The Harrows Barbados Darts Festival made a welcome return to Barbados on Saturday at Solidarity House after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19 and it produced a day of exciting darts with the local Bajan players rising to the occasion.
The Festival has attracted dart players from the UK, USA, Canada, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago and the Cayman Islands – many of whom are experienced dart players who have represented their country at international level.
However, the local players rose to the occasion and, in three of the four pairs competitions that took place, Bajan players fought their way to the final or semi-final of three of them.
In the Men’s Pairs the team of Winston Cadogan and Kelly Phillips faced compatriots Anthony Forde and Mark Griffith in the semi-final with Forde and Griffith edging the contest by 3 legs to 2.
This gave them the opportunity to contest the final against the UK/Canadian pairing of Neil Birkin and Matthew Howells, who had defeated another UK/Canadian team of John Moreton and Ron Lynk by 3 legs to 1.
Howells only took up the game a few years ago but, after some early jitters in the final, he found his form as Birkin continued to score heavily on his visits to the ochre.
Forde and Griffith battled hard and took one of the legs but eventually succumbed by 3 legs to 1.
In The Harrows Ladies Pairs Bajan players Shelley Taylor and Cyndi Marshall fought their way to the final. In their semi-final they defeated the UK/Canadian team of Lynda Jones and Kim Ranji by 3 legs to 1.
In the final the local team produced a spirited performance against illustrious opponents. Sarah Robert’s is an international and Karen Breen a county A player and they finally prevailed, taking the match by 3 legs to 1.
The Mixed Nations Pairs Competitions are unique to The Harrows Barbados Darts Festival. Teams are drawn randomly to ensure that they consist of players of different nationalities and these events have always produced some cracking matches and ring of long-lasting camaraderie.
In the first semi-final the duo of Welsh international John Robert’s and St. Lucian Thomas Labadie defeated the U.K./St. Lucian pairing of Neil Birkin and Nerville Labadie. In the second semi-final, James Walklin, fresh from becoming the National Champion of Trinidad & Tobago, was teamed with Englishman John Blaylock. They took the match against the Canadian/Trinidad &Tobago pair of Matthew Howells and Kemmons Ramcharan.
The final was an exciting contest which went down to a final deciding leg and it was Walklin who hit the winning double to take the title by 3 legs to 2.
In the Mixed Nations Ladies Pairs the Bajan/Canadian pairing of Shelley Taylor and Michelle Spicer took on the Bajan/UK team of Maureen Shepherd and Jean Stanley with Taylor and Spicer coming out on top by 3 legs to 1.
In the second semi-final the UK/Canadian pairings of Sarah Roberts and Sally Fonghoon and Pat Coulson and Peggy McKay took their match to a final leg decider before Roberts and Fonghoon prevailed.
The final was an even contest until both Fonghoon and Roberts found their form and it was the experienced Roberts who hit the winning double to take the title by 3 legs to 1.
“Everyone is delighted to see this event back on the Darts calendar. I would like to thanks the BTMI and the Barbados Darts Association and President Wendy Barrow for their contributions in helping to stage the event this year ,” Festival director Michael Heal said. (PR)
