Winmau’s Maria Mason defends Singles and Doubles NDF Titles

Source: St. Catharines Standard
By Bernie Puchalski
Friday, June 19, 2015 5:04:40 EDT PM
 
ST. CATHARINES - Maria Mason successfully defended her singles and doubles titles at this week’s National Darts Federation of Canada championships with a heavy heart.
"My mother got me into this and she had just passed away at the of May so this had been a very hard week for me,” said the 33-year-old Team Ontario member. "She has always been the voice of reason and she has been there to encourage me whether she was here or not.”

Helping out during her mother’s illness meant Mason came to the Canadian championships with little preparation.

"I really didn’t have any expectations,” she said. "I came here to have fun, see some old faces and I knew she wouldn’t be very happy if I didn’t come. I kind of had to.

Her mother, Marion Carli, was her biggest fan and got her involved with darts about seven years ago.

"She had played for many, many years but I never wanted to do it,” the Bowmanville resident said. "She decided I needed to get out of the house more so she signed me up for a fun summer league.

"She made sure I tried out for the provincials and it just went on from there.”

Defending her Canadian crowns and being named the NDFC’s athlete of a year this week were a fitting tribute to the bond between mother and daughter.

"It’s something that I really wish that she was here to see and I know she would have been over the moon about it,” said the human resources manager with Ontario’s Minister of the Attorney General. "This is the second year I won the ladies doubles and singles title and the athlete of the year topped it up.”

Last October, her mother accompanied her to England for the world masters championships where Mason placed in the top 32 in the world. She returned overseas for the qualifier for the Lakeside World Professional Darts Championships and finished among the top two, competing against all the women who also attended the world masters. Her placing earned her a spot at the Lakeside championships where she competed in front of 2,000 fans.

"We had really good games and a really good showing and I was the first Canadian woman to ever go there,” she said. "It was an absolutely amazing time and a completely different experience.”

Mason plans to make a return to the world masters championships this October and the Lakeside qualifier.

"I’m going to be determined, do a lot of practice and try to be up there again.”

She was a quick study in the sport.

"Because I practised with my mom quite a bit and we went into leagues and tournaments, you get that drive and you get that practice,” she said. "It starts to come for you and you get a feel for it.”

There are a number of factors which make a champion darts competitor.

"It’s the love of the game and the patience for it because there are days when you are on and there’s day when you are off,” said the three-year veteran of Team Ontario said. "It’s knowing that days like that will happen and you just have to keep going. It’s like anyone who loves a sport.”

This year’s Canadian championships were held Tuesday through Friday at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites in St. Catharines. Sixteen competitors, eight male and eight female, were in St. Catharines representing Canada’s 12 provinces and territories. The provincial members qualified in singles play and then competed in ladies and men’s doubles, singles and mixed doubles at the Canadian championships.

"These are the best of the best,” said NDFC vice-president and tourney director Maggie LeBlanc.

Darts is a rapidly growing sport in Canada.

"Across Canada, there’s 100s of thousands playing competitively, not all in our system,” NDFC president Bill Hatter said. "There’s all kinds of levels, but to get to the world level, they have to come through this summer. And we have been successful the last few years. Our players are now known and feared in some circles.”