It is difficult to imagine finer play than that at the Dominion Command Darts Championship at Orleans Branch in Ottawa, May 2-4.

Many of the competitors have been to the dominion championships multiple times, and at least three have represented Canada at international darts tournaments—Dion Laviolette of Calgary, Seymour Dixon of Stellerton, N.S., and Gerry Hull of LaSalle, Que.

There were 27 scores of 180, the highest score possible in one turn, achieved by hitting three consecutive triple 20s. Hull and Darryl Chaisson of Jubilee Branch in Calgary scored three each; Jerry Myles of Centennial Branch in Dartmouth, N.S., scored a “blind” 180, the third shot thrown while not looking at the board. Laviolette also had a “perfect” score during the singles match, scoring 160 on his first turn and 141 on the second, to score 301 using only six darts.

“Legion darts is one of the toughest tournaments because you have to double in and out. It’s stiff competition,” said singles champion Gordon Mills, who has also competed for Ontario many times at national championships.

At the opening ceremony Saturday, Orleans Branch President Jim Ferguson read the Act of Remembrance. Dominion Command Sports Committee representative Angus Stanfield thanked the branch for hosting the tournament and Corby Spirit and Wine Limited for their $25,000 sponsorship of the event in 2014 and 2015.

The tournament got underway with the doubles match, a round robin in which players’ scores are deducted from 501. Singles players count back from 301 and teams from 701.

At the end of four games, the Alberta-Northwest Territories team of Steve Russell and Darryl Chaisson, from Jubilee Branch in Calgary, was in the lead with 11 points; followed by Kevin Boylan and Sheldon Fudge of Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command with nine. Steadily scoring two points per game, including against the Albertans in game six, Boylan and Fudge tied it up in game seven at 16 points. “Twos may not put you over the top, but they keep you in the game,” Fudge said after the match. The Nova Scotians posted another two points in game eight, bringing their score to 18. After losing to Quebec 3 to 0, the Calgarians’ only hope for a win lay in scoring three in the next game while their competitors were skunked. Both teams scored two, giving Boylan and Fudge a 20-18 victory.

“We were shooting OK,” said Fudge, “but you’re tightening up a bit as you go along.” Consistency is key, he said. “My partner was shooting really, really well, hitting doubles all the time.” Boylan and Fudge have competed at the dominion championships four times, and came in second twice, said Fudge, “so this win is really kind of sweet.”

In singles play on Saturday afternoon, Mills, from Orillia, Ont., Branch, got a taste of that keen competition he mentioned. He won the first game, a 2-to-1 nail-biter against Kevin MacArthur of LaSalle Branch. The two were evenly matched, their scores leapfrogging until they were tied at 15 in game seven. Then Mills scored three against Ryan Tkach of West Kildonan Branch in Winnipeg, creeping ahead to 18 points, while MacArthur scored two against Laviolette and sat at 17.

They played the final game on adjacent boards, keenly aware of the other’s progress. Mills scored two against Seymour Dixon of Stellerton, N.S., Branch, while MacArthur also defeated Tkach
3 to 0.

They were tied at 20 points. They remained evenly matched through the first two playoff games, but MacArthur’s nerves got the better of him at the start of game three, and he was unable to double in as Mills steadily scored his way to victory.

“I feel awesome,” said Mills. “I was going to retire two years ago. I’ve been playing for 38 years and you get tired, right?” But a friend persuaded him to play this year. “This is one of my highlights because Legion darts is one of the toughest games you can play.” In such tough competition “you get a little fazed…nerves.”

“Nerves. It happens sometimes,”agreed MacArthur. “I’d played well until the last game,” he said, “but then I just couldn’t get in.” But nerves were no problem the next day as he and teammates Sebastien Gagnon, Gerry Hull and Jason Hurley of LaSalle Branch added a third team title to their wins in 2009 and 2010.

They established a two-point lead in game three, and the gap widened game by game. “We never had to play catch up,” MacArthur said later. The pivotal point came in game seven against the Newfoundland and Labrador team from Portugal Cove Branch—Gary Kavanagh, Jerry Spurrell, Aubrey Burt and Chris Lee. “We won 3 to 0. If we would have lost that game it would have been a tighter race,” said MacArthur. By game eight, nobody could catch up.

The competition for second place was tougher. The Alberta team briefly held second place, but were displaced by the New Brunswick team from Carleton Branch in Saint John—Tom Vaughan, Fred McKinnon, Gerry Johnston and Steve Foster. In game six, Ontario caught up, tied at 11 with the New Brunswick team, which rallied in game seven. Ontario caught up again in game eight, which ended with a tie at 15 points.

As luck would have it, the teams played each other in the final game. The Ontario team—Roy Jacobs, Gary Robinson, Paul Carlson and Darrin Allen of Swansea Branch in Toronto—won 2 to 1, clinching second place.

The tournament ended with an awards banquet Sunday night. Ontario Command Vice-President Ken Sorrenti thanked Local Arrangements Committee Chairman Len Marks and branch volunteers. Anthony Seed of Corby Spirit and Wine Limited, drew the winners of the Corby Darts Challenge branch improvement grants—South Brant Branch in Oakland, Ont., $5,000; Tweed, Ont., Branch, $3,000; and Drumheller, Alta., Branch, $2,000.

Although keen competition is appreciated, so is the special camaraderie of Legion darts.

The Saskatchewan team—Curt Gamble, John Brann, Jesse Gamble and Jeff Berner of Moose Jaw Branch—habitually wears colourful shirts to competitions, this year in a superhero theme. “It’s an ice-breaker. We get people commenting all the time…you get to meet more people.”

“Events like these bring this great national family closer together, coast to coast to coast,” said Stanfield. Legion member sports competitions “give us a chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.”

Results

Team: Que. (LaSalle Br.) 21; Ont. (Swansea Br., Toronto) 17; N.B. (Carleton Br., Saint John) 16; Sask. (Moose Jaw Br.) 15; Alta.-N.W.T. (Jubilee Br., Calgary) 14; N.S./Nunavut (Centennial Br., Dartmouth), P.E.I. (Charlottetown Br.) 13; Nfld.-Lab. (Portugal Cove Br.) 11; Man.-N.W.O. (West Kildonan Br., Winnipeg) 9; B.C./Yukon (Vedder Golden Br., Vedder Crossing) 6.

Doubles: N.S./Nunavut (New Ross Br.) 20; Alta.-N.W.T. (Jubilee Br.) 18; Sask. (Moose Jaw Br.) 15; Man.-N.W.O. (West Kildonan Br.) 14; Nfld.-Lab. (Portugal Cove Br.), Que. (LaSalle Br.) 13; B.C./Yukon (Chilliwack Br.) 12; N.B. (Blacks Harbour) 11; Ont. (Baron Byng-Beaches Br., Toronto) 10; P.E.I. (Charlottetown Br.) 9.

Singles: Ont. (Gordon Mills, Orillia Br.) 20; Que. (Kevin MacArthur, LaSalle Br.) 20; Alta.-N.W.T. (Dion Laviolette, Jubilee Br.) 18; N.S./Nunavut (Seymour Dixon, Stellerton Br.) 14; Man.-N.W.O. (Ryan Tkach, West Kildonan Br.) 13; Nfld.-Lab. (Gary Kavanagh, Portugal Cove Br.), N.B. (Daniel Berrigan, Blacks Harbour Br.) 11; Sask. (Curt Gamble, Moose Jaw Br.) 10; P.E.I. (Darren MacNevin, Charlottetown Br.) 10; B.C./Yukon (Hedley McMullan, Chilliwack Br.) 8.