The 2010 Brydens Barbados Darts Festival will be breaking new ground and creating new records when it throws off on November 1.
Hosted by the charismatic and globally popular player Wayne Mardle, this year’s version has attracted a record number of participants from Europe, Canada and the United States – and the numbers are expected to double when visitors from other Caribbean countries and South America arrive on November 4.
The darts players from the region will be seeking to win the right to go to London to participate in the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship in December.
This is the world’s biggest darts tournament with £1 million of prize money on offer.
There he, or she, will compete against the very best professional players in the world on, literally, the world’s biggest stage, in front of 3 000 noisy spectators and a global TV audience of tens of millions.
The winner of the Carib Beer Caribbean and South American Masters, open only to those holding Caribbean or South American passports, will be guaranteed an experience of a lifetime and a purse of £3 500 just for competing in London.
One victory will add another £2 500 to this and the eventual winner will receive a breathtaking £200 000.
The Barbados Darts Festival, now in its ninth year, has established itself as the most prestigious event of its kind in the region.
Not only does it generate massive interest and excitement for the darts playing population of the region but it also makes a valuable contribution to the island’s tourism business in the low season.
“Without the support of the Barbados Tourism Authority, the Tourism Development Corporation and corporate sponsorship from companies like Brydens this event would not be taking place”, festival director Michael Heal told the WEEKEND NATION.
“This year, for the very first time, we have promoted the festival to darts players in both the US and Canada.
“There are 28 million darts players in the US and 20 million in Canada.
“With good existing air links out of Toronto and New York, we feel that we can build on the 20-plus participants we have attracted this year from these hitherto untapped markets in the same way as we have grown the numbers out of the UK,” he said.
“Generating sponsorship for the event is the key to the festival’s continued success because without it the cost of participating for those based in the UK, USA and Canada would be prohibitive.
“We look to corporate Barbados to support an event that attracts valuable tourism business in the low season, has huge possibilities for future growth, enhances the performance levels of darts players in the region and gives them the chance to win a prize of X Factor proportions,” Heal concluded.
The ninth Brydens Barbados Darts Festival runs from November 1 to 11 and the first big event open to the public will be Wayne Mardle’s Whacky World of Darts.
That event takes place at Almond Bay Conference Centre, Christ Church on November 2 at 8:30 p.m.
