International darts comes to the West
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
It ’ s not every day that the western suburbs of Sydney get international sporting events in our own back yard , particularly in the world of darts . Sydney Darts laid down a challenge to all of the best darts players throughout Sydney to take on some of the best professional darts players from all around the world . And two of these professionals made their way out to Penrith to take on the best darts players from Penrith , Blacktown , St Marys and Mt Druitt . The players came from everywhere to show what they could do against two of the best - nine-time runner up in Professional Darts Corporation ’ s competition Terry “ The Bull ” Jenkins , and Alan “ Chuck ” Norris .
The local boys had several things on their side for these events . Terry “ The Bull ” Jenkins and Alan “ Chuck ” Norris had only flown into Australia a few days before
Alan “ Chuck ” Norris with The Duck Man the event and had already competed in an event the previous two nights and were potentially suffering from the effects of jet lag . That didn ’ t stop the English pros from giving their very best against the best Aussies that we could muster .
This whirlwind tour was Alans ’ first visit to Australia , the atmosphere at the club was electric and he said he had never been in an Irish pub that is as big as the Penrith Gaels club . The club was electrifying and the local boys had brought their A game with many of the locals throwing 180s , all competitors had to qualify to pit themselves against the two English pros . The local boys took “ Chuck ” and “ The Bull ” right down to the wire in the best of three games .
Alan and Terry , both play on the Masters circuit in Europe and they told us that the quality of darts players over in Europe is extraordinary . They said that the players they were competing against on the night were of a very good standard for amateur players but they had a long way to go to reach the standard of two of Australia ’ s best world champion players , Simon “ The Wizard ” Whitlock and Damien Heta and the standard of play that they bring to the international circuit .
Alan said “ It is very difficult to develop your game further in a country the size of Australia because so much travel is
The International team enjoying dinner .
involved between tournaments which makes it difficult to attract higher quality players here .”
“ The Australian players are very good but they need more investment and tournaments that they can compete in for prize money and this would help lift the quality of our local darts players .” In America and Asia they use a lot of soft tip darts and its very different to Europe , and the sport has exploded after the past 5 years particularly in Germany , Holland , Denmark , Austria , Poland and Scandinavia .”
Both Alan and Terry love playing on the World Seniors darts circuit and they said there is still good money to be made in these tournaments . Alan said “ The Wizard is one of the absolute stars of the international scene , he ’ s a very good player , and gentleman to boot , to be a champion darts player , consistency is the key .”
These days there is a lot more focus
Terry “ The Bull ” Jenkins with The Duck Man
on the fitness element of darts , you need to be fit to be able to handle the rigours involved with playing over long periods of time .
A lot of dart players suffer from yips ( a state of extreme nervousness ) very similar to golf yips and it is something that can and does affect all players in darts .
On the night the Aussie players tested the English Champions and the banter was phenomenal from the Aussie fans who wanted to see the local boys upset the Englishmen .
It ’ s definitely something to go and see if you ’ re ever given the opportunity .
Park Runs – helping keep the community active
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
If you are ever out and about on a Saturday morning , at some time or other you would have noticed the army of people out and about going for a run . I personally always found it hard to just get up and run , but there are lots of weekend warriors that love getting out there and going for a run .
Park Run gives them that opportunity , it is an organised running event made up of volunteers from across the neighbourhood . Park Run hold events everywhere including Rooty Hill , Quakers Hill , Werrington , and The Ponds to name a few . You name the place and more often
Credit Rooty Hill Park Run . than none they will either host a parkrun group , or there is one nearby .
Park Run started in England over 10 years and came out to Australia through people who love getting out in the great wide-open spaces and running for fitness and exercise , and to meet people and socialise . The distance for the park run is a nice achievable 5km which participants can choose to do running or walking , there is no competition in the park runs other than your own personal goals and achievements .
Park Run really became a big event in Western Sydney and people are able to do some structured exercise without having to pay exorbitant fees and you can do what you love in an area close to your house or community . I have been advised by many people who do park runs that it is a great way to meet new people and develop friendships too .
Steve Whelan who is involved with Hills Athletics club told me that it ’ s important for people to get out and exercise not only for the physical benefits , but also the mental health and wellbeing of people in the community . The good thing with park run is that it doesn ’ t discriminate and is open to everyone , all you need to have to be involved is the willingness to give it a go and go and enjoy yourself .
It ’ s absolutely free to join Park Runs , and you just need to sign up online . You have plenty of options of where you want to participate as well , with over 200 locations for Park Runs in NSW . When you register you will get a barcode , where you can see your results / times and measure your improvement as you continue to compete . The only person that you compete against in Park Run is yourself and as Steve said , “ You just keep improving your health and performance one step at a time .”
It is a great community event which has 200 people participating and up to 500 people a week participating in The Ponds each week . You don ’ t need to be a runner , or a supreme athlete , many of the people who participate are just your average people who want to get out and do some exercise .
There are many people who have started out with Park Runs that have now fallen in love with the whole discipline of running , and they are now competing in 8000m events , half marathons which are
Runners enjoying the park run . Credit Rooty Hill Park Run .
21.1km and even marathons which are 42.2km events .
Why not get down to your local Park Run event and give it a crack ? You might be the next Cathy Freeman or Cliffy Young .
24 ISSUE 28 // JULY 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT