BIRD MAN FLY’S HIGH OVER WEST CALDER

Commercial Inn Boxing Day Open

The open darts tournament held in the Commercial Inn in West Calder saw Graeme Bird off East Calder take the title edging out Andrew Davidson from Edinburgh in the Grand Final.

More information and stats to follow as I receive them.

London to Leith!

Saturday saw the Genting Casino Open darts competition take place, And what a field of players with 62 players making up the main draw it saw eight current or past internationals in the mix, and they came from Ayrshire, Greater Glasgow, West Lothian and of course the Lothian’s, Well once the competition started it saw a good field of West Calder & District players taking part, William Borland, Colin Robertson,  Pete Hastings, Shaun Robertson, Martin Deegan, Jim Mitchell, Gary Scott, Gary Christie, Graeme Bird, Rex Brady. And all played extremely well, biggest points though were when three players from our Monday night league edged out three former/current Internationals, William Borland edged out former Scottish star George Dalglish by 3 games to 2, Graeme Bird saw off Alan Small from Fife in a cracking match by 3 games to2, And Jim Mitchell edged out Harry Toddman also 3 games to 2. However when all said and done the west Lothian contingent were all put to the sword in the last 16. And it was to PDC players who made up the grand final with Andy Boulton beating comrade in arms form the PDC tour by 5 games to 1 in the final.

Some scores from the travelling local players saw Pete Hastings 18-20-20-20 dart games and 2 x 94 game shots and a cracking 119 take out along with a maximum 180. Graeme Bird fired in 17-18 dart games plus a 100 game shot and also on the maximum trail with a 180. Colin Robertson 19 dart game nice to see Colin back on the circuit especially with the problems he has had with his shoulder injury. Rex Brady 18 dart game and an excellent 115 game shot. Jim Mitchell 17-18 dart games and a maximum 180.

First time I had been to this venue, and it is an excellent place to play darts and the competition is very well run by the Balfour brothers excellent set up and well run very professional. The only WARNING I would give though and please heed my words if you’re going to gamble and it is a casino! Lets not forget, GIVER YOUR MONEY TO REX BRADY, and here ends my advice.

SUNDAY REPORT

From

Lammies Bar in Fauldhouse

This charity singles event had many players from the local leagues taking part, and when all said and done the remaining four players who made up the semi final quartet were from the 32 CLUB from Shott’s and the Bentswood Inn from Stoneyburn. First semi final saw a very close contest with Jet just edging out his team captain Spencer by 4 games to 3. The second semi final saw the Old Man winning 4-0 over an out of sorts Wull I Am, but before the final was played there was a good old fashioned shoot out for the third and fourth places as prizes were on offer and it saw William Harraughty just getting the better of Spencer McDonald to claim third place. The final was a high scoring encounter but it was Old Man Mitchell who finished the better taking the title 4 games to 2 from Jet.

First prize £100, second £50, third place bottle whisky, fourth place ½ bottle, Best finish of the day Old Man ½ bottle, fastest leg this was a shoot out between Alan and Jim with Alan taking the bottle as both players recorded 15 darters on the day. Cracking day out with lots of raffle prizes and plenty of food at the half way stage of the competition, many thanks to all who took part and organised this event, and with just under £500 raised on the day a very well run competition, well done to all who took part. Some stats from the day saw Callum Wilkinson record 19&20 dart games plus a maximum 180, William Harraughty firing in 18&20 darters plus 82&90 game shots, Mitchell 15-3x18-20 darters plus 2x180's and a 116 game shot, Spencer and Jet from the 32 Club both firing in maximum 180's and Alan with a 15 darter and a 114 game shot (don't know Alan's last name) anyone help!

Good night Mr Tom!

Well another sad week as we say goodbye to yet another stalwart of league darts in the area, Tommy Ritchie an old team mate of mine, when we played in the Paraffin Lamp many seasons ago has sadly passed away. Tam who played for the Stirrup Stane these past few seasons with his good friend Fred Hamilton was without a doubt a REAL CHARACTER, there are a few stories I could tell you about the man, but the only one that I will mention here and now is this, If you can cast your mind back a few years we had the reigning world champion in exhibition at the Doo Club and the score line after Tommy had played read like this, Martin Adams 0 Tam Ritchie 2, says it all really, so where ever you are now Tommy probably at the bar darts and betting slip in hand, I hope to meet you again , but not to soon, R.I.P.

Sunday Report

Once again a open pairs competition was held at the home of the Innkeepers in Kirknewton, and as usual all the names go into the hat and the pairs are drawn at random. Denise Bird and her partner in crime for the second week in the past three competitions was Jim Mitchell and once again they went through the field undefeated. Last week it saw Gillian Bell and Jim take the top honours. So if your looking for a game of arrows on a Sunday night , Billy Stirling is the man to talk to, as he runs these events very smoothly and keeps everyone involved from start to finish. Top finish on the night a superb 135 via 25-60-bullseye from Graeme Bird, Only maximum hitter that is known at the moment was Mitchell.

Wednesday Night Report

The  Premier league in the Murrayfield bar in Edinburgh had some mixed results for our local players this week, Jamie Banks went down 3-7 but in a terrific match up with the league leader and at 3-3 this was anyone’s match, Stephan Colthart went down 0-7 but surely a win must be on the cards for him as he is not playing badly just his opponents are missing very little!, Martin Deegan our Dechmont Hobbit or is that Womble certainly moved up his league placing with two fine win’s 7-3 the results in both matches, Gillian Bell one of the three lady players in the league was up against another lady and came away with an excellent 7-0 victory with some superb finishing making very few mistakes at the latter part of the matches. Mitchell came away with a 7-0 win in a closer match than the score line says his opponent on a finish in every leg however Mitchell never game him a shot at a double!

Monday Review!

Well a fabulous turn out for the Four Person Team event with 25 teams entering the competition, and once again our newest member of the committee Connie Bamburry our Match secretary had everything under control and running smoothly ably assisted by the League secretary John McDonald, and with six boards in constant use the competition was played down to a final four teams and it was all done and dusted by 10.30pm, well done Connie, long gone are the days of almost midnight before we were finished. Now the four teams left to play off to see who is crowned champion next week are, The Almondale Pirates, Logan Lea Colliers and two teams from the Volunteer Highway Men their A+ and B – teams.

The format for this competition is cut throat 2 singles of 1 x 501 then the two players who did not play the singles play the first double, and then the two singles players play a doubles match, and if it should go to 2-2 a one of final game of 1001 team event will decide the winner, basically first to 3 takes the plaudits.

So best of luck to the remaining finalists and lest us see where the trophy ends up!

INFORMATION.

Can I just confirm that the SDA have been in contact with the committee of the W.C.D.D.L. this week, and players from the W.C.D.D.L. are not affiliated members of the county and unless they are members of another league, they will not be able to play for the county as required under SDA rules, and I am led to believe that the Bathgate Friday night league are also not registered with the SDA as well!

Also please if you are playing counties and have registered with another league, It can not be a Monday night league as you are not allowed to play for two different Monday night leagues, that has always been the case in the W.C.D.D.L. and you will be banned from league matches and competitions, this is not a new ruling and has been done in the past where players were expelled(if that is the correct wording) from being part of our set up.

So please think carefully about where and when you sign! However if you are a registered player in another league , I wish you all the very best for the season ahead, counties can be a cracking day out at the darts. 

INNKEEPERS COMPETITION.

Billy Stirling ran a competition on Sunday night and it was decided that with 14 players a doubles round robin event would be the right competition to do!

So every team would play 6 matches each match the same as the league format 3 x 501, And it saw Denise Bird and her partner Jim Mitchell take top spot, in second place there was another bird this time Graeme and his partner Mandy, and though Martin Deegan rattled in 4 x 180;s during the competition, the high light of the evenings play had to be when Mandy and Graeme had 324 left in one match and they throw some scintillating arrows a score of 180 by Graeme then a 140 from Mandy and Graeme taking out the required double not bad 324 in 8 darts. Great atmosphere from start to finish and a cracking night of darts, (Once again many thanks to Billy Stirling for running this tourney)

LAST TWO LEFT STANDING

Friday saw a gathering of some of the counties finest arrow smiths descending on Coppies bar in Armadale for the Bathgate Leagues 301 Double start double finish singles competition and saw the committee of Danny Kirkland & Spencer McDonald keep the competition running very smoothly indeed with all three boards in constant use. But once the chalk dust had settled the two players left standing to toe the ocky for the privilege to be crowned champion were both players from the Bentswood Inn in Stoneyburn, and they were Jim (Old Man) Mitchell and William (Bridges) Borland, Both players had some terrific tussles on the way to the final, Bridges edging out James (Pelter) Graham in one semi final and Mitchell taking out his team mate Graeme (Bird Man) Bird in the other semi final. Both finalists had been on good form of late with William a former Scottish youth number one ranked player and just recently and also claiming the M.O.M award for the W.L. County in their last match against Ayrshire. Mitchell had also been in good form of late, last season being West Lothian’s  top player in the S.D.A. averages. So with the final being the best of 9x301 it saw Mitchell throwing first and coming away with a 9 dart leg after just narrowly missing double 19 for a 6 darter! Bridges was not to be outdone and fired in a 9 darter of his own in the second leg via 116 game shot, the next two legs went with throw, then William broke Mitchell’s serve and then went on to hold his own throw and open up  4 legs to 2 lead in this race to 5. But Mitchell who has won this title twice before in back to back seasons then held the throw and managed to break the Borland throw so here it was 4 games to 4 in the grand final, so after three and a half hours of match play darts one leg of 301 would decide who was going to pick up the title of 301 Singles Champion. And it was the Jim (Old Man) Mitchell who just edged out his Bentswood team mate William (Bridges) Borland  by the tightest of score lines 5 games to 4. Congratulations must go to both players for a cracking final. Commiserations to the two semi finalist Graeme Bird and James Graham who played superbly well and on any other night may well have been the finalist themselves. Once again many thanks to the committee of Danny Kirkland and Spencer McDonald for a well run tournament and to Coppies Bar for sponsoring the Bathgate league.

THE WAY TO GO!

A massive well done to East Calder’s , Kieran Bird who plays for the Cawburn Assassins in the West Calder & District Monday night league and the Bentswood Inn on a Friday in the Bathgate and District dart league. Kieran making it through to the quarter finals down in Hull, before bowing out, however a fantastic run in this event which saw him collect a cracking £250 for his excellent effort, well played young man. His run to the last eight saw him fire in a 15 darter, along with 3 x 17 dart games , 4 x 18 dart legs and 3 x 180's, matches went like this 3-0.3-0.3-0.3-1.0-3.

Doo Club Open Ladies Singles

While the men’s competition was being played the Ladies also had a their own singles championship taking place downstairs, one reason for the split was that the youth players who had entered the men’s comp were allowed upstairs in the function hall and not in the downstairs bar, AND as I don’t believe there were any ladies present who might just have been on the 18 and under age bracket! They decided to have their own championship in the bar (not so far to walk for a drink!!?) here are the results from the quarter finals, Kathy Henderson 3-1 Karen, June McCallum 3-1 Daisy Heeps, Jillian Speirs 3-1 Avril Bird, Gillian Bell 3-0 Natasha, Ladies semi finals saw June McCallum3-2 Kathy Henderson, Gillian Bell 3-0 Jillian Speirs, and in the Grand Final it saw Lanarkshire county Player June McCallum come away with a fine 3-0 victory over Gillian Bell good match up with June just missing a maximum on the wire in the second leg , and the match could have been closer Gillian missing her favourite double 16 and double 8 which would have made the match 1-1 but after that there was no stopping June who claimed the title in style. Well played the ladies.

Doo Club Open Men’s Singles

Cracking turn out for this event which was very well run and organised by Gary Christie and official score recorder Stephan Colthart, and just goers to show with enthusiasm and commitment and common sense what can be done at such short notice! Gary looking at the darts calendar saw that there was nothing happening round about so he quickly put out the word about a comp and low and behold players came from Edinburgh in the East and Lanarkshire in the west and even Greater Glasgow so just show's what can be done with the the right commitment and of course the sponsorship of the Doo Club and with five boards in use in the upstairs function hall youth players can enter as well, very well organised and don’t care if I repeat myself (it was)!

Anyway here are the results from the last 8 who all received prize monies. William Borland 4-0 Chris Forsyth, Graeme Bird 4-3 Colin Nicol, A Silky (Mr Alphabet) 4-1 S Harrison, Gordon Bruce 4-1 Martin Deegan, losers all receiving £10 each. Semi Finals Graeme Bird 5-3 William Borland, A Silky 5-3 Gordon Bruce, losers £35 each (perhaps £40 not sure) Grand Final saw A Silky 6-3 Graeme Bird, close encounter and at 3-3 it was anyone’s match but Mr Alphabet just managed to close out the legs that one dart ahead of Graeme and so both players receiving a fabulous round of applause from the many who stayed on to watch the final, well done.

Some statistics from the ocky’s go like this. Martin (I’m in trouble from the missus!) Deegan games finished in 16-17-18-18 darts along with 96-100 game shots and a maximum 180, George (Jukebox) Thorburn turning on the style and at his age as well firing in a 18 dart leg against perhaps the only player in the hall smaller than himself Stevie Duncan (George you bully!.) Kieran Bird cracking 18 darter finishing on a 68 game shot, Paul Weir yet another maximum 180, Pete Hastings game shot of 78 and recording a 18 dart game, Graeme Bird 90 and 103 and 113 game shots along with 16-17 dart games, Gordon Bruce rock solid play once again from this Brigand of the Paraffin Lamp tribe firing in 2x180’s along with games finished in 14-16-16-17-18-20 darts plus 2x x 80 game shots and a 96 finish. William Borland games finished in 16-17-18-19-20-20 darts some excellent finishing with game shots pf 88-100-118. Colin Nicol magical maximum 180, Mitchell 14-17-18 darters and a 96 game shot. Now I realise there were more cracking scores recorded but mainly I was looking out for the local dart players who play in the West Lothian area, so apologies to the travelling players if you are not mentioned it is not intentional, cheers Jim M.

W.C.D.D.L.

K.O. Cup Finals.

Excellent darts thrown by the four teams reaching the semi finals, however there has to be winners and losers! and on board one it saw the Assassin's defeat the KirkNewton Inn Keepers by 4 games to 1, on board three the same score line with the defending champions  the Nomads getting the better of the  Almondale Pirates also by 4 games to 1. So the grand final saw the Cawburn Sports Bar Assassins last seasons league champions up against the holders of the trophy the Commercial Inn Nomads. And in a cracking final it saw the Assassins under the leadership of Big Tam Laird their team captain take the title by 4 games to 1, this was a close encounter and quite simply the match that had everyone on their feet clapping was when Daive Aitken and Paul Weir shook hands after Pauls superb 17 dart game of 701, and it takes two to make a real match up and Davie in the middle of the leg fired in three consecutive ton's him self, superb match up and quite rightly both players got a fabulous round of applause. However it was the next match which sealed the title for the Assassins when William Harraughty took the title to Pumpherston the home of the Cawburn with a double 10. And that folks is the first competition of the season now safely tucked away. Roll on the next one!

Bliiny Open in Shotts.

Finals saw Daz Grey defeat William Borland in a cracking final.

Other scores saw Stephan Colthart scoring a magnificent 174 and then following it with a 99 game shot, also on the maximum trail it saw Brucefield Farmers Jamie Banks rattling the red lipstick once again  to record yet another superb maximum 180.

Paraffin Lamp Finals Night

The final four men left standing in the league saw John Charleston from Uphall who plays for the Volunteer Highway Men get the better of Davie Aitken from the Commercial bar Nomads in West Calder by a score line of 6 games to 4. The second semi final was a real close affair with both players from the Brigands who ply their darting trade from the Paraffin Lamp and it was Arran Edwards who just edged out fellow team mate Gordon Bruce by the odd leg in 11 by a score line of 6 games to 5.

  So after many weeks of competitive match play it saw the finals being contested between Arran Edwards and John Charleston, and it was the man from Craigshill, Arran Edwards who claimed the title with a 7 games to 4 victory over John Charleston from Uphall.

  The prize fund paid out saw the champion receiving £300, £150 for the runner up, both semi finalists receiving £75 each and the quarter finalists being paid £25 for their efforts on the ocky.

  Top shots from the nights play saw no fewer than 5 players recording maximum 180’s and they were, Gordon Bruce 4x180’s, Arran Edwards 3x180’s, Martin Deegan, Scott Cameron, Pete Hastings all firing in 1 x 180 apiece. Top finish came from TWO PLAYERS with John Kirk and Gordon Bruce both hitting a 118 game shot Gordon also firing in a 100 take out.

  Fast games saw Arran Edwards 2 x 13 darters, Gordon Bruce 13 darter plus a 16 and 2 x18 dart games.

  So with only the Brucefield Farmers summer league finals to be played out that ladies and gentlemen of the ocky almost concludes the summer league fixtures.

  If anyone has more news of competitions being played please drop me a line and let’s give( CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE)

Bentswood Open

Saturday 15^th August.

Once again the Bentswood Inn, in the heart of Stoneyburn did darts proud sponsoring another open tournament with substantial prize money on offer for the brave players who were willing to give it a go!

Perhaps not the biggest turnout for one of these events, but a very good quality field were in for the action, players from the Borders, Musselburgh, Tranent, Shotts and and good to see BIG Callum Russell from Forth also taking to the ocky (who said he was past it!) and a large contingent from Edinburgh took to the ocky, however only a few local players, wondered what happened to a lot of the usual suspects!

Anyway once the draw was done and the chalk dust settled it saw Lothian county player Joe Bata and Livingston’s Jim Mitchell take their places in the grand final, not much in it with Mitchell taking the first leg and then Joe claiming the second and wonder what would have been the outcome if he had hit tops for the third to break Mitchell’s throw, however he did not, and it then saw the local Livingston player go on to take the title by a score line of 4 games to 1.

Fastest recorded game of the day a 12 darter from the winner with scores of 60-140-180-121 g.s.

Many thanks to the organisers and the sponsors who did a cracking job all afternoon in running the tournament smoothly. The break bown in prize monies went like this £200 for the winner, £100 for the runner up, £60 for both semi finalists, and £20 for each of the quarter finalists, so once again many thanks to John Reidy mine host of the Bentswood Inn for supporting local darts, and hope to see more of you at the next one which is already in the pipe line for next year!

WEEK END REPORT!

Well the usual suspects were there yes the trip to the Granit City saw a host of West Lothian players make the journey North on Friday.

With many of the counties favourite darting sons and daughters in attendance, here is a rundown of the most news worthy items, Kieran Bird &William Borland taking the scalp of The Rocket man Ronnie Baxter in the men’s doubles on Sunday fabulous performance with William putting in the finishing touches with bull’s eye treble 15 and double twenty cracking arrows from these stars of the ocky. John Skippy Charleston playing awesome darts and winning his board convincingly before bowing out in the last 32 and receiving £50 for his gallant effort, only double trouble costing him in his last match. Mitchell just one game better making the last 16 and receiving £100 for his days work on the ocky. Congratulations go to Andy Boulton on winning the event overall against Jamie Bain in the grand final 8-5. Also to Deta Headman who once again kept the crown on her head winning the title for I believe the fifth time some player this lady. Gary Stone & Allan Chuck Norris taking the doubles title over Harry Todman & Ryan Murray in the men’s pairs.

Couple of photo’s to follow, but for now a couple of days with no alcohol and boy do I need it?

 WEST LOTHIAN SUMMER MIXED DOUBLES LEAGUE

SUMMER TIME IS OVER!

Well not really, however the first Summer League Champions have been crowned, Playing in the West Lothian Mixed Doubles League which was a brand new venture this year, where by all the players were put into an open draw and partners were then picked to play as a team. The format for this new event was 5x501 with a double start format. Each leg had to be played and was worth one point but there were ten points for winning the match so simply put win 3-2 the winners received 13 points and the losers 2 points.

Now this was played in a league format where each team played each other once so every match played was critical as there was no return game!

And the pair that managed to claim the title and be the first to have their names engraved on the brand new trophy was Connie Bamburry and Jim Mitchell who finished the league with 129 points and also received £200 for their efforts.

In runners up spot it saw Karen Heeps and Graham Bird with 103 points and receiving £120 for second place. And in third only two points behind Karen and Graeme were Kathy Henderson and Ian Stevenson on 101 points. All the teams received cash money for their efforts. And a huge thank you to the East Calder Doo Club for sponsoring this event with £500 paid out to the twelve teams who took part and of course as Aldo said one week hey it is almost like a cake club! Thanks to Gillian Bell who brought homemade sponge cakes topped with butter icing and cream to keep all our energy levels boosted during the matches when half time was called. Much appreciated.

Now on our last night Monday 2oth July it was decided to have a flyer with once again the format being mixed doubles and names once again pulled out the hat at random, And after some superb throwing it saw Avril Bird and Jim Mitchell toe the ocky against a pairing who came out together again Karen and Graeme Bird, Karen and Graeme took the first leg in this best of 5x501 final showdown but back came Avril and partner to secure the title winning the next 3 legs to claim the money on offer£50 and a final score line of 3-1. Many thanks to our organiser Connie Bamburry and her trusty side kick (Rocky1)

W.C.D.D.L.

  Well what a fabulous night of arrows with three competitions being held all at the same time, the Ladies singles championship, the Delegates championship and the Champion of Champions championship.

  First to the ladies title and what a cracking competition they had, The semi final line up saw  Avril Bird a three time ladies champion up against the reigning West Lothian summer league champion Kathy Henderson and in a real nail biter of a match it saw Kathy progress to the final. The second semi final saw two times ladies champion Denise Bird just edging past Fiona Laird in a match with only Denise’s finishing power the difference between these two experienced players. And so to the grand finale would we have a new champion or would Denise make it her third singles title win, well in a superb match it saw Kathy Henderson take the ladies crown to go along with her win last week end in the George Thorburn memorial competition and her summer league titles this certainly is a lady in top form well played, unlucky Denise so at the moment Lydia Barrowman still holds the most ladies titles with four, Avril Bird with three and Denise Bird and Lena Gallagher with two titles each, and in single figure we have Yvonne  Wilson , Julie Marshall and now joining these exceptional dart players we have Kathy Henderson, Well played the ladies.

   The Delegates competition was a hard fought affair with some shocks in store along the way the players from the quarter finals onwards were as follows, John Charleston bt Graeme Bird, Davie Smith bt Stuart Tait, Kathy Henderson bt Stevie Scott (said there were some shocks!)Jim Mitchell bt John Kirk. The semi finals saw Charleston bt Davie Smith and Mitchell bt Kathy Henderson. And so to the grand finale, and though the score line does not do justice to the match it saw Jim Mitchell retain the Delegates title for the second year and his tenth in total by a score line of 4-0 over John Charleston also from the Volunteer Highway Men.

  The Champion of Championship competition saw some of the finest exponents of darting skill in the league take part as you would expect for this prestige’s event. Results from the quarter finals go like this, Derek Bird bt Davie Yule, Pete Hastings bt Gordon Bruce, Wullie Jack bt Alan Wilson, Davie Aitken bt Jim Mitchell, so the semi final stages were set and it saw Derek Bird bt Pete Hastings, Davie Aitken bt Wullie Jack both these matches were close fought affairs with very little between the combatants! And to the grand finale, In a match which swung one way then the other it saw the defending champion just get over the winning line first, congratulations to Davie Aitken who now jointly holds the record for three consecutive championship wins and has put himself into poll position to become the first player to win the title next year for four consecutive times,commiserations to a very gallant runner up in Derek Bird who throw some absolutely fantastic darts on the night.

  So your winners are

  Kathy Henderson Ladies Champion, Jim Mitchell the Delegates champion,  Davie Aitken your C.O.C. Champion.

   Well done to all who took part and a special thanks to Match Secretary Mr John Kirk who kept the competitions running very smoothly indeed. A late night and one which with more people now taking part in these events perhaps a look next season on how to run them as it was the witching hour before the final arrow hit the flock and with travelling time etc some players may not have hit the pillow before 1am (or maybe I’m just getting old!)

George Thorburn Memorial Sports Day.

The venue for this inaugural competition was Gladstone’s bar in Leith and with 50 plus entries a great day out was had by all.

Report from the instigator of this competition George Jukebox Thorburn goes like this.

Billy Suttie beats Chris Forsyth 3-1 in the grand final.

S/f was Davie Nisbet and Gary Scott.

Ladies championship saw East Calder’s Kathy Henderson beat Rose Thorburn in the final 2-0.

Dominoes championship went to Ryan Markem who got the better of Davie Nisbet 5-3 in the final.

So from what I can gleam an excellent day at Gladstone’s bar, Well done to Jukebox George for putting this competition up in memory of his dad.

 George Fleming Memorial 9.5.2015 

 A great turn-out of 44 dart players for this annual event, with some fantastic darts thrown and everyone enjoying themselves to the max.

After the initial rounds had passed it left the quarter-finals looking like this,

Callum Wilkieson bt Jimmy Johnstone, Ducket Aitken bt Disco Aitken, Scott Gardiner bt William Borland, Jamie Banks bt Colin Nicol and £25.00 each going to the losers at this stage.

Semi-finals,

Ducket Aitken bt Callum Wilkieson & Scott Gardiner bt Jamie Banks and a well earned £50.00 to the losers here.

Which leaves the Final with Ducket Aitken emerging victorious over Scott Gardiner, with Scott picking up £100.00 and the Champion on the day Ducket picking up £200.00 and the title for 2015.

K. Bird 98 c/o, G. Bird 180, Lewis Court 180, C. Wilkieson 18, 2x 19 and 3 x 20 dart legs, 180. Disco Aitken 20 darts, 180. C. Hamilton 99 c/o 15 darts, 18 darts. S. Gardiner 2 x 180, 2 x 12 dart legs. Jamie Banks 78 c/o, 19 dart leg. S. Duncan 126 & 112 c/o's, 15 dart leg. Niel Dempsey 2 x 180. G. Christie 76 c/o. W. Borland 110 c/o. Ducket Aitken 12, 19 & 20 dart legs, 134 c/o.

I'm sure there was many other great shots from the day but these are the ones recorded so a big well done to all who took part, Jamie Fleming for instigating the competition and Brian and Margaret Guest and all the staff at the Commercial Inn for hosting the event. 

Bentswood Open Tournament

Stoneyburn (Saturday 31 January)

W.C.D.D.L.
Christmas CHARITY Singles.

The annual charity bash took place on Monday before the festivities get really under way!
And 66 players took to the ocky even with the threat of late Christmas shopping and pressie wrapping to be done these hardy men and woman of the ocky turned up at the home of the West Calder leagues darts sponsors the Doo Club in East Calder. (Let’s hope none of them get the cold shoulder when returning home!)

Now this competition see’s every player put a pound yes dart players charity knows no bounds and the monies collected go to the nominated charity of the winner! (Not sure yet which one it is but sure we will be told in due course)
So on the night the games started off as the best of 3x501 then at the last 16 stage 5x501 and if you were lucky or good enough to the grand final where a match over 7x501 would decide the winner.
Matches from the last eight players left standing are as follows,

Martin Deegan 3-1 John Hanlon. Jamie Fleming 3-2 Arran Edwards.
Jim Quinn 3-2 Ryan Little. Gordon Bruce 3-0 Colin Robertson.

The semi finals were both highly entertaining and fast flowing and not without a few twists and turns but it saw Gordon Bruce just edge out Jim Quinn and Martin Deegan getting past Jamie Fleming and so to the final.
And in this best of seven encounter it saw Gordon Bruce come away with a 4 games to 2 victory over Martin Deegan a cracking match up with both players finding the treble twenty and a pleasure to watch as many players stayed back to support both these fine dart players.
It always helps when players at the ocky know that their efforts are being cheered on by a sporting audience.
So it see’s Gordon Bruce now just one Christmas singles title behind the most win’s in this competition.
However with so many players now looking at all the single titles on offer with hungry eyes it may be a whole new! Lot of names being engraved on the trophies in the year ahead.
 Always good for any sport when new blood comes on the scene it makes for exciting times on the ocky.

Well played Gordon Bruce and also well played to the runner up Martin Deegan.
Merry Christmas to you both!

Monday Night Darts

The Four Person Team.

This competition has a few intricate twists to it, when playing what happens is that two players play one game of 501 and then the two players who did not play in the singles play a doubles match once again one game of 501 then the two players who played in the singles come back and play a doubles match as well, should the score then be two games apiece the teams will play a four man 1001 game so simply put first to three is the winner.

Now on the night the weather was freezing outside however the darts were absolutely sizzling inside the Doo Club in East Calder the home and the sponsors of the Monday night league.

Maximum 180’s were recorded by five players with Arran Edwards rattling in 3 x 180’s, this was followed very closely by Graham Borland who registered 2 x 180’s, Other players on target on the red lipstick were Stevie Morrans, Gordon Bruce, and Craig Agnew, Another top shot saw Rex Brady firing in a superb 174 score. Top finishes were hit by Jim Aitken of the Nomads from Polbeth with a 90 game shot, Jim Purse from the Juniors in Polbeth a cracking 128 game shot, From deepest darkest Mid Calder we had John Two Hands Hanlon finishing a cracking 121 game shot, Gary Finlayson rock solid 86 finish, Paul Gausden from the Cawburn Highlanders shanghai on the twenty bed for a 120 take out, Fast games were in abundance as well with Gordon Bruce finishing two games in 15 & 20 arrows, Craig Agnew 20 dart game, Graham Borland 17 darter, Jim Mitchell with the fastest of the evening with a 13 darter via 59-140-140-130-32 plus a 16 arrow game.

Now the night saw some tremendous tussles on the ocky but when all said and done the last four teams left standing were, Cawburn Highlanders v Volunteer Highway Men and the Paraffin Lamp Brigands verses the Cawburn Assassin’s. Some close match ups but it was the Highway Men and the Assassins’ who went through to the grand final.  The final saw the score tied at 1-1 after the two singles matches however the Cawburn team made no mistakes in the doubles and came away worthy winners by 3 games to 1, Congratulations to the Assassin’s and commiserations to the Highway Men. Once again a well run tournament thanks to League secretary Mr John MacDonald and Match secretary Mr John Kirk who kept the games going all night so no one was left waiting on a match. Also many thanks once again to the Doo Club for hosting this event a big thank you to the committee of the Doo Club who sponsor the league.

Captains Claim Title

The grand final of the Cawburn Sports Bar Wednesday night league came to a conclusion this week.

After many hard weeks of dart play the final eight teams lined up to play for the first prize of £200 which was sponsored by the Cawburn bar. Organiser of the event Mr Kirk Gordon got the proceedings under way by making an open draw which would also happen in the next round as well, this was to add some extra spice to the proceedings as you did not know who you would be drawn against!

Once the quarter finals were played the last four teams left standing it saw William Harraughty & Jim Mitchell up against top county players in the shape and form of Graeme Bird & Graham Borland this was a classic match with all four players representing the county in the inter counties league there were very few mistakes and when chances came round they were taken the final score saw Harraughty & Mitchell take the tie by 5 games to 3. The second semi final saw the East Calder duo of Stevie Morrans & Paul Weir with Paul being another top county player (retired) up against Peter Hastings’s & Lorne Mitchell a close affair with both teams firing out the big shots but it was the East Calder pair who just did enough and crossed the winning line by the tightest of margins in this best of nine encounter 5 games to 4. So to the Grand Final and with the match being the best of 11 x 501 the standard was extremely high from the moment the first arrow hit the dart board. Weir & Morrans took the first leg against the darts only for Harraughty & Mitchell to do the same in the second, The next four legs were shared so with the score at 3-3 it then saw a surge from the pairing of Harraughty & Mitchell and they came away 6 games to 3 winners in a very hard but well played final against two excellent opponents with only the doubling out being the difference in this match up. So champions and claiming the title it saw West Lothian’s county captains William Harraughty for this season and last season’s county captain Jim Mitchell take the title. Top maximum hitter on the night was Paul Weir with 3 x 180’s also William Harraughty 1 x180 and Stevie Morrans with a magical maximum as well. Top finishes saw Mitchell with 112 plus two game shots of 93 and 90 for the highest finishes of the evening. A big thank you to Kirk Gordon for running the tournament and a special mention to the Cawburn for sponsoring the event without the Cawburn support this event could not have happened, and one final note thank you to our long suffering barman Kenny see you at the next comp!
T.Y.

WELCOME BACK!
(hopefully in one piece!)

Yes those intrepid dart players from West Lothian would have started to make the arduous journey north after a week end of darting extravaganza in the olde English town of Berwick upon Tweed.

Now a few facts from the week end apart from everyone enjoying themselves were players who scored on the dart board!

Stevie Duncan with a maximum on the nineteen’s 1 x 171, Jim Mitchell 3x180’s along with some reasonable fast games 5 in under 20 darts, Colin Hamilton a nice round figure finish 90 game shot, Pete Hastings’s 1 x 180, Arran Edwards also on the maximum trail 1x180 plus a cracking 14 dart game,

Now all the darting stuff aside there were perhaps two memorable things that came to ones attention Yes Big Gary Christie can dance as he wandered his way with his partner round the dance floor to win a bottle of champagne (well done)

Now the other piece of knowledge is one I would not recommend any of you to do!

Martin Deegan thought this one up, Why not if you want to charge your phone and not lose it, we’ll just pop it into the microwave! Perhaps this is one idea we should not try.

Anyway hope everyone got back safe and sound, and as the saying goes, see you at the ocky if not the bar!

Only news of interest from the ocky is I believe Michelle McLay got to her board final in the ladies tournament!

Jim Mitchell made the quarter finals of the men’s tournament.

Ballroom Open 2014-11-02

(Formerly Riley’s Edinburgh)

This event was in Morningside in Edinburgh and a collection of county and top league players entered to try and annex the first open competition and get their non de plume on the trophy always nice to be the first name on a perpetual trophy!

West Lothian players Graeme Bird and Jim Mitchell entered the fray and they met in the last 16 in a titanic tussle which saw both players missing doubles Mitchell in the early games and Graeme in the final legs of this best of 7 x 501 encounter it saw Mitchell progress by the tightest of margins 4-3.

The semi final draw Mitchell then edge out Joe Bata a Lothian county player by 5 games to 1 in the semi which was an extremely high scoring encounter. The final saw Edinburgh player Scott Gardener take a 3-1 lead over Mitchell in a race to 6 in this a best of 11 encounter, However Mitchell pulled it back to 3-3 and then went on to annex the championship by a final score of 6-3 to collect the trophy and the first prize of £200. An excellent run competition which had Ralph Hirst making sure that once again the competition ran smoothly. A fabulous venue with four boards in use and one I would recommend for players to go to if future competitions are on the go!

Mitchell on the day recorded games finished 10 times in fewer than 20 darts but more importantly finishes of finishes of 92-96-96-107-116-121 along with 3x180’s.

Travelling West Lothian darters.

Westersider Open Singles

Murray Bar Juniors Champion of Champions play offs
Semi Final results and Final scores.

Polbeth was the setting for the Murray bar sponsored open tournament this Sunday.

And with a superb quality field entering this competition it saw both the reigning Ladies and Men’s Scottish masters’ champions in the venue. However so strong was the field of players on the day when the final four players were left standing it saw Colin Robertson from Uphall up against his team mate on a Monday, John Papa ‘J’ Charleston also from Uphall take to the ocky and a great match with superb scoring from both players it saw with scores sitting at 2-2 a vital missed dart at double top with the dart going into the double one just clipping the wire from Papa ‘J’ this was all Robertson the man they call the Marshall needed and with a last dart in his next visit to the ocky he claimed his place in the grand final. The next semi final saw youth International Arran Edwards up against  Jim McGeary of Airdrie, And once again top darts from both players but the experience of the veteran McGeary saw him just edge out Arran to claim his final place as well. So to the final a best of 7 x 501 encounters and it saw both players on top form hitting the treble twenty with superb consistency. Robertson took a commanding lead and at 3-2 up it looked like the game was up for Jim McGeary but a missed doubles from the Marshall was all it took for McGeary to level the match at 3-3 so down the wire it went and after a tremendous tussle it saw Jim McGeary take the plaudits with a 101 take out via 60-9-32 for a superb 4-3 fighting win, Commiserations to Colin Robertson who had his chances but the man from Airdrie took his and that was the difference.

Great match to watch.  Other top scores on the day players hitting maximums Gary Stone, Graeme Anderson, Colin Nichol, Dougie Hogg, Davie Nisbet, Arron Edwards 2 x 180, Jim Mitchell, Jim McGeary,

Top class finishes were recorded by, Charleston 2 x 76 & 2x 80 game shots, Graeme Anderson 85 finish, Davie Nisbet 84 take out, Jim Mitchell 81&120 finishes, Cameron Menzies 76 game shot, Colin Robertson 76 & 90 finishes, William Harraughty 115 game shot, David Aitken 103 game shot, John Somerville 79 & 97 game shots. Davie Jamieson 112 finish.

Quick games which were numerous these are the ones recorded. Gary Stone 15 darters. John Charleston 2 x 14-2 x 17-2 x 18 dart games. Graeme Anderson 13-16-17- darters. Lorraine Hyde 17 & 20 dart games. Davy Nisbet 13 & 19 dart legs. Arron Edwards 13 & 18 darters. Jim Mitchell 17& 2 x 18 darters. Kyle Gilmour 19 & 2 x 20 dart games. Cameron Menzies 17-18-20 darters. Rab Townsend 20 darts. Colin Robertson 17 & 2 x18 dart games. William Harraughty 18 darter. David Aitken 2 x 15 & 18 dart games. Jim McGeary 14-15-18-19 dart games. John Somerville 18-19 dart legs.

All in all some superb matches and there will be games not recorded but if you don’t say you can’t be reported!

This SATURDAY THE 7^TH September saw the Innerleithan Open take place.

This major singles competition saw a prize fund with over £700 up for grabs.

And in the draw it saw players from not only the Borders toe the ocky with players from the Lothian and West Lothian along with a parcel of very talented Glaswegians take to the ocky.

And it saw Whitburns Micky Rice from West Lothian first to toe the ocky and Micky was in mood to take it easy as he dispatched the reigning champion by the score of 3-1 in a high scoring encounter.

Next up saw Davie Rice take the scalp of a local player progressing 3-1. Next it saw the British Legion Champion last week Hurricane Harraughty lose out with many missed darts at a double the difference a week makes make! Micky Rice then fell away as well going down 1-3 in a cracking match as did Dave Rice who let a 2-0 lead disappear losing out 2-3.

So left standing was one of the counties old stalwarts Jim Be-Bad Mitchell. Now with the form of late nothing was expected from this old timer of West Lothian darts but oh how the form book changes after a fighting 3-2 win in the first match against top Lothian county player Gus Santana it saw Mitchell switch into over drive! And with four maximum 180’s alongside game shots of 86-94-100-106 finishes and with games finished in 15-17-17-18-20 arrows it saw Mitchell progress to the grand finale with wins of 3-2, 3-1, 3-0, 3-2. The final saw the match being the best of 7 x 501 and with over £500 at stake it saw no game take more than 19 darts Mitchell winning the first two in 17 and 15 only to find himself on a pummelling from his opponent who went out in 16-18-19 to take a 3-2 lead in this the best of seven encounter. But Mitchell claimed the next in 18 arrows to fight back and with it now a race to the death it was nip and tuck and with 50 left after 15 darts it saw the man called locally as Be-Bad take the title with a single 14 single 18 and last dart at double 9 to claim the title of Innnerleithan Open Single champion of 2013 in a an absolutely superb match from his opponent who was sitting on a double himself. On a matter of principal as a league and competition co-ordinator myself can I say what a fantastic job the committee did on the day running thing so smoothly and leaving no board un used a cracking bit of organisational skill. And to the Sponsors the Union Club in Innerleithan who supported this competiton along with local sponsors. From me myself I can I say thank you. And to all the very well behaved and vocal spectators who gave both players in the final the very best of support a well done it s always nice for players making the finals to know that they have people behind them. Once again thank you all and I look forward to trying and hopefully defending the title next year. Jim Be-Bad Mitchell.