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Central Maryland Dart League (CMDL) announced that the 2008 Maryland Open, formally known as the Maryland State Championships and long viewed as one of the regions premier dart tournaments, will celebrate its 18th anniversary October 24-26, 2008 by donating sponsor’s proceeds from this year’s tournament to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of The Mid-Atlantic (MAWFMA). “I am delighted that our board and members chose to support such a worthy Charitable Foundation,” said Bill Villiers, Director of Tournament Fundraising, “we have been selling dart board banners, program advertising and during the tournament weekend we will hold raffles and a silent auction to raise additional funds.”
This year’s tournament not only has a new name but has been moved to the Holiday Inn Laurel West, Laurel, MD. “We decided to change the name to The Maryland Open as it better reflects the overall spirit of the dart tournament in terms of the players who attend, it’s not just local darters from Maryland & Washington DC, but players from up and down the east coast,” said Robert Ferris, President of CMDL, “we also decided to move it to a hotel environment which will enable players and their guests to "play and stay" in one location, combined with it’s central location, just off interstate I95 between Baltimore & Washington DC, it should ensure a great turn out.”
The tournament is sanctioned by the American Darts Organization (ADO) and is expected to attract over 150 of the regions top dart players, who will square off against each other over 3 days of scheduled events, open to all players. Friday evening kicks off the tournament with a blind draw event (where doubles teams are drawn at random) at 7:00 PM, and concluding on Sunday afternoon with the 18th Annual Maryland State Championships, which are open to all residents of Maryland and Washington DC. The format is singles 501, for both men and women, in single elimination play over the best of 3 legs. Some past participants have gone on to represent the US in international play and indeed are playing professionally.
According to the American Darts Organization, over 17 million people play darts in the United States each year. Maryland alone has 7 organized dart leagues and, if included Washington DC, has well over 2000 member players. With a recent explosion of interest across the globe, darts has a worldwide following that would rival that of most major professional sports. Indeed, the game of darts offers many of the same pleasures as other sports: the camaraderie of friends, challenge and excitement of harnessing personal skill and the necessary mental toughness to make the game winning shot. Perhaps best of all, the game of darts is inexpensive. The only equipment needed to get started in the game is a set of darts, which retail between $5 and $200, and a dartboard, which runs about $45.
About Central Maryland Dart League
Central Maryland Dart League (CMDL) is an all volunteer member organization dedicated to preserving and advancing the game of steel-tip darts in the State of Maryland area and across North America. League divisions run by CMDL include players of all skill levels, from beginner to semi professional. CMDL hosts one major tournament per year – the Maryland Open is held in October and includes the Maryland State Championship event. Sponsorship and advertising opportunities are available year round by contacting below.
About the Make-a-Wish Foundation® of the Mid-Atlantic
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc. (MAWFMA) is a nonprofit organization that fulfills the wishes of children facing life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. The Foundation serves children in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia (Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties as well as city of Alexandria), and Delaware.
Founded in 1983, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc. has fulfilled the wishes of nearly 6,000 children fighting illnesses such as Cancer, Pediatric AIDS, Cystic Fibrosis, Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy and heart disease.
This year, the Foundation anticipates a 25 percent increase in wishes as we actively reach out to all medically-eligible children in our region.
A wish fulfilled creates a memorable experience for a child fighting a life-threatening medical condition and gives him or her something positive to think about instead of medical treatments and hospital visits.
Recent wishes include visiting Walt Disney World, taking family vacations, receiving home computers, having bedrooms redecorated and meeting celebrities including the President. The average wish costs $7,500.
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billyv[.]marylandopendarts.com 
