 15th registration deadline, the Team event brackets are drawn using the "bar code" computer software program for managing the championship. These brackets are then posted on the ADA website.
With the teams qualified, the Singles event participation can be determined. Once the Singles entries are organized the Top Seeds are determined. Top Seeds are selected based on their "TRUE" points per dart average (PPDA) from league play. Each member must have an ending PPDA based on a minimum of seven scores from either a Summer, Fall or Spring (of the year preceding the National Championship) division of league play in the dart type and format that they registered for the Singles event to be seeded. The seed list (top 16/8 women) is then compiled and posted online.
Prior to the National Championship, the team Captains receive the National Championship program book along with any additional information in the mail. This contains the final rules, formats, procedures, etc. for the National Championship. It is their guidebook for the "Big Show".
Now comes July 23rd…Ramada Plaza Hotel…Chicago.. the teams begin to arrive. Captains go to the championship area to check in and submit any final changes, as ALL roster members MUST compete in the first match of the Team event. Following the conclusion of the Captains check in and the roster changes, it's off to the Team Captains meeting. At this point the event staff addresses the rules, regulations, procedures and questions. Then some members find a dartboard for a few warm up games while for others it's off for a good nights rest before the opening ceremonies at 10:00 am Thursday morning.
The competition begins immediately following the Opening Ceremony with teams facing off in matches identical to Team and Express league play. Finally, the remaining two teams are left standing. These teams, tired, weary, hoping for a few remaining triples and hat tricks in their darts…make their way to the stage. This is what they competed for all season…all year, for this day.
Click here for more information about this year’s National Championship here on our Website: National Championship XII
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