Staggered starts, an Opening Night Blind Draw, a manufacturer/supplier showcase and new management were unveiled at this year’s Team Dart Tournament in Las Vegas. The 32nd edition of the annual event, sponsored and conducted by the AMOA-National Dart Association (NDA) was conducted April 20-26 at Bally’s Las Vegas.
Nearly 2,700 folks participated in the six-day program that featured 12 different soft-tip dart events. The list and photo gallery of winners will soon be posted on NDA’s website here.
Busy action on the Team Dart 2017 Tournament floor at Bally’s Las Vegas.
“Our primary aim was to enhance the player experience at Team Dart this year,” said NDA President Shawn Smith. “We rolled out some new enhancements and overall, the response to the changes has been favorable.
Team Dart is built on the concept of league play, open to sanctioned players who participate in NDA operator-run league programs around the country. This year, 133 NDA charter holders (operator) members sent players to the Team Dart competition.
Fierce competition between Team Germany and Team USA during the International Challenge at Team Dart.
To keep play moving, starting time for play in certain events was staggered as part of this year’s tournament. On Thursday, April 20, an Opening Night Blind Draw tournament was unveiled, as well as an “All Things Darts” Showcase that featured products from sponsoring firms. Representatives of these firms had the chance to visit with players and operators during the Player Party that was also conducted that evening.
In addition to the action on the tournament floor, which featured about 260 electronic dart boards in two event spaces at Bally’s, NDA conducted its annual membership meeting on April 25. Topper Shawn Smith presided at the gathering, which included the election of new leadership. The trio of new directors ratified by the members in attendance were Trevor Foster, Golden Entertainment, Billings, Mont. (re-elected to a second term); Randy Oliver, MG Leagues, Yankston, S.D.; and Stefan Reichert, DSAB, Waldalgesheim, Germany.
Among attendees at the 2017 AMOA-National Dart Association (NDA) Annual Membership Meeting were, left to right, past presidents Dawn Orloff-Niesen, Cora Mahoney and Maggie Jones. During the meeting, Cora’s late husband, Kenny, was inducted into the NDA Hall of Fame.
Also during the meeting, two individuals were honored by being inducted into the NDA Hall of Fame: the late Kenny Mahoney of C & M Darts, Longwood, Fla., and Helmut Schneller of NSM-Lowen Entertainment, Bingen, Germany. The pair were acknowledged for their long-time support of, and many contributions to, the NDA and the sport of electronic darting
“Kenny and Helmut join the other 22 members of this prestigious group in NDA’s Hall of Fame,” Smith said. “We are proud of them and happy to see them gain this well-deserved recognition.”
In addition, several NDA companies were acknowledged for achievements in sanctioning and reaching milestone anniversaries as members. The dart association also lauded its sponsors and partners with appreciation awards at the meeting. They included the AMOA, Arachnid 360, Bally’s Las Vegas, Gaelco Darts and NSM-Lowen Entertainment.
Finally, NDA honored Bill Downall of Downall Consulting for his efforts in maintaining NDA’s software platform, R:BASE, before and during Team Dart for more than two decades. He is retiring and was attending his final Team Dart program this year.
