We're Back!!!
Welcome back to the official restart of the Southern Dutchess Dart League; we’re ready to resume league play on Tuesday, September 7th, at our usual 8:00 PM start, and hoping to see all of you back and throwing darts this fall. It’s been a tough 16 or so months for everyone, and we’ve unfortunately lost two sponsors that we’re aware of – Tina’s and Joe’s Irish Pub – both longtime supporters of the SDDL, and they will be missed. We also hope to see a couple of new sponsors that have reached out through the years with interest in sponsoring teams.
One item to note - the league will be waiving the $100 per team sponsor fee for the Fall 2021 season. We feel we have done a good job managing our finances, and with what we took in during the interrupted Spring 2020 season, we can afford Fall season trophies, the Turkey Shoot, DartConnect, and other expenses with our current surplus. We will resume collecting sponsor fees in Spring 2022, but we hope this gesture helps our valued sponsors get back on their feet after the shutdown.
That said, we will still be charging the $25 team fee, which will be due from each Captain or team representative at the Captains Meeting on August 10th at 8 pm at Karen's Bar and Grill, 702 Freedom Plains Road. This team fee goes towards recordkeeping, tracking statistics and standings, and DartConnect.
We are having the Captains’ Meeting earlier than usual this season so that we can get a handle on how many teams are returning, confirm that sponsors are still open and able to sponsor teams, and to be able to vote on a new potential sponsor for the Fall 2021 season, so that we can have as smooth of a restart as possible.
Every team will be required to have a Captain or team representative attend the Captains Meeting, hand in your $25 team fee and submit at least an initial roster to the league.
Rosters can be provided either by email (officers@southerndutchessdartleague.com) anytime from now through the start of the Captains’ meeting (so that we can ensure all Captains have viable teams for the season) or they can be handed in at the Captains’ meeting. Updates to rosters can be submitted up until 5 pm on August 27th.
As always, rosters can be added to at any time, but each team’s roster as of August 27th will be what Rob uses to set up divisions and schedules, so in the interest of competitive balance, please be as complete and accurate as possible.
Schedules and division alignments will then be released on the league website (http://www.southerndutchessdartleague.com) on August 31st. Please note, the league will not be distributing paper copies of the schedule and divisions; all of this information is available on the league website and through DartConnect, and can be printed from the league website if needed.
At the Captains meeting, we plan to cover the following topics. If any of the captains have additional topics for discussion and vote, please let me know prior to the meeting and we will add those to the agenda.
· With Tina’s closing, the teams that have played there, both of which have been SDDL league members for years, have indicated an interest in playing out of the Kent Countryside Inn, also known as Mr. Gugs, located at 1023 Route 52, in Carmel.
o They are located in Putnam County, less than a mile from the Dutchess-Putnam border, which is the southern boundary of our league, and a five-minute drive from where Tina’s was.
o The driving distance from multiple points within southern Dutchess times out as no further than the drive many of us made to Tina’s for many years. Where you made a right at the Ludingtonville exit on I-84 to go to Tina’s, you would make a left, and travel the same distance.
o League officers have spoken with the Mr. Gugs management and they have expressed a strong desire to become a sponsor.
o League officers have also checked out the setup, which includes two dartboards and plenty of space, and a familiar face from Tina’s behind the bar. The venue meets all the standards we would request from a sponsor.
o As required by league rules, the officers are bringing this up for discussion and a Captains vote to approve an exemption for this sponsor outside of the league borders (much like the Junior’s vote from 2014 for those who remember), with a Yes vote allowing teams to play out of Mr. Gugs in Fall 2021.
· COVID-related updates.
· Turkey Shoot information.
· Tablet lending – as with last season, we have a number of tablets that we can lend out for a $25 deposit for any teams that need one for DartConnect.
· A review of DartConnect and its use on league night, as a refresher for those who may not have used the app since the halt of play back in March, 2020.
Recap of Important Dates:
Tuesday, August 10th – 8 PM Captains Meeting @ Karen’s Bar and Grill
Tuesday, August 31st – Schedule release online @ www.southerndutchessdartleague.com
Tuesday, September 7th – Week 1 of play
Saturday, November 6th – Turkey Shoot @ location TBD
Please let us know if there are any questions, and looking forward to seeing all the Captains on August 10th.
Thank you!