This weekend, North Belfast Working Men’s Club is playing host to the inaugural European Trophy Competition for World Inclusio ParaDarts and World Para Darts. The four-day event, that has been spearheaded by Tommy Dillon (founder of the Northern Ireland Disability Darts Association – NIDDA) was formally opened today by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Ryan Murphy. Warm words of welcome were provided to competitors and their supporters from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany, Belgium and Denmark. The Trophy is the first of its kind delivering a world standard competition for people with both visible and invisible disabilities.
Preparation for the event began in February 23 when volunteers started work on transforming the spaces in the North Club, building the tournament “booths and oches” that accommodate 84 Dartboards (37 for wheelchair users and 47 for standing players). As a result, for the next four days North Belfast Working Men’s Club is the largest Darts venue in Belfast.
The European Trophy is being held from 16th until the 19th November, Thursday 16th was the Inclusio pairs competition and a meet and greet friendly competition between the World ParaDarts section. Friday 17th is the official opening ceremony and then the Inclusio singles will begin and the World ParaDarts will have their pairs and singles events on the same day. On Saturday 18th both sections will have the team events.
Sunday the 19th will be the finals for both sections, so the stage will be brought out to be played on this, there will be Inclusio Pairs, ParaDarts Pairs, Inclusio Singles, ParaDarts Standing Singles, ParaDarts Wheelchair Singles, Inclusio Team Final and ParaDarts Team Final. There will then be a closing ceremony for the trophy presentations followed by a celebratory disco.
We want to wish everyone participating and supporting the competition all the best. Its incredible to see and experience how others can temporarily transform a unique heritage asset to be a welcoming and purposeful space for all.
For more information on the European Trophy and NIDDA please click the following link: https://www.northernirelanddisabilitydartsassociation.com/
