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May 17: Trish reports from Saint-Hyacinthe.

"On Sunday we played the Nodor Cup event, our first round was against New Brunswick. The players did very well, but unfortunately the team lost 3-4 ending the opportunity to continue.

"Next was the mixed doubles event. The competition was fierce and all of our mixed teams played very well, but unfortunately they did not continue on into any of the medal draws.

Front row, L-R: Jacki Lalonde (SDA), Austin Morrison, Aspen Cleaveley, Trish Gray (SDA), Alitha Chamney, Megan Lyons, Naomi Netowaysin. Back row: Hunch Gray (SDA), Mitch Kavanagh, Tyson Newell, James Walter, Brian Humphreys (SDA).

"It was very emotional for some of the players, but I told them that I did not care about the Ws, the medals or any of that. As long as they felt that they played well that is all that mattered to me. I was never disappointed with any of them - they are all my heroes.

"Megan Lyons played in the World Masters qualifier. She advanced through a couple of the knock-out draws and played exceptionally well. She had the whole team standing right behind her all the way.

"It was such a pleasure to take this group of fine young adults to Saint-Hyacinthe and watch them compete for Saskatchewan with pride, dignity and awesome sportsmanship!"

Saskatchewan finished in sixth place overall in the Canada Cup.

Skinner goes top, Bonnie holds at Provincials

Nipawin, April 12: Saskatchewan's new men's provincial champion is Jason Skinner, who had to overcome a field of 53 from all corners of the province. Jason is pictured left receiving the trophy from Pat Copeman of the SDA.

Reigning women's champ Bonnie Lapierre (right) retains her crown, winning it for an incredible fourteenth time. Congratulations to them both!

Photos courtesy Nipawin Journal

The Team Saskatchewan line-up for Saint-Hyacinthe has a familiar look to it. The women's team has just two changes from last year, with Tracy Keel returning to the squad in which she played in 2002, and Laurie Lyons, who was on the 2007 team, making it for the third time.

There are two rookies in the men's eight - welcome Darrell Nash and second alternate Ken Friesen. Ernie Charles and first alternate Curt Gamble return to the roster. The other four spots are unchanged from last year. Team Saskatchewan will sorely miss the services of last year's winner and six-time provincial champ Danny McKenzie of Stanley Mission, who is out due to illness.

Here are the names and zones of the players who'll be shopping for a French phrase book:

Results were close: two points separated the top three men, while Bonnie Lapierre won the women's by a margin of one game. Full results: Women Men

Best three darts of the weekend - a 170 finish by Rodney Durocher of Prince Albert zone.

Percentage shot

The Zone Cup 2009 goes to Stanley Mission with 71.88% of games won. Moose Jaw were runners up with 56.56%, then came North Battleford 54.67%, Prince Albert 51.65%, North East 50.77%, Regina 49.26%, Saskatoon 46.61%, West Central 45.41% and Nipawin 43.97%.

Pictured with the trophy, L-R: Ernie Charles, Phil Roberts, Georgina Ratt and Myles Charles, all from Stanley Mission.

The weekend was a great success. Our hosts Shauna and Jack Grassing from Nipawin Zone, the volunteers who helped make it happen, and the folks at the Evergreen Centre all deserve our appreciation.

Kitzul elected President

Elections for three executive positions were held April 11 at the Provincials in Nipawin.

The incoming president of the Saskatchewan Darts Association will be Laurie Kitzul of Saskatoon, who was voted in by majority. A new face on the darts board will be Frank Zimmer of Regina, who takes over as secretary, also elected by majority vote. Wayne Hudson of Saskatoon stays on as 2nd vice-president, elected unopposed.

Let's wish them all the best for their two-year terms.

Larsen on target at Moose Shoot

May 2: The last tournament of the season produced a first-time winner in the men's singles. Karsten Larsen, pictured left, overcame Doug Spearey in an all-Saskatoon final that went down to the last leg in Moose Jaw.

Women's winner Judy Cleaveley, pictured right, was part of a contingent from Hudson Bay. She beat Reginan Judy Seidler.

Local pair Curt and Jesee Gamble repeated last year's win in the men's doubles. Earlier in the day, Laurie Kitzul of Saskatoon and Bonnie Lapierre of Regina took care of business in the women's. Full results here. The rankings are up to date.

Flying fine in Flin Flon

April 25: A field of ten teams of women's doubles was won by Hudson Bay pair Lowine Walter and Judy Cleaveley. They beat Dianne Becker and Audrey Campbell of Manitoba.

Men's singles goes to Mike Birdsall of Thompson, Manitoba. He defeated Bryan Hele, also from Thompson, in the final. Twenty-eight men entered the SDA-ranked shoot.

In an all-Flin Flon triples final, Gwen and Ron Blatz and Darrell Nash beat out Helen and Brian Humphreys and Wayne Chutskoff.

The women's singles event went to Dianne Becker, who edged Marlene Culbert of Hodgeville in the final April 26.

Over in men's doubles, locals Brian Humphreys and Sonny Audet defeated Bruce Buxton of Saskatoon and Cliff Culbert of Hodgeville to come out on top of a field of 15 teams. Full results here.

Pardy perfect at Main Event

Cindy Pardy of Alberta won 100 per cent of her games on her way to the ladies' title at the Main Event in Saskatoon April 4, a rare achievement. She defeated local star Laurie Kitzul in the final.

Men's champion is Gerry Convery from Manitoba, beating Ken MacNeil of Alberta 6-4 in a best-of-eleven final. These two top players entertained the crowd with their fantastic scoring and quick checkouts. Convery also won mixed doubles with partner Cindy Der.

In Sunday action, top-ranked NDFC player MacNeil figured again, winning the men's doubles with Albertan Jeff Howard. Ladies' doubles was won by Wenda Carter of Alberta partnered with Brenda Moreau of Northwest Territories.

Laurie Kitzul teamed up with Bonnie Lapierre of Regina to get second in the ladies' doubles, and Lapierre featured again in the final of the mixed doubles with Jimmy Dennis.

Sixty-five men and 26 women from across western Canada played Saskatchewan's major cash tournament, which paid out over $7,500. Full results here.

Veterans on target at Rosetown

Long-time Saskatchewan darts players Carol Shepherd (Team Sask '84-'89, '91, '93-'03, '05-'08), pictured left in 2008, and Guy Schellenberg (TS '94-'95, '97-'99), pictured right, found their form in the Spring Shoot at Rosetown March 28, taking the singles titles.

The tournament drew quite a crowd - thirty-seven men and fifteen women came out for singles.

In doubles, provincial number one Jason Skinner of Battleford (left) teamed up with Wayne Hudson of Saskatoon (far left) to take men's, while Dorothy Zimmer of Regina (right) and local player Gloria Morrison (far right) won the ladies'.

Full results here.

HP women second at Manitoba Open

Carol Shepherd and Laurie Lyons took silver in the ladies' doubles at the Winnipeg shoot March 8, where they were representing Saskatchewan as part of our high performance team.

Carol says it was a small but friendly shoot, and the Saskatchewan players were welcomed and treated well. Everyone made it safely back through a blizzard on the long ride home. Driving to and from Winnipeg in the snow for darts - now that's commitment!

The other members of the HP team for our second trip of the year were Doug Spearey and Curt Gamble. Doug says they had a good time in Winnipeg, but the darts were just not clicking for him and Curt in the men's competition. Curt got a result - he and his partner won the blind draw.

The SDA sends players to ranked competitions outside of the province in conjunction with the SaskSport Athlete Assistance program. Next season, our players will head to Edmonton for the Klondike and to Calgary for the Rodeo tournament.

Final tally in on Rider pool

The Riders football pool numbers are in. We paid out $4,450 in prizes and raised $11,987 towards our upcoming activities, such as sending adult and youth teams to Nationals in Quebec 2009 and Newfoundland 2010.

The SDA would like to thank all those who took part - we appreciate your support!

Tournament notes

La Ronge's well-loved Keewatin Classic tournament returns in September. See a poster here.

The Icicle Open tournament in North Battleford next January has been made an SDA-ranked shoot. Points to be had!

Dublin's tournament in Medicine Hat has been cancelled. According to NDFC President Bill Hatter, the sponsors pulled out and the tournament folded.

Did you know? The 2010 Nationals will be held in Gander, Newfoundland, and in 2011 they'll be in Edmonton.

We keep a running total of 180s and 171s hit by SDA players at our events each calendar year. Here are the numbers for the year so far.

*All records on this site date back only as far as the 2000-1 season. If you have earlier records and archives in your possession, please contact the SDA

© 2009 Saskatchewan Darts Association

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