Dart throwers on target

For years, Steven Rhea threw darts.

"At one point, I was ranked 154th in the state," said Rhea, 50, who lives in Colusa.

But 23 years ago, Rhea gave the sport up.

"I got married and had more responsibilities with my wife and children," Rhea said.

But then, one day while surfing the Internet, Rhea came across the Colusa Casino Resort Dart Tournament, which began Friday and continues through Sunday.

"I saw one of the guys I used to shoot with in Stockton won this tournament last year," Rhea said.

So, Rhea decided to turn out Friday for the third annual Colusa tournament, in hopes of seeing his old friend again or other shooters with whom he competed with and against more than 20 years ago.

And, Rhea toyed with the idea of competing himself.

"My darts have been up on a shelf for years drawing dust," Rhea said. "I think maybe it's about time to get them out and let them breathe a little."

Rhea ended up entering one of the three events staged Friday at the Colusa Tribal Center near the casino. It was the blind draw doubles 501 event.

A blind draw event is fun because novice throwers can be paired with seasoned shooters, said Pat Miller of Yuba City.

"One time I was paired with the No. 3-ranked woman in the world," said Miller, one of several Yuba-Sutter Dart League members who are competing in Colusa.

The tournament is a regional shoot, said tournament director Bob Martell.

"This is actually one of the smaller shoots we do," he added, noting at some, several hundred competitors are entered.

The first year of the Colusa tournament, 46 people entered while last year there were 50. "You never know how many will show up this year because of the fuel crisis," Martell said. "But from what I've heard, we're expecting more people than the two years combined."

Martell recalled during darts' heyday in the 1970s and '80s up to about 1995, the sport was very, very popular. But then soft-tip darts came along and the sport's interest declined.

"Now soft tips are declining and steel-tip darts are making a comeback," Martell said.

He noted there is a company in England that sponsors seven different dart tournaments in the U.S. that are televised in Europe. The most recent one was held in Las Vegas last week and it featured a purse worth 250,000 pounds.

"That's about a half-million dollars, American money," Martell said.

Martell noted most American tournaments are tame by British standards.

"They have flashing lights, girls in bikinis," he said. "It's pretty fancy."

The Colusa tournament didn't have the flashing lights or skantily-clad women; all it had was good camaraderie spread out among a dozen dart boards.

Among the Mid-Valley shooters were Bob and Cathy Ashbaugh of Marysville.

"It actually took me a while to get into it," Cathy Ashbaugh said, who added her husband first got involved with shooting darts while she stayed home with their children.

Once their children were grown, Cathy Ashbaugh said her husband talked her into joining him.

"It's great that we get to spend time together," she said, adding not only do they compete in the Yuba-Sutter Dart League and local tournaments, but they also practice at home in their dart room.

Debbie Mitchell, a Colusa resident and president of the Yuba-Sutter Dart League, said she enjoys most getting together with other shooters.

"I like the people," Mitchell said. "We're just like one big family."

Mitchell also likes the challenge of playing darts. She recalled several years ago when the local fairgrounds hosted the annual Yuba-Sutter Classic, which featured about 20 dart boards and several hundred throwers.

"My goal as president this year is to get that tournament back," she said.

The Colusa Casino Resort Dart Tournament continues today at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m. Today's action includes both men's and women's singles and doubles 501 play, while Sunday's schedule includes men's doubles cricket, ladies draw cricket and doubles draw cricket.

The tournament is open free to spectators.

"I talked with four people from Colusa just this week who said they were interested in coming and watching," said Martell.

Contact sports reporter Richard Myers at rmyers@appeal-democrat.com