OLDS — A lack of teams forced cancellation of the annual sno-pitch tournament that raised funds for Olds & District Special Olympics.
But a phoenix has arisen from those ashes.
A dart tournament has been organized instead. The one-day tournament takes place April 1 in the dart room of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #105, starting at 10 a.m.
When interviewed, organizer Cathy Ould had 10 teams signed up from among Olds and Innisfail dart enthusiasts. She was hoping for 12.
She noted that many people who like to play slo-pitch also like to participate in the sno-pitch tournament. And in the winter, many like to play darts.
“It turns out most of the people that we invited are actually in our two dart leagues between the Innisfail dart league and the Olds dart league,” she said.
“That’s nice, that I had such good friends and family in the dart community that they were willing to drop everything and do it at the last minute.
“The Legion has donated the room to us which is amazing, because it’s such a great cause.”
The event, which Ould is calling the first annual Special O’s Dart Tournament, was cobbled together in just three weeks or so after Mary Smith, who organized the annual sno-pitch tournament for years, decided to cancel it because there weren’t enough entries.
Ould figures there’s enough interest that she’d like to make the tournament an annual event "whether the sno-pitch (tournament) goes ahead or not” next year.
This year’s sno-pitch tournament was slated to take place March 17-19.
Smith has a theory as to why not enough teams signed up this year. As many organizations have discovered, COVID disrupted tradition.
"I think I was a little bit late with the promotion,” Smith said. “When you do it for so many years in a row, the same teams sign up every year.
“But then COVID when we broke, we didn’t have that annual commitment from the teams.”
In an email, ODSO chair Karen Mengersen said she was disappointed that not enough teams registered for the sno-pitch tournament.
"This event ran for many, many years and raised lots of money in support of our programs. Special Olympics Olds and District is very grateful to Mary Smith and the many ball players over the years who came out and endured cold, deep snow, mud and whatever to enjoy a weekend of ball in support of our athletes and the sports they participate in," she wrote.
But Mengersen is pleased that the darts tournament is taking its place, at least for this year.
"It is wonderful that there is still great interest in supporting our organization and athletes," she wrote.
“The pros would be that there is interest in raising monies for Special Olympics here in Olds. Our programs are able to go forward because of donations made to us by businesses and people and events such as this dart tournament. New people and more people will be exposed to who we are and what we do.
"A downside to this situation could be that the amount of monies which we receive as a result of this tournament might not be as great as before. But, like any charity, we will be grateful for any monies received. Every little bit helps to keep fees more affordable for our athletes."
