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August 16th 2010
John Smith’s People’s Darts hits
Championship treble
Third year of UK’s favourite amateur darts
tournament set to be most successful yet
John Smith’s, the UK’s No 1 ale and official
beer of the Lakeside BDO World Professional
and Winmau World Masters’ Darts
Championships, has announced plans for the
third John Smith’s People’s Darts
Championship, the televised amateur darts
competition that sees the finalists play on
the world famous Lakeside Country Club
stage.
Two of this year’s regional finals have been
scheduled at Aintree, home of the John
Smith’s Grand National, and Hamilton Park
racecourse in Scotland bringing together the
two sports that John Smith's has become
synonymous to give pub and club darts
players the chance to perform in famous
sporting locations.
In another new move, players from Guernsey
and Gibraltar will make their first
appearance in the competition aided and
abetted by John Smith’s People’s Darts
ambassador Bobby George who will fly out to
the islands to promote the event on October
8 and 9 respectively. The qualifiers from
these competitions will compete in the South
East of England regional final at the
Lakeside, Frimley Green for a place in the
national finals of the tournament.
The support and involvement of mentors from
the world of professional darts will, once
again, be a popular feature of the
tournament and the eight regional finalist
who progress to the Lakeside finals
competition can look forward to preparing
for the big day with coaching and guidance
from BDO stars Bobby George,
Martin Adams, Tony O’Shea,
John Walton, Darryl Fitton,
Gary Robson, Ross Montgomery and
Trina Gulliver.
Gareth Turner, Senior Brand Manager – John
Smith’s at Heineken UK, said: “We are
confident that the third John Smith’s
People’s Darts Championship will be the best
yet and we are delighted to confirm that
Bobby George will be flying the John Smith’s
People’s Darts flag in Gibraltar and
Guernsey in this year’s qualifying rounds.
“We want to give even more pub and club
players the chance to realise their darts
dream and experience the once-in-lifetime
opportunity to play on the famous Lakeside
stage in front of a TV audience of
millions.”
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Duncan
Hastings with Gareth Turner |
Falkirk-based Scot Duncan ‘Big D’ Hastings
(44) lifted last year’s John Smith’s
People’s Darts title after beating
Basingstoke’s Mark Petchey in a
closely-fought final. Hastings says:
“Playing in the John Smith’s People’s Darts
Championship was one of the best decisions I
have ever made. I had my family and friends
cheering me on at every stage and I had such
a fantastic time playing the sport I love at
the most famous venue in world darts.”
Winning the tournament earned Duncan an
automatic entry into three BDO tournaments
this year, including the Open and Winmau
World Masters while scooping £1,000 of darts
equipment for his local, Pennies Bar. Under
the terms of the John Smith’s event,
Duncan’s success also earned a £15,000
windfall for his chosen charity, The
Strathcarron Hospice, while the runner up
bagged £5,000 and the six losing regional
finalists each took home £1,000 for their
nominated registered charity.
Players will compete for a similar charity
prize fund in this year’s event which will
get underway in house knock-out competitions
at John Smith’s pubs and clubs across the UK
over the next 8 weeks (see
www.johnsmiths.co.uk/peoplesdarts
or posters in participating outlets).
Participating outlets then nominate their
house champion to play in a regional final
in October or November with eight subsequent
regional champions – representing Scotland,
Wales, Central England, South East England,
South West England, Yorkshire, North East
England, and North West England – going
forward to the finals of the competition in
January 2011.
The quarter finals and semi finals will take
place at Lakeside during the BDO World Darts
Championship on Tuesday, January 4th.
The two finalists will then get a taste of
the pressure of professional darts when they
go head to head on the biggest stage in
world darts on finals day on Sunday, January
9.
EDITORS’ NOTES:
Entry to the 2010/11 John Smith’s People’s
Darts Championship is open to male and
female residents in Great Britain, Guernsey
and Gibraltar aged 18 years or over. It
excludes
all professional players from any darts
organisations as well as international and
county players.
Regional Finals:
23rd October – (South East
England) Lakeside, Frimley Green, Surrey
24th October – (Central England)
Grampian Club, Corby
6th November – (North East
England) Rainton Meadows Arena, Newcastle
7th November – (Yorkshire) The
Irish Centre, Leeds
13th November – (Scotland)
Hamilton Park Racecourse
14th November – (North West
England) Aintree Racecourse
20th November - (South West
England) Plymouth, The Staddy Club
21st November - (Wales)
Caerphilly, Caerphilly Social Club
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For more information, images and interview
requests please contact:
Dan Williams (IMG Consulting) – 020 8233
5967/
dan.williams@imgworld.com
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The
BDO is firmly
established as governing
body for the sport of
darts in Britain.
Founded in 1973, it is
recognised globally as
the world’s leading
darts organisation with
over 1,000 officials and
a calendar that produces
in excess of 800 darts
events annually.