Darts with a view
Dominion to host national legion darts championship at renovated facility
Dominion to host national legion darts championship this weekend at renovated facility.
DOMINION — Paul Prince chuckles as he gazes at the spectacular vista afforded by the legion’s hilltop perch overlooking Indian Bay and the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
“Some of them might find it a little tough to concentrate,” he predicts, in reference to the dozens of darts players who will gather in Dominion this weekend to take part in the national legion darts championship.
Prince is the president of the historical coal mining community’s Royal Canadian Legion, branch 78. And, along with a dedicated team of volunteers, he’s been busy all week preparing the expansive facility for the upcoming competition.
“We’ve done a lot of renovations in the building from the bathrooms to the kitchen — and we’ve got all new boards and wall cases that will be in play this weekend,” said Prince, glancing across the hall to where a legion member is busy putting the finishing touches on a paint job.
As one member shuffles around the kitchen, another tries to make some order of Prince’s nearby office which has become temporary storage while the main room of the hall is made ready for the big event.
“This is a big deal, it’s a national championship — it’s a big deal for us and it’s a big deal for the players who are coming from across Canada,” he said.
The 2019 Dominion (as in the nation and not the community) Darts tournament will feature more than 50 players who earned the right to take part in the national championship after claiming victory in their respective provincial commands.
All 10 provinces are represented with three of those also including a territory. For example, the host province’s command is known as Nova Scotia/Nunavut, while Yukon is part of the British Columbia command and the Northwest Territories is administrated by the Alberta command.
There will be three separate competitions — singles, doubles and four-person teams. Some squads are coming to Cape Breton with just four shooters, while others, like Ontario and B.C, have seven members and have predesignated shooters for each of the events.
Nova Scotia is represented by four well-known players — Coady Burke, Jason Smith, Willie MacIsaac and Sheldon Fudge — from the Halifax area’s MacDonald Memorial legion in Lakeside, while 24-year-old phenom Nick Smith, who captured four titles at last week’s Cape Breton Open at Sydney’s Casino Nova Scotia, is expected to be throwing in the single’s competition.
Being a legion event, the tournament will kick off with the opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Play begins at 10 a.m. and will feature the singles and doubles tournaments. The team event is set for Sunday.
Charlottetown’s Darren MacNevin won the 2018 singles competition that was held in Mascouche, Que. Nova Scotia/ Nunavut won both the doubles (Chester MacKenzie and Glen MacKenzie from MacDonald Memorial legion) and the team competition (Coady Burke, Scott Shea, Jason Smith and Jeffrey Boutilier, also from the Lakeside legion).
Prince says the public is more than welcome to attend.
“There will be some top-notch darts and our new kitchen will be open both days, so people are more than welcome to come on down to check it out and have food and fun,” he said.
“And we offer a really good view from up here on the hill.”
“This is a big deal, it’s a national championship — it’s a big deal for us and it’s a big deal for the players who are coming from across Canada,” he said.
Paul Prince
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 78 president