In the three occasions that Leicester Novus Rotary members have run the darts competition in the annual District 1070 Disability Games, they have become accustomed to seeing some remarkable feats.
In 2018, when the games were held in Stamford, Lincs., Lee Horsefield managed to throw his second dart into the back of his previous dart .
This year, at Ratcliffe College, Ratcliffe on the Wreake, Ian Young scored two bullseyes. Joshua Kennedy scored one. And one young lady scored 90 with three darts… the sort of score that teenaged professional darts sensation Luke Littler would be pleased with.
Over five hours at Ratcliffe College 31 men and 15 women played a total of 41 knock-out matches.
The women’s competition was won by Laura Thorn who beat Tamsin Dunn and previous winner Laetitia Lavallin in a three-way final.
The men’s competition was won by Chris King, who beat Alexander Searl in a nearest-the-bull shoot-out. Just minutes earlier, Chris had become runner-up in the final of the men’s table tennis tournament. Chris had also registered to take part in the archery contest, which had to be cancelled because of the weather.
In addition to the darts, table tennis and archery, there were competitions in the college’s swimming pool, in the sports hall were boccia, basketball hoop-shooting, kurling and wheelchair racing, and in the fitness suite was weightlifting. All the events and the administration and catering was provided by ten Rotary clubs from across Leicester and Leicestershire, led by Richard Power and Chris Trivett, from the Rotary Clubs of Leicester and Leicester De Montfort.
Nearly 350 people with a range of disabilities came from all over the east Midlands to take part.
Leicester Novus president Jim Matthews said: “It was not all about winning trophies… it was about having fun. Friends Lewis and Daniel enjoyed their first-round match-up with plenty of good-natured banter. It was like that all day, with lots of smiles and laughs — particularly at my attempts to subtract the latest score from 301!
“Fortunately, one of our volunteers was 10-year-old Sahib Singh Bring, who was as accurate and even quicker than the phone-based calculators that some of our other nine volunteers used.
“it was a long and sometimes hectic day, but it was one which the Rotary volunteers loved. Seeing the smiles on the faces of the winners and the losers and their carers and supporters is what makes us believe in the Rotary slogan Service Above Self.
“I want to thank all our helpers, the competitors and their supporters, and Ratcliffe College for making it all possible. The Darts Shack at Sileby very generously gave us a used dart board. We are grateful to them.”
Last edited: 19:00 on Monday, April 8, 2024
