Monday, March 28, 2016
Column 513
The Michigan Dartmen’s Club STEPS UP for the People of Flint!
Since publishing my last column announcing the Inaugural Darts for Charity Series (to benefit the citizens of Flint, Michigan) many of you have kindly contacted me and pledged support. Thank you so much! Darts players are simply the best!
I promised more details…
Organized by the Michigan Dartsmen’s Club (with special thanks to organizers Willy Doit, Kory Nichols and John Upham, and others) the lead shoot, called the Michigan Cup – a Benefit for the People of Flint – will be held, in Flint, on Saturday, June 4. Other events will be held the same weekend elsewhere in the country.
The Flint tournament will be staged at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles, 2149 North Dort Highway. The doors open at 10:00 a.m. It will be “Game On!” promptly at 11:00 a.m. The format will be similar to the PDC World Cup with pool play followed by bracket play and entries will be capped at 24 teams.
The entry fee is $120 per team. Payments should be sent (team name and pre-registration must be received by May 13) to Quoc-Huy-Ly-Huynh (that’s Willy – I think he’s from Mexico!), c/o Grand Rapids Ophthalmology, 6050 Northland Dr., Suite 100, Rockland, MI 49341. Full participation payout will see first place pocketing $2,000, followed by $200 for second and $100 for third and fourth.
Discussions have just been finalized with local charities to ensure funds raised from this event and others are maximized for the people of Flint. After careful consideration, the organizers have selected the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan (Food Bank of Eastern Michigan) to receive all funds raised. If you are holding an event elsewhere in the country, please make your check payable to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan and send it to Willy Doit at the address in the preceding paragraph.
Alternatively, you can register or donate through the Michigan Dartsmen’s Club via PayPal at Michigan Dartsmen’s Club. If you take the electronic route you are encouraged to pay with your checking account information rather than a credit or debit card to avoid transaction fees. It is best to email Willy Doit ([email protected]) so he can keep an eye out.
It is anticipated that representatives from the Food Bank and Flint Journal will be present.
No doubt, there will be bottled water.
A little about the Michigan Dartsmen’s Club, in Willy’s words and unabashedly stolen from their Facebook page (with emphasis added) – the organization may be young but it has its act together and is turning heads all around the darts scene. It’s music to my ears:
The Michigan Dartsmen’s Club was conceived when Quoc-Huy Ly-Huynh (aka Willy Doit), Dan Burk, Steve Osmolinski, and Ryan Christofferson played $5 games in September 2014 at a private club in Holland, Michigan. We had so much fun that we wondered why we couldn’t get together once a month to shoot, with the best shooter that day making some money in the process. We figured it was better than playing a luck or a small tournament because those who won ended up making decent cash and we got to play challenging darts at a high standard.
Our mission became supplying a forum for confident darters to come and bet on themselves in challenge based matches against some of the best in the state. I wanted to show that we as darters can both organize ourselves and play challenging matches without having to chase points or tithe to a third party profit-motivated entity which isn’t providing anything but perceived legitimacy. Novel concept. Let’s keep darters’ money in darters’ hands.
And that’s what we did for a few months.
Our first deviation was the $100 entry fee tournament. Gregg Fountaine won and took home $700. Not bad for a steel tournament with only seven entrants.
A few months later, we ordered and received a bunch of ill-fitting shirts.
Then we did City Wars. Seven teams of 10 darters representing their “cities” descended upon Diamond Hall in Grand Rapids to play for $3,000. A group of soft tippers from mid-Michigan took home the money in a thrilling final with a Detroit team that literally came one dart away from the win.
After that, our group changed. We became about organizing badass one-day single event tournaments where darters play a lot of darts for their money and the winner takes home an ass-load of cash.
Along the way, I was joined by John Upham and Jake Johansson to form our Board of Directors. John conceived and organized the Elite Darter Challenge. Jake supplied a big check for prize money presentation and used his own money to cover the prize money when there was a complication with PayPal. Some guy named Larry Butler won.
On to the next event…
So the next event will be a two-man competition similar to the PDC World Cup. Ours is called the Michigan Cup. I know, pretty original. Anyway, for this event we are donating some of the entry fee to a charity in Flint as the city battles a difficult water situation. There’s a flyer pinned to this page for more information.
All that said, I love the community of darters we are establishing here in Michigan. I can say that our events bring out the best darters in Michigan in both soft and steel and I look forward to seeing their faces every time.
Since Jake, John, and myself make zero dollars doing this, we are literally only as strong as the support we get from the darters who have the balls to show up and bet money on themselves. I salute all those who share our vision for darts in Michigan and all the support we have received from you since our conception.
The Michigan Dartsmen’s Club is a class act. I am looking forward to attending The Michigan Cup. I am searching for a Hooter’s Girl to partner me, if any of you are out there reading.
Meanwhile, this Thursday, March 31, I will be warming up with John Upham (who is on vacation) at Down the Hatch in Pinellas Park, Florida (8010 49th St. North). Stop by if you want to see a dazzling display by yours truly, of 26s.
My HEARTFELT THANKS to the Michigan Dartsmen’s Club and everyone else involved in darts around the country that is doing what they can to help the people of Flint, Michigan. Yes, darts players are simply the best.
From the Field,
Dartoid
