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The 12th ADA National Championship is now history. And what an event it was! We do our best to provide a professionally managed event that ultimately produces the top American Dart League champions. Make no mistake about it, this is a Championship not a tournament! In order to compete, members must qualify from local American Dart League play throughout the year.
With over $70,000 in prize money plus awards, this event is the only national championship that brings both steel and soft tip darters together at one event. In addition there are two categories, Open and Neutralizer. Open competition is "scratch", head to head competition. The Neutralizer is our "handicap" system that equalizes competition regardless of a member's ability.
Held in Chicago at the Ramada Plaza Hotel July 24-27, members competed in thirty-two events over four days. Soft tip action took place on Valley Cougar dart machines, the official dart machine of the ADA's Championship Series. Steel tip play took place on the new AmberBock English bristle dartboards made available from our sponsor, Anheuser-Busch.
A short Opening Ceremonies at 10:00 AM on Thursday officially starts the Championship. Officials, sponsors and special guests are introduced. However the highlight of the ceremony is to recognize and award the Top Seeded members. Top Seeds are determined from points per dart averages obtained from weekly 301/501 league singles matches. There are over 90 seeded members and I present a medallion and cash to the number one seed in each of the eight divisions.
At the conclusion of the Opening Ceremonies the Sheppard Air Force Color Guard presented the American Flag followed by the singing of the National Anthem by Grammy Award Nominee and recording artist, Maureen Christine. It was truly inspiring and words cannot properly describe the moment as Maureen sang her last note of the Anthem! Over 1000 members and guest erupting in applause and cheers, the ADA National Championship was underway!
At 10:30 sharp the competition began with American Dart League team events. There are two, Team League (4-6 per team) and Express League (3-per team). These are actual league matches. Games consist of 501 & 301 singles, cricket doubles and cricket triples. All games have a one-point value. The Team event is a race to 7 points and the Express is a race to 9. All members must compete in these league events in order to play in remaining Championship events.
Later in the day Chicago based Tom Boz, a professional magician, stopped by the Championship. I met him earlier in the year at a conference in Chicago where he did some incredible magic. Tom has the ability to mix magic with comedy, truly an entertaining fellow! During Thursday's events he amazed spectators and guests with incredible "table" tricks as he walked around the Arena.
Singles competition took place the following day. The format is single elimination 501 best of 5 in the Open, 301 best of 5 in the Neutralizer. "Unseeded" members compete down to the final 16 men and 8 women where they meet the "seeds" to complete the 32 and 16 bracket matches. Under these conditions the "seeds" enter into the money round without tossing a single dart! Another benefit is the "Top Seed Lounge". While the unseeded members compete to make the "cut" the seeds were practicing in their lounge enjoying complimentary AmberBock beer, Coca-Cola and snacks. Another benefit for their performance during the American Dart League play.
Wrapping up Friday was the double elimination cricket draw doubles. For those members who competed please accept my apologies, again! Unfortunately a computer glitch sent our electronic bracket somewhere into cyberspace! Computers. They can be our best friend and our worst enemy. After the bracket disappeared we reverted to pencil & paper to reconstruct the double elimination bracket. From that point on it was smooth sailing.
Saturday is "doubles day" (men's, women's & draw). Open Doubles is single elimination, best of 5. However the Neutralizer doubles format is far different. Their match is actually a combination of 301 singles and cricket doubles! Double elimination cricket draw doubles wraps up the long day of competition.
On Sunday a best of five, single elimination Mixed Triples concludes the Championship.
Once the final dart is thrown we determine the Most Valuable Members of the Championship. A customized software program extracts these members based on wins and individual achievements (180's, hat tricks & 9-marks). Medallions and cash prizes are their rewards.
As I stated earlier, the ADA National Championship is not a tournament! Unless you have experienced it, it is difficult to explain. Members come together from different regions, different vocations, and certainly different personalities. It is the American Dart League that is the common "thread" among them all. It is extremely rewarding to see new relationships formed and old ones renewed at each Championship.
Even the Championship venue differed from a traditional darts tournament. Thanks to computer technology an electronic bracket displayed where and when members competed. We termed this the "Leader Board" and it was projected on a large screen in the Championship Arena.
Similar to other professional sporting events, each round had a scheduled starting time. So regardless of when a team finished they knew when and where they competed next. Under these conditions there was no calling of any matches! During the Championship members simply monitored the Leader Board where they picked up match cards and then reported to their assigned board. Upon completion of matches the winners took their cards to the Control Center.
In regards to the Arena the only elements found there were the Leader Board, competition equipment, competing members, spectators and ADA Officials. The Registration/Control Centers, bar, food and vendors were all outside of the Arena.
The 12th ADA Championship was one of our best ever. Needless to say an event of this size takes months of planning and organizing. I'll take this moment to thank Championship Director, Jay Tomlinson and his staff for a job well done. A special thanks to our sponsors, AmberBock beer, Coca-Cola, Dart World, Valley, and Vortex. Without their support and cooperation the Championship would not be possible.
Plans are already underway for the $75,000 13th National Championship. Location is the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Dates are July 22-25th. If you would like to attend contact ; myself or an ADA Representative at the ADA office. E-mail: leagues@adadarters.com or telephone: 636-625-8621.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT THE AMERICAN DARTERS ASSOCIATION, INC.
tel: 636-625-8621 ext. 7010 | fax: 636-625-2975
email: genmgr@adadarters.com
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