Nine dart teams from across the Outaouais faced off in the annual Gatineau Valley regional darts tournament at the Otter Lake Recreation Centre on Saturday.

The tournament, organized by Jannie Cloutier, featured nine rounds of three games each, with the nine teams battling it out for the top spot based on the total number of games won.

By Saturday evening, the Wakefield Legion and the East Aldfield teams were at the top of the leaderboard, each having won 32 games, and so faced off in a final 1001-point round, in which the Wakefield legion team emerged victorious.

It was Cloutier’s first time organizing the tournament this year after the former organizer gave up the position. She also competed in the tournament, playing for the Le Rendez-vous team.

“I think people are just happy to have a tournament this year. I had a little help but there’s not a lot of organization,” Cloutier said. “I find that it’s important that the region has one [tournament]. I think I’ll take it up next year too since no one has offered to do it next year.”

Julia Orlando, one of the eight members of the Wakefield Legion team, was happy to participate in her first dart tournament. For her, it was an opportunity to go out and meet new people sharing a similar passion.

“I have never been in a tournament before. But I play with people who have all been in tournaments and they’ve told me how much fun it is.”

Jennifer Emery, who competed for the Le Rendez-vous team, is a veteran of the sport and holds the highest women’s point average in the region with a score of 47.35. She has been playing in the tournament for 23 years and explained that for her, the tournament is primarily about reconnecting with old friends and sharing a few laughs over drinks while playing darts.

“Of course we want to win, but I’m not a sore loser [ . . . ] If we don’t win, it’s okay. We need losers to the end,” Emery said jokingly.

“In the end I find we’re all winners because we’re here all day, and we have a great day.”

The Wakefield Legion won the annual Gatineau Valley Region tournament this Saturday in a tie-breaking final against East Aldfield. Front row, from left are Wakefield team members Janet Egan, Julia Orlando, Lana Collins, Louise Lefebvre. Back row, from left are Ian Richardson, Derek Kealley, Ian Moreau and Jesse Sivyer.

Register or subscribe to read this content

Thanks for stopping by! This article is available to readers who have created a free account or who subscribe to The Equity.

When you register for free with your email, you get access to a limited number of stories at no cost. Subscribers enjoy unlimited access to everything we publish—and directly support quality local journalism here in the Pontiac.

Register or Subscribe Today!