The 6th JDF Darts Comp & We Hit A New Milestone!

6th JDF Trophy Darts Comp

November the 28th 2019 at Bitterne Park Social Club saw the 6th installment of the Jack Dowding Darts Trophy; a popular and now familiar competition on the local darting calendar across the Solent.

Whilst entries were, in fact, a little down on the last event, the spirit, competition, and standard were very much as high!

The agenda for the evening went with the usual raffle, a superb auction again and the more recent edition of Loz’s 9 Dart Challenge!

It should be noted that this little event attracted quite a bit of interest. For £1 you got to throw 3 sets of darts ranging from 8g to 45g and had to score the highest you can with all 9.

This was a fantastic game and great fun as it certainly leveled up all the players – trying to throw accurately a set of 8g darts then switching to 45g on your next throw is pretty tricky!

This little side comp raised over £160 alone!

Some scoring that with those darts!

Once all the players were entered for the main competition Angela started the raffle. A rather nice raffle it was too – plenty of good booze on offer (always welcome with dart players it seems?!) so many of the players and spectators went home happy.

Thanks to everyone who donated a prize or two – and of course thanks to everyone who had a go!

everyone loves a raffle
Everyone loves a raffle

Once the raffle had started and a few of the prizes were claimed it was time to start the main competition.

The players at Bitterne Park always play with high respect for each other and this competition was no different.

Whilst this event has more important issues than winning and darts, it is always played that way. Which is great!

Jack was a massive darts fan as we all know so for his competition to be played with such a competitive spirit is brilliant. Just the way a darts competition should be played.

Game on!

The early rounds saw some cracking games with all players doing their part.

The standard was very high with players of all levels taking legs and games off each other. The one great thing about the Bitterne Park SDS darts scene is the diversity of players.

There are men, women, and youths from all levels. Bedroom players, pub players, super league players, county players, challenge tour players and full pro PDC players.

The best part is, if it’s your day, everyone is beatable.

The famous auction

Halfway through the main competition, there was the famous auction break – quite a money raiser on its own in past events.

This one was no different, some great darts memorabilia was on offer here including arguably the pick of the night a full 2020 season pass for the SDS events upcoming.

If you were to pay for this all season it would set you back around £300 so thank you to Stefan for putting this up.

Dan Davis was the worthy winner of this auction and somebody who will certainly get the full value of this prize. A dedicated player who shows up each and every week!

Another shoutout here to Karen Cousins who Loz gave his Special Achievement award to. A lady who gives up her time to help with the running of these events each week. Very much appreciated by all.

As more and more players left the competition in the second half of the evening the final was edging closer.

The semi-finals saw Luke Getty pitch up against Richard North and in the other semi Steve Perren went up against Scott Walters.

Both great semi-finals but Richard North and Scott Walters were victorious so the stage was set for a final!

Now, as we all know from any SDS event no final is complete without the sultry voice from the north of the border, Frank Innes.

So the camera was ready.

The mic was ready.

The tripod was ready.

We were LIVE on Facebook.

Frank was ready.

Frank “Cigarettes and Alcohol” Innes

As always with every event, the final did not disappoint. The players would not be separated in the first four legs but it was Richard North who came out on top as the eventual winner, surpassing Scott Walters in a cracking game of darts 4-2.

Both players didn’t disappoint. Like I say the standard at these events is always top draw.

A rerun of the final can be seen here.

Be sure to follow the SDS Darts page here for updates on local darts events.

Congratulations to the winners and to all players, organisers, pint pullers, 1st round losers, and spectators! You all played your part in a fantastic evening.

2019 Winter Winner Richard North

A massive shoutout again to everyone who came along, even though it was close to Xmas and just short of payday the money raised on the night was a cracking £1300!

This has taken the total raised by just darts events at Bitterne Park to over £10,000

This is a huge milestone and hopefully we can continue and push on to the next ten thousand. Every penny raised goes towards the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund.

It should also be pointed out that the total raised altogether by every event now is just shy of £20,000.

Incredible. Give yourselves a pat on the back.

The Pros Run The Show At The 5th Jack Dowding Darts Trophy

5th Jack Dowding Darts Comp

June 13th saw the 5th instalment on what is becoming a regular and thrilling event on the local darts calendar.

Thursday nights at Bitterne Park Social club is dart night.

That much is standard.

But this was a Jack Dowding Trophy night.

As usual, it was a cracking turnout from the regulars and some not so regular faces. The great thing about this tournament is it brings in not only Jack’s dart friends but also people from all around the county putting their fiver in the pot and having a chuck.

Some of the early arrivals supping a few light ales and having a practice.

Due to previous years raffle taking a little longer Angela done a sterling job on selling the tickets quick for this and dispatching the prizes before “Game On”

The 9 Dart Challenge!

Throughout the evening as per usual with this event there are often little side money raisers going on. This time saw the first and very popular 9 Dart Challenge, with a twist…..

The goal was to score as high as you can with all 9 darts, the winner receiving a unique trophy!

The twist though was they were 3 different sets of darts, and not really the usual weight that most players would be used to.

You had to throw a set of 5g darts, 15g and 45g!

Trust me, if you have never thrown a 5g dart before and think you are a handy player then give this a go. My efforts ended up nearer the 6 than the 20 – very hard!

The 15g gram set were not too bad but the 45g set was like throwing bricks at the board!

Amazingly, Mason Whitlock managed to score an amazing 289 with his go – smashing the rest of the entries out of the park.

A worthy first time winner, lets see if he can repeat that next time 🙂

The Main Event

Onto the proper darts then, this tournament always gets good crowds due to just how well loved Jack and his family are. The darting family is a great one and this lot certainly know how to put on a show.

There were several pros who turned up to play including Simon Whitlock, Andy Jenkins, Andy Hamilton and Richard North.

I know I do not only speak for myself as a darts fan when I say its a real privilege to get up close to watch these guys play. For me, the standard across the room was excellent.

Without dismissing some great darts in the early rounds it actually ended up with the four I mentioned all making the semi-finals.

Simon “The Wizard” Whitlock edged out “The Hammer” Andy Hamilton 4-3 and the other match had the same scoreline with Andy Jenkins seeing off Richard North.

So, onto the final.

A final at Thursday darts at Bitterne can only mean ONE thing.

Frank Innes Productions….

How time has moved on, a tripod and everything. 🙂

Frank Innes Productions

So once all that was set up the action started, a great final saw Simon take a 2-0 lead only to be pegged back with a cracking 96 with Simon sat on a double. Andy then went on to win with a stunning 104 outshot to claim a 4-3 victory.

Both gents were great enough to donate their prize money into the charity.

Great stuff and a worthy winner on the night.

Another Epic Clash!

The darts final wasn’t the only epic battle that took place on the night. Prior to this we had a stand off of a different kind.

This time in the auction arena!

Dan Davis went toe to toe with Trevor Carr in a bid to own an exlusive set of Michael Van Gerwen darts. A superb set and something any darts fan would want.

In what started as a slow auction, they soon kicked into life as both chaps did not want to let these slip.

A cracking amount was raised from the auction lots over the evening and some great prizes were up for grabs but this one topped the lot.

Relive the action here!

An amazing night was had by all with darts, Jack’s charity, banter, a few laughs, the staff at the club and great people being the real winners.

A total over £1300 was raised and will be sent to the JDRF.

Thanks again for your amazing support.

Until the next time.

Much love.

An Emotional Victory At The 4th Jack Dowding Trophy

Jack Dowding Trophy 4

November 29th 2018 saw the 4th Jack Dowding Trophy hosted at Bitterne Park Social club.

As always the turn out was great with regular players from the SDS league and other dart leagues and friends of Jack coming from all over the county.

Everyone seemed in good spirits for what is becoming a regular and well-attended event on the local darts competition calendar.

As always with any SDS event, the competition was run flawlessly by the master of ceremonies and events organiser Stefen Evrard.

Jack Dowding Trophy 4

Angela ran a cracking raffle again, which was a great success with plenty to choose from including electrical goods, chocolates (which I think Ryan Cousins won all of) DVDs, games and plenty of booze! (which obviously went down well with the throwers)

There was also a GIANT teddy bear up for the raffle and two PDC signed sets of darts courtesy of Richard North and world champion Rob Cross.

The darts were won by Bishops Waltham player Dean Cole, both sets no less in a raffle draw! Dean kindly put one of the sets back in for a redraw.

A signed Micheal Van Gerwen shirt was also auctioned off which went for £102 to one lucky young fan!

signed van gerwen shirt

Now to the darts.

As usual with these events the standard was very high, lots of 180s, lots of big outshots and fine finishing throughout.

You could say a few shocks along the way too with Richard North, Steve Perren among others going out at early stages.

The winner of the competition was Justin Bradshaw who beat Scott Walters in a thrilling final. A rather fitting winner of this trophy as he was a very close friend of Jacks. I know this would have meant a lot to him.  Great stuff. A well-deserved winner and definitely the most consistent all through the night.

justin bradshaw

Social media went crazy to congratulate Justin knowing what it meant to him to win this event for his good friend.

fitting tributes to Justin Bradshaw

The final grid can be seen below:

final grid from jack dowding trophy 4

The total money raised on the night was £1040 which is an incredible achievement by all involved. All proceeds as always going to the JDRF.

Onto the next one!

 

Tribute Dugouts Unveiled at Jack’s College In Special Memorial Day

April 25th saw an event at the Taunton College sports ground in Hill Lane. The event was a memorial football match between staff, students and other friends.

At the occasion Saints defender Sam McQueen gratefully helped alongside Jack’s immediate family the unveiling of new dugouts for the pitches. On the dugouts are Jack’s logo and website. They really do look great.

A really nice gesture and fitting tribute to Jack who as we all know was a mad Saints fan!

This tribute is another showing of just how well Jack was loved by many in and around his community.

Photo Stuart Martin – unveiling of new football dugouts at Richard Taunton College in memory of former studentl Jack Dowding.

Photo Stuart Martin – unveiling of new football dugouts at Richard Taunton College in memory of former student Jack Dowding. Jack’s father Laurence Dowding (right) and Jack’s grand parents Bryan and Suzanne Dowding cut the ribbon to one of the dugouts

Photo Stuart Martin – unveiling of new football dugouts at Richard Taunton College in memory of former student Jack Dowding. Jack’s father Laurence Dowding (right) and Jack’s grand parents Bryan and Suzanne Dowding cut the ribbon to one of the dugouts

Photo Stuart Martin – unveiling of new football dugouts at Richard Taunton College in memory of former studentl Jack Dowding. Jack’s mum Maz Dowding and Grace Jay cut the ribbon to the other dugout

Photo Stuart Martin – unveiling of new football dugouts at Richard Taunton College in memory of former studentl Jack Dowding. Jack’s father Laurence and mum Maz and Richard Taunton College principal Alice Wrighton pictured with the footballers who took part memorial match

Jack’s family would like to thank all who played their part in the event.

The total raised after this event plus the others throughout the year has now surpassed the new target of £12,000 – we currently sit at £12,170

All proceeds going to the JDRF.

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Another Great Night And Amazing Money Raised At The 2nd JDF Darts Comp!

JDF Darts Comp II

Once again the dart community pulled together and stepped up again in a truly great night of darts and fun all in the memory of Jack.

65 players entered the competition, with half of the entry fee from everyone going straight to the JDRF.

Also on the night was the usual raffle, spectacularly run by Angela Humphreys. She will get money from people for the raffle. Period.

The trophy on the night once again went to Charlie Jackson from Waterlooville beating Luke Getty in a great match. Charlie was also the winner of the very first event back in April. 

You cant say the other players didn’t have their chances though. Many legs and games went his way through the opponents missing doubles. But, if you don’t hit them you don’t win so well done Charlie…. (aka, The Ginger Ninja)

JDF Winner darts

The usual antics ensued with the fireman suit darts, Loz stepped up to do his bit here. It was like playing against Darth Vader for his opponent!

loz playing in fire suit

The auction prizes went down really well, there were some fabulous prizes. Golf days, darts tournament tickets, a fantastic tool kit among a few.

There was also a signed Wayne Mardle shirt and a real collectors piece, a Jack Dowding shirt signed by a load of the famous players of today including Micheal Van Gerwen.

signed darts shirt

All in all the whole evening went really well with every game played in good spirits. The dart players may have won the event but its the togetherness of the people that make these events.

It is really appreciated by all of Jacks family that these events go down so well.

A big thank you from them to everyone who turned out for the night.

The grand total on the evening was £1960, this is from raffle sales, the auction, young Ryan Cousins selling his awesome cakes, various spontaneous donations and the entry fees.

Amazing.

Loz’s friend Martyn added another £40 at the end saying “£2000 sounds better”…

We couldn’t agree more.

A big shout out to the two finalists too, Charlie and Luke both donated their winnings back into the pot. Top work gents.

All in all a great night.

jacks logo on display

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jacks family

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action dart shot

A big thank you once again.

Huge shout outs to all the staff at the Bitterne Park Social club, Angela and Trevor, everyone that played, everyone that watched, and the darts organiser supremo – Stefan Evrard.

Your donations will go to great use.

Until the next time.

Cheers Jack.