Wairarapa darts tourney on target

The inaugural Wairarapa Region 11 darts tournament, to be played at the South Wairarapa Workingmen's Club in Greytown on the Saturday and Sunday of Labour weekend, is set to be a roaring success.

Organiser John Bright reported yesterday that entries had already climbed over the 60 mark and included three members of the New Zealand squad, Porirua duo Polly Thompson and Craig Caldwell and Jonathan Silcock of Wainuiomata.

Silcock will arguably be the main drawcard. At just 21 years old he is regarded as one of the best prospects to have come out of this country in years and indicated he was in peak form by winning the men's singles and mixed pairs titles at the national under-24 championships last weekend.

Victory in Greytown will not come easily though. Not only will Silcock have Caldwell to contend with in the men's singles but also a group of past New Zealand representatives, including the father-and-son Masterton combination of Neville and Greg Moss, Peter Hunt (Palmerston North) and Wayne Carey (Wainuiomata).

Greg Moss, especially, will fancy his chances. He played off for the national men's singles title against Silcock in August last year and it was Moss who took a 4-2 victory.

The prospects of a major upset cannot be dismissed either, with several of the lesser lights coming from places such as Auckland, Waikato, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu and Wellington having strong provincial form behind them.

The men's singles will carry prize money of $1800, with $1000 going to the winner, while the women's singles will be worth $1000 in total, $500 of which will go to the winner. Mixed trebles will also be played, with each team fielding at least one female. First prize there will be $900.

Up to 30 boards will be in play during the tourney, with Bright hopeful it will quickly build into one of the major events on the New Zealand darts calendar. "It's always important to make the first one a big success and we're certainly heading in the right direction in that respect," he said.