On Tuesday, June 30th New Zealand held the Taranaki International Dart open at the New Plymouth Devon Hotel. The tournament ran for three days where the who is who in the darts society was there. Taranaki’s very own Mark Cleaver was at the tournament and his biggest wish is for the dart game to grow. He is known as the “Maestro” when he plays with darts. He is a plasterer by day but in the evenings he can spend up to six to eight hours on the board. He was ranked fourth by the New Zealand darts council.
On Friday the Taranaki open darts season the players were welcomed by a powhiri which is a ceremonial traditional Maori ceremony. And on Saturday the national team for Malaysia played a friendly with the New Zealand team. At first,it seemed as if the Malaysian team was going to win the game but the “Maestro” came to the rescue. Together with Craig Caldwell, Mark MacGracth and Darren Herrewini they took over the tournament and ensured they were not going to be beaten in their home ground.
There are measures that are being put into place to ensure that this sport becomes popular. The Taranaki’s Darts Association president Brent Holswich is making efforts in the region such as holding top first world class tournaments. These are set to attract dart lovers from around the world. If you are interested in this sport the following are some of the tips that should be followed to become a pro:
There is beauty in sports and the government should put a bit more effort into popularizing this small sports. Not everyone is talented in football and netball so it is inconsiderate for most governments to value them and forget about other small infamous sports such as darts. With the help of people such as Mark Cleaver there might just end up having a global dart tournament such as the FIFA world cup.
