Ekurhuleni South Darts Association reaches greater heights
Formally known as Near East Rand Darts Association (NERDA), the darts club is continually picking up momentum and has a number of success stories.
Ekurhuleni South Darts Association (ESDA), a darts club based at the Dinwiddie Sports Club in Germiston, prides itself on its number of accomplishments.
Darts is a growing sport in South Africa and with it comes a lot of exciting things.
The club, established in 1983, currently consists of 43 senior players and six juniors, with some members residing in Alberton.
“We have had some great success stories in the past, but most recently, our association sent a team of 14 players. It sent six men, six ladies and two managers to the Darts South Africa (DSA) National Championships which was held at The Ellis Park Arena (formally known as The Standard Bank Arena),” explained Delian Bennett, secretary and business unit manager.
She said three of their team members represented Gauteng and these three players did exceptionally well.
“JP Schoeman, who has unfortunately moved to the Western Cape, received a gold medal as part of the Gauteng team. Moira Cronje (ESDA ladies team captain) received a silver medal as part of the Gauteng team and Maryna Badenhorst received a gold medal as part of the Gauteng masters ladies team,” she said.
A look into their programmes
Bennett said they are busy nationally with a school programme called the 180 Plus Darts Development Programme and which is in conjunction with the Department of Education.
They aim to introduce and develop darts as an alternative sport in schools.
“This programme already has had great success and is picking up speed in Gauteng. We have received the consent of five different schools thus far for us to help implement the sport in the schools within our area. This is an exciting initiative for us,” Bennett said.
ESDA is playing Opens (where all the registered clubs and associations within Gauteng come together) in preparation for their association trials, the district trials as well as the Gauteng trials to qualify to become a part of these teams.
“We have our league nights every Thursday from 19:00 and anyone interested may come through and observe or play along with us. The entry cost for the league night is R30 per player and this we do for fundraising purposes,” she said.
For more information, contact Delian Bennett on 073 773 2698 or via WhatsApp on 066 219 1144.
