May Captain's Meeting Recap

No Captain's meeting in June. Next Captain's Meeting is July 3 at Post 256. That's minor compared to the rest of the meeting, but if anyone stops reading before they finish the good stuff, this is something that needs to be known.

14 players entered the Youth Qualifier and 2 will advance to the National Playoffs. Congratulations to Zach and Mz Thang.

There was discussion of the finances required to send 2 Youths and 2 parents to the Nationals. It's expensive and the WDA doesn't have unlimited resources. After a brief discussion it was unanimous that the WDA will continue to send 2 Youths to Nationals. A very positive and convincing attitude of "we will find a way" was the main topic of the discussion. There was a question whether this vote was setting a precedent that future administrations and Directors would feel compelled to follow. The Directors were overwhelmingly in favor of setting this vote as a precedent for the future of the WDA.

The WDA is still distributing the "yellow cards" where members fill out their contact information and anything they'd be interested in doing to help the WDA achieve its goals. Please take the time to fill one out - even if you are unable or choose to not volunteer. Please.

Speaking of volunteers. The WDA is hosting a Regional qualifier May 19 at Post 4. Chalkers are always needed at these events. One thing that keeps chalkers away from these events is the fear that if they show up, they'll be standing and chalking for 3 or 4 hours straight. Not this time. Chalkers are being asked to sign up for chalking duty in 1/2-hour increments. The hope is that this will make chalking more attractive to more potential chalkers. With enough chalkers, each chalker scores a couple of matches and then takes a break for a couple of matches. With plenty of available chalkers, there will be plenty of people to hang out with, relax with, talk to, and maybe shoot the breeze while enjoying a beverage. During these breaks, no discussions of removing the Vice-President will be allowed. This will be enforced by - dang, I forgot to get any volunteers for that.

Blind draws at the Regional qualifier are set for Friday,May 18 and Saturday, May 19. These are 80% payback with 20% going to the Youth Nationals fund. The blind draws will start at 8 PM. Signups will close in time to start the events on time, so don't be late. I know we're supposed to say Blind Draws start at 7:30 to get people there by 8.

Spring Fling is now cast in stone, chiseled in concrete and cemented in ink - or something like that. It's June 9 at Post 4. It's a Post 4 Pig Out, which is about exactly like a Burn Your Buns. Side dishes. Side dishes. Side dishes. Those are required to make these things work. Side dish contributions have been low at recent Burn Your Buns. We need a better response to keep these things going.

The Directors voted to suthorize a 3-year contract with the Radisson/Broadview - you know the place. The rental rate for the dart hall is guaranteed. Room rate increases have been capped at good rates.

The Directors also voted to stash money (to guarantee the Air Cap) in interest-bearing accounts. These will be timed to have the funds available in time to buy boards and guarantee payouts for the Air Cap.

Participation in weekend Blind Draws is low. Both Kelly's (Friday) and Post 4 (Saturday) have made commitments to the WDA with the expectation of some darters showing up for the Blind Draws. Kelly's put up 4 boards in a prime location. Post 4 has provided storage and repeatedly opened the public hall for the WDA when the revenues couldn't be expected to cover the heating or A/C costs. The message was pretty clear. If the WDA wants to continue getting favorable commitments from our sponsors, then the WDA membership needs to support those sponsors.