MoBay ready to host Caribbean Cup, PDC darts

WESTERN BUREAU:

Jamaica is set to become the epicentre of darts in Latin America and the Caribbean between July 19 and 27, when the Montego Bay Convention Centre hosts the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) qualifier, which will be staged alongside the Caribbean Cup Darts Championship.

Winston Ferguson, president of the Jamaica Darts Association (JDA), believes that having the PDC qualifiers and the Caribbean Cup in the same nine-day window could boost darts in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ferguson said he expects Jamaica as host of the Caribbean Cup, last played in 2018, to regain the coveted title. Jamaica won the first four staging of the tournament, the symbol of Caribbean supremacy.

"We have been wanting to stage this event since 2014, and we had everything to do it in 2020, but COVID-19 came and stopped us in our tracks," said Ferguson, who thinks that hosting the tournament will further advertise Jamaica as a capable sports tourism destination.

"The last time the Caribbean Cup was staged, Trinidad and Tobago, who was the host, emerged as the champions. We aim to do the same here on home soil," he said.

HIGH-QUALITY

Evon Faulkner, who will serve as tournament director for the PDC qualifiers, which will feature at least six teams from Latin America and the Caribbean and will see the winner qualifying for the World Cup Championship in England in December and the Caribbean Cup, which is a PDC qualifier, expects two high-quality tournaments.

"The Caribbean Cup is led by the Caribbean Darts Association (CDA) and is between countries of the Caribbean like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados...major Caribbean countries...St Lucia, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Guyana, Turks and Caicos...all the top teams," said Faulkner, who expects each country to field a minimum of 20 participants.

"The other tournament as a PDC qualifier...the PDC is the outfit that runs professional darts globally. There is an outfit called Champion Darts Latin America and the Caribbean, representing the PDC in the region, and they will be leading the PDC qualifiers here in Jamaica.

"The PDC qualifiers will see players coming from countries from the Latin American region...Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, in addition to the Caribbean players, who have aspirations to play darts on the global stage," he continued.

TOP OFFICIALS VISIT

On Saturday, two of the CDC's top officials, Jeff Good, the chief executive officer of the Championship Dart Latin America and the Caribbean and Peter Citera, the chief executive officer of the CDC, visited Jamaica for an update on the preparation for the tournaments, and following their examination of the facilities at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, commended the local organisers, noting that they were satisfied.

"The venue is fantastic...if I could take this venue and replicate it anywhere we play, it would be a dream, to be honest," said Citera. "The space is great, it is laid out well, and it is obvious it is taken care of, and it translates well for our event."

Having decided to take the tournament, which was initially slated for the National Indoor Centre in Kingston, Ferguson is hoping to solicit the support of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) and the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as he believes the events, which is poised to attract worldwide attention, could enhance the tourism product and draw positive attention to Montego Bay.

The PDC qualifiers will span July 19 to 21, with the Caribbean Cup going from July 22 to 29.