This week saw me editing and gathering recent Darts Hero 2022 nominations together for our panel to review in early November. I thought it might be time to share one or two with you:
Leesy or @GDLWizard was one of the first names to pop up more than once and sprang to my attention. No, it’s not because he is a Nottingham Forest fan either.
When a name has been repeatedly nominated you look to see why and if every nomination is the same etc. In this case, everything seemed organic and each nomination was different. Some focused on the encouragement he had given them to enjoy their darts and to improve in their own way, others mentioned the interaction between players and how useful it had been whilst things were tough.
Still, more were keen to say how the graded system had helped them rediscover their love for playing darts and competition.
Perhaps the strongest theme was the feeling that players’ mental health had benefited from the ‘friendly’ leagues and reliable competitions. The simple construction and ease of use have ensured that the GDL is open to all and many of them seem deeply grateful.
A special mention to Peter McGuinness who decided to cut out the middleman and nominate himself:
“Hiya, I know I’m probably supposed to nominate someone but I’d like to nominate myself.”
Peter took up darts again about 4 years ago and started playing with a local pub. Covid hit and his first season ended, so should he just keep practicing at home? Not Peter.
“but I got fed up with it, so I said to myself “what can I do?” “I decided to keep up with darts and arranged charity darts nights. For the 1st show I took Ricky Evans over to Ireland to do a show in aid of a local charity called Let’s Talk Mental Health because everyone was affected including myself. It went very well and I was able to donate €1400.”
“I recently tried one in my hometown of Dundalk. This time I took over Tony O’Shea and Andy Hamilton to benefit our local homeless. Next, I shall be taking over Devon Petersen in aid of my kid’s school as they are trying to raise €10000 to resurface the playground.”
It’s certainly fair to say we’ve received many serious, lighter-hearted and even moving nominations. We’ve sent some to the panel and we look forward to receiving many more nominations via editor@dartsworld.com or our Social Media platforms.
—–ENDS—-
Images: Winmau & Darts Word Magazine
