The Ladies Festival of Darts

Where do I start?

I cannot say thank you enough, from the bottom of my heart, I am so very honoured, very proud and privileged to have the pleasure of having so many ladies enter the LDO^s event at Selsey.

The line up of Ladies was just amazing. WORLD CLASS. Ladies from all over the world entering our event!

The only hiccup we had was the accident on the M25!

The whole event could not have ran any smoother or perfect. JUST BRILLIANT FROM START TO FINISH.

I have so many people to thank, so here goes. Firstly England Darts. Without the fantastic support of the LDO, this would not have happened. So to every single person on the EDO committee, Dawn, Speed, Tommy Thompson, Lesley Thompson, Bernie Crouch, Hayley Plume, Peter Melton, Debbie Melton, Vic Sexton, Jean Haywood, THANKYOU SO MUCH.

Paul James, you did a sterling job, registration on the door made everything so much easier, a brilliant way to know who was and wasn’t here. Thank you Paul, you have been brilliant forms tart to finish.

My hubby Gordon Lambie, whom had never ever been part of running an event before, totally amazed me beyond belief. You were utterly amazing and made me so very proud. So calm and you kept me even calmer. Thank you darling, I love you,x

And with an added bonus, I grabbed Nick Rolls too come on control. Nick came to the ladies classic last year to help and he is a total professional and has helped so much, so without any prior notice to nick, he gladly obliged and come on control. And my hubby learnt how to run control from Nick, so again, a big thank you.

You were all kept up to speed on how the event was running on line, the draw and results regularly updated by Debbie Melton, who offered to come on control and update everything on the EDO website on our dedicated page on there. Without Debbie’s help, I really wouldn’t have had time to do this, so believe me, you were a star, and thank you so much.

Thank you to Deta Hedman LDO for her dedication to promoting the LDO and being a fabulous ambassador for the Ladies Darts worldwide.

We have our sponsors to thank as without their backing, you wouldn’t have had such a great prize fund £1940! In which because of this amazing amount we were able to payout down to the last 32. Your board posters were all proudly displayed on the surrounds for all to see. A big thank you to:-

Winmau

Red Dragon

Premier Trophies

Portas Lodge

Trina Gulliver

Montague Maintenance

Carlton Sports Management

Jean Haywood

Darts Beers & Cheers

Dawn Speed

Clever Cloggs

A special mention to Trina Gulliver MBE, who works quietly in the background supporting the LDO and her endless charity work, It was an honour to be able to announce your achievement in front of so many great lady dart players, friends and supporters, I think I shook from head to foot, and thank you to Paula Jacklin for bring the place to a silence as the microphone wasn’t working and was having to really shout, Hence why I have now have no voice! Also a thank you to Sue Gulliver as both Trina and Sue were the ladies who organised through Premier Trophies, the amazing Trophies that were presented to the Finalists.

Thank you to all the committee members on the LDO Members Tammy Mackenzie Dawn Speed, Andy Chilton, Ann Chilton, Dez Jacklin, Paula, who help in so many ways and are unsung heroes.

The event was in my eyes, ran to a very high standard, No waiting around, and over and done within 4 hours, and that was with giving the late comers time to arrive, giving ladies a break between the later stages of the event time to cool off, as the heat was unbearable at times. My whole aim of giving you a tournament is to make you happy and play your best, which I hope I achieved.

There were some amazing games, great legs and high checkouts. Lisa Ashton, although originally has a bye, ended up having to play the very first game of the day. As we took a few late entries, this however didn’t stop Lisa from showing us what a world class player she really is. Not sure what leg this was but BANG she hits a 150 checkout. Thinking this wouldn’t be topped, how wrong was I; The current Worlds No.1 Deta Hedman tops this by hitting a 158 checkout, and taking the highest of the event. And winning the wonderful prize of a custom designed Jewellery collection made and designed solely for the LDO from Irina Armstrong. Deta has now decided to give this to charity and will inform you herself of how this is being done.

The event was to me, just one of my best experiences of my life, something I will never forget.

The last 8 ladies we saw competing from 6 nations,

Aileen De Graff - Netherlands

Donna Russell - Essex

Julie Gore - Wales

Rachna David - Norway

Anastasia Dobromyslova - Russia

Kirsi Viinikainen - Finland

Irina Armstrong - Germany

Deta Hedman - Oxford

AS I SAID - WORLD CLASS

The final games where truly out of this world, the support for all the ladies was intense and nail biting. But only 2 ladies would grace the stage for the Finals on Sunday, and these ladies were Anastasia and Aileen.

This was a moment that had me feeling really nervous and nausea as I knew I had to stand on the England Stage and present the trophies and prize money in front of hundreds of people.

The final arrived on Sunday; I was back and forth discussing the arrangements, formats, and my duties with the England Committee. The two finalists were called onto stage, and I had to actually hold back the tears, as my emotions were getting the better of me. I was in awe, so proud of myself, my final was being streamed live on the internet on the England Website through Justin TV, and I must say thank you to John Parrack for giving the LDO this opportunity.

I cannot say how nervous I was, or if the two ladies playing were nervous, but these two women, are both great world players and I was honoured to have two great ladies playing for the LDO.

But there would only be one winner. And last year’s Lakeside World Professional Darts Champion Anastasia was also to take the honour of becoming the Ladies Festival of Darts Champion.

Well done ladies, a great game to watch and be part of xx

Now for my moment of glory, as that what i think it is. I was to be introduced on stage by the Official MC for the England Darts, the one and only Little Richard. Yep he is little :). I was trembling; I could see the envelopes wobbling in my hands. But I walked up on the stage, not stumbling up the steps thank god, and gave the little man a kiss. The turned round to see what looked like thousands of people looking right at me and clapping. My eyes did well up, and I had to really fight hard to stop then rolling down my cheeks. The day had arrived, the day we all worked so hard to achieve, IT WAS HERE, I WAS HERE, THE FINALST WERE HERE.

WE DID IT. WE MADE HISTORY.

This was all going through my head on stage, and I wanted to run around scream and shout, but no, I had to be composed and professional.

The trophies and prize money were presented, photographs were taken, my job was done. xxx

Words cannot express my thanks, I will treasure this day for always.

If i have missed someone off to say a thank you, my apologies.

I owe you all so much, for believing in my, for trusting me for being my friends.

My Love too each and every single player, supporter, sponsor and my family, and most importantly THANKYOU TO MY HUSBAND FOR BEING MY ROCK x

Julie Lambie

C.E.O. of The Ladies Darts Organisation