The recent passing of a local darts figure has shaken up many in the sport. Most will throw in this weekend’s Mickey Mouse tournament with heavy hearts.
Corner Pocket hosts the annual competition this Sunday at 1pm.
The event was slated to take place last Sunday but was put off to host the funeral of the recently departed Trevor Lloyd.
Lloyd, 60, was one of the longest-tenured members of the Cayman Islands Darts Association. He had just served as organizer of the Vivian Rankine memorial darts tournament last month. He also played in the competition and posted a runner-up spot with Richard Campbell in the doubles segment. It is believed that Lloyd passed away due to a heart attack he suffered in Barbados.
One of the people impacted by Lloyd’s passing is Paul Anglin, the current president of the darts association. The West Bay native, who was helped in the sport by Lloyd, states in spite of the grief within darts the tournament is still going ahead.
“I can certainly say that the competition is still there,” Anglin said. “The amount of players may not be. But at this point the Mickey Mouse tournament is not just for Pirates Week. We’re playing now in honour of Trevor. All of those people who knew him or heard about him should make plans to come out and support his memory.
“As I said to you earlier Trevor was a very close friend of mine and great man in the sport of darts. I still can’t believe he’s gone. I’m now even more motivated to carry on the youth league. It was one of his last passions and I’ll see it through in his memory.”
Filipino star Mel Tagalog is currently the tournament’s defending champion. He beat Earl Smith in the singles category and teamed up with 2008 overall champion Cliff Weeks to nab the doubles trophy. Smith partnered with former Caribbean champion Edsell Haylock to nab the runner-up slot in the doubles event. Other notable participants last year were Arek Archibold (who won a set of darts for being the youngest competitor) and Anthony Gropelli (a 19 year-old darts prodigy from Pennsylvania).
This year Anglin sees many of those same names playing a part in this year’s proceedings.
“As you know most of the players who compete are current darts association members. Thus they are no strangers to each other and there should be stiff competition out there. Mel is right there as the man to beat though Earl is seriously gunning for the title this time. Of course they got to look out for guys like Edsell and Eddie Ballantyne.
“Richard Campbell may not be there due to other commitments but I will be there. I’ll actually be doing two roles in overseeing and playing. In fact I’d dare to say that all of those guys have to go through me to win the title.
“On the other hand I am hoping some newcomers will be participating that can add to the tournament’s competitiveness. We’re always encouraging new players to check out the sport of darts. Once the tournament finishes we’ll focus on the upcoming 2011 league where we’ll be adding a “B” league for people who want to play and have fun.”
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