Harlow Open 19/03/11 – Report

Posted on March 28th, 2011

DartsMad recently had the pleasure of attending and participating in the GB Promotions Harlow Red Dragon Open, at ‘The Venue’ in Harlow Greyhound Stadium on Saturday 19^th March 2011.

GB Promotions left to right Gary Brown, Nicci Andrews and Jonny Stefano

I’ll get the participation out the way first, your DartsMad writer suffered (not so unexpectedly) first round exits in both the Mens Singles and Blind Pairs draw. In fairness I had chances in the singles but didn’t take them….must try harder next time.

Recently revamped The Venue has been designed specifically for darts, with 26 throws (seperated by partitions), plenty of seating, and most importantly a decent sized bar. However it can equally cater for conferences, functions, boxing nights etc, such is its versatility. Mick Godderidge (GM/Promotions Director) believes that The Venue will attract further and possibly higher profile darts events in the future, and on the strength of what I saw today I’m inclined to agree with him. There will be a Simon Whitlock (Harlow Hounds sponsored player) exhibition on July 2^nd, please see our exhibitions listings and The Venue website for more detail.

For those that haven’t competed or been to an open darts competition before, the format following the draw is that players take to the oche, with a nominated scorer in the first round, losers then remain to chalk the next game. Not chalking is frowned upon, there are no excuses, you need to be able to chalk  – its an essential part of being a darts player. However both finals were called by Gary Brown himself (who did a great job), and scores inputted on Darts for Windows to allow the stats to be recorded.

The mens competition attracted a field of 95 hopefuls, whilst 13 battled it out in the womens event. Worth noting is that all ages and ability competed in both fields. For some players such as myself, the satisfaction comes from taking part and playing the sport we love, winning may well be a rare occurrence. However, previous winners of this particular event include Steve Maish (twice), Clive Barden, Adrian Gray, Jamie Robinson and Darren Webster

Lowestoft player Peter Wright emerged a 5-2 victor in the mens singles, holding back an impressive effort from Steve Smith who looked in contention at 2-2. However presumably and I say presumably because I left at 3-2 to chalk a pairs game, Wright (last 16 2011 PDC World Championships) drew on his pro tour experience to break away and take the win. With a 29.32 one dart average, two maximums and out shots of 150 and 136. Link to mens final stats, Link to mens draw sheets.

Left to right Gary Brown, Peter Wright (Mens Winner),  Mick Godderidge, Dave Barclay (owner of the venue)

The ladies singles honours went to Tara Deamer (4-2), despite a promising start from runner-up Sue Baker which included a 110 checkout. Link to ladies final stats, Link to ladies draw sheets.

My overall impression of the day was that it was a well organised, family friendly competition. As a first time attendee I was made to feel welcome and from registration through to play had no problem following the order of events. GB promotions have further tournaments planned at The Venue this year, the next being May 28^th and also a weekend classic is being planned for October. So enter these dates into your darting diaries!

Following the winners presentations I briefly spoke to Gary Brown (GB Promotions) and he explained to me that his heavy involvement with darts began in London County, which in turn led to his current venture GB Promotions. Gary has a genuine enthusiasm for darts and clearly does it largely for the love of the game, to this end he remarked that his own game is currently suffering due to concentrating his efforts into providing opportunities for other players. However he was also quick to point out that his partner Nikki and Johnny Stefano are key players in ensuring that the competitions run smoothly. Gary and his team are very experienced, and offer their services to anyone wishing to hold a darts event. Thereforeif you are thinking of promoting a competition and want it to be successfully run from start to finish, Gary Brown is the man to contact.

Unfortunately I had to cut short my day and didn’t get a chance to enjoy the evening’s greyhound racing. However I can guarantee that those who did would have had a great night. For balance though, I should mention that when their racing days are over these dogs need a home, the Retired Greyhound Trust (RGT) does an excellent job of rehoming thousands of ex racers a year. I would urge anyone thinking of taking on a canine companion to seriously consider one of these gentle giants.

DartsMad Steve

Harlow Red Dragon Open in Pictures

Ladies winner – Tara Deamer

Mens runner-up – Steve Smith

Ladies runner-up – Sue Baker

Related posts:

1. Harlow Red Dragon Open Saturday 19th March
2. Chance to take on Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor in the UK Open
3. Belgian Open 2010 Details

Tags: 2011, Harlow, Open, Peter Wright, Red Dragon, Results, The Venue Harlow Stadium
Filed under General, News, Tournament News |