Meet Carla Raymond, A Pro-Am Shooter at the '2003 Windy City Open

I first met Carla Raymond at my home bar, Family Bar, in Chicago. Carla introduced herself to me and told me that my team looked like great fun as it is a team of all women in the Windy City League Open Division (one of only a couple of teams of all women in the open league). The next time I saw Carla was when she was playing at the Windy City Open (09/03) where she was playing on stage for 1st and 2nd place in the Pro-Am event. This event is where darters win a qualifier to get a spot on a Pro-Am team and compete at the Open with a pro as a partner. Carla shot excellent darts and was the only female on stage at the Pro-Am competing for the money, with a pro as a partner, and a Nickel and Tungsten shooter as well. I was impressed at how great she's doing with her darts and to qualify, she actually won the first Pro-Am qualifier right out of the shoot this last summer. With a spot secured, she had all summer to prepare for the big Pro-Am event at the Windy City Open. I was curious as to how long she had been playing, how often she plays and what keeps her motivated to compete. I also wanted to learn about her experience playing on stage at the Pro-Am event as she was the only female darter to make it to the stage. Here's the "Passionate Darter" interview with Carla Raymond, Chicago darter and winner of one of the Pro-Am Qualifiers...

You won a Pro-Am qualifier, in fact, the first one offered this summer! How long have you been playing?

I have been playing steel-tip darts about 2 years. After moving to the Ravenswood area from Lakeview in the fall of 2001, I was exploring the neighborhood and came across a little hole in the wall called Gio's Sports Bar and Grill, or as it is actually known, Gio's. I was with a friend, Bret Angelos (someone who also became an everyday darter as a result of finding this place) and we randomly and for a reason that would become apparent later, challenged the two guys playing on the only board in the house to a game. We asked the bartender to use the "bar darts", a set of mismatched, mangled steel-tips, and so the story starts. The guys beat us easily, as they were Tungsten throwers then and now, not that I knew what that meant then. But I am good friends with one of them now, Ian Gore, and have dated and loved the other one for almost 2 years, Rich Friedman.

Do you play regularly on league or hit the blind draws?

I am not playing league this season. This is the first regular season I have taken off and it has allowed me to see darts it another way. When I throw, I'm throwing just for fun and I think that attitude is improving my game. I have the time to focus on fundamentals, make changes, and experiment. I still end up playing at least once a weekend out at Gio's and once in a while Rich and I will go to Gambler's or Di's. We have a board up at home that gets used a couple of times a week. I am lucky that I have such a great thrower for a practice buddy at home.

I don't play in many of the weekly blind draws. When I do play, I enjoy the randomness of both my partner and the competition. Everyone is really nice and fun and a good time is had by all. During the regular seasons, I have always thought that the blind draws were such a good way to "mix it up" and to let people get to know each other.

My favorite dart bars...all of them! I have had really good times at Gambler's, Di's and Family Bar. But I also like the smaller bars like Lee's and Big Joes. They have a cozy feel and it seems they really enjoy having the darters in there.

My favorite game is Cricket. It just seems to me that if you can have enough control to be really good at Cricket, then you can have enough control to hit your numbers on 501 and 301 and get the outs.

Do you play electronic darts as well?

I don't really play electronic darts at all. Never have.

And what type of darts do you throw?

As I sit here at work, I don't even know what kind of darts I have. I've used the same set for about 1 1/2 years. I got them at Family Bar when I didn't know what I was buying. Debbie Trimble helped me out. They just felt good. I'm pretty loyal to them, quirks and all. The barrel on one of them is now mis-threaded so that the tip won't screw all the way in. It hasn't affected my throwing so far ( I believe) so I haven't gotten it fixed.

Tell us about the Pro-Am Qualifier and the event itself...

I have never won a qualifier before. I had never even tried. I didn't feel there was a point. I was sure I would lose. This year, I had determined that I would go to the first one where the men's and women's were separate. Lower numbers of competitors equals better chance of winning. It was a long night. Best two out of three 501 for brass players can take a fair amount of time. It wasn't over until almost 1:30. By then I had been practicing almost non-stop between matches and my arm physically hurt by the time the final match came around. I had been throwing solidly all night. No great shot or outs, just solid, respectable darts. The last two matches were really tough. It seemed there was little room for mistake. I was very surprised that I made it to the last match. I feel I play better with a partner or as part of a team, so to make it that far on my own was a first. I think we went to three legs on the last match and I remember stepping up for my first shot at the out. It was a tough match and I knew I wouldn't have many chances at the out and maybe I would only have one chance. I don't remember how many chances I finally had but when I hit it, I was shocked. I couldn't believe that I had come out on the first night of the qualifiers and won. I was all prepared to treat this first one as a "warm-up", and I had already planned the next qualifier I would attend. I had only planned on going to two or three at the most. So, I was very happy to get that out of the way. It ended up that since I won so early in the summer, I had no reason to be on a practice schedule. So when September came around, I was forced to really get back on track in the 2 weeks before the Pro-Am.

I normally throw out of Gio's or Lee's although that first qualifier was at Village Pub. I had only thrown at Village Pub one other time and I think that helped. I didn't know the place well enough to be intimidated by it.

Prior to the Pro-Am, when I found out who my teammates would be, I didn't recognize any of their names. That made me a little nervous, not knowing what to expect. When I got there and met them, they were great. They were Eric Madland, Nickel; Isen Veljic Tungsten; and Dan Olsen, Pro. Everyone was very supportive. And it turns out I did know Eric as we had been blind draw partners at the previous Windy City Cup.

I was very nervous that night. I went by myself because we had to be there early. For me, it was such a different feel than anything from league or even another Open or Cup. I've only been to three other tournaments and I had never played with a pro. And especially since I didn't know the Tungsten player at all, I felt pressure to perform. And there was some pressure. I assumed that since you made it onto a team, your teammates expected you to be at least decent. I guess I am a decent darter for being brass, but I also know that I have thrown darts in the past and somebody watching might have thought I had never seen a dart board before. Especially when I am nervous. You can see where nerves might be a problem playing at the Pro-Am.

So I decided that I didn't have to be great...that was what the pro and tungsten throwers were for. I was hoping for solid darts. Just like the night I won the qualifier. Nothing fancy or big, just solid. With that attitude, I was able to keep my nerves under control and stay focused on what I was doing. It also helped that I knew the next person up on my team would be the really good shooters. So as long as the other team didn't have an out on the game, and I shot solid darts, we were still in it.

I have never played on stage at any tournament before. And to tell the truth, I didn't have time to get nervous about it this time. It seemed to me the matches were going pretty fast with not much time between them. Next the I knew, we were on stage. I was actually fine on stage for the most part. I was fairly pleased with how I had been throwing so far and knew I could keep going. All was well until the third leg, when I had the first shot at the out for our team. It was 38. Double 19s. I had three darts in my hand and if I did it right, I would only need one. Now I was nervous. The Pro from the other team was shooting next, and they had a number they could do out on. So I had the feeling that this was it. Maybe that's why I messed it up. I hit a 19 on the first dart. Not great but still doable. I nailed the three that I needed to have double 8s out. Usually one of my better outs. There I was...one dart away on a shot I had made many times before. I shoot...and MISS! I just threw too hard. Nerves. I hit an 11. Not even close. Of course, the pro on the other team took it out and that was it. I immediately was worried that I had disappointed the rest of the team, but everyone was great. We celebrated our second place finish. In the end, we had fun and made some money. And ultimately, I was pretty pleased with my darts that night.




That night I entered the blind draw. I honestly don't remember what happened. I was too hyped from the Pro-Am. I'm sure I had fun. The rest of the weekend I entered singles cricket and lost in the second round. I also entered mixed doubles with my guy, Rich. Rich is a really good shot, but we had the luck of pulling Isen and his partner for the first round, so we lost. I heard Dan and Isen's names announced quite a little bit over the weekend, so I think they did well. Not sure about Eric.

What and/or who have been the biggest influences on your dart game?

I think my biggest influence in darts has been everyone at Gio's and especially a guy named Ziggy. He has a really long complicated last name but everyone just knows him as Ziggy. In the beginning, he took the time to teach me darts on my level. He's been throwing darts forever, but would always be happy to give a game to the starting brass players and have fun doing it. Another thing is that while he's competitive, he gets along with everyone and keeps darts in perspective. He's also a human calculator on the outs and chalking. An all around great guy.

What keeps you motivated to continue playing and competing?

I stay interested in darts because of the competition. It has nothing to do with gender or strength. I enjoy that the playing field is level and the sport attracts all kinds of people. It's refreshing. I'm also driven to achieve consistency at whatever level I may achieve it. My dart throwing ability fluctuates. I can go for a nice stretch throwing awesome darts and then hit a stretch where it seems I'm lucky to hit the board. And I'm just not satisfied with that condition.

What words of wisdom do you have for other darters, especially those just started out?

Advice for other darters and next year's Windy City Pro-AM qualifiers? ENTER! You might win. Stranger things have happened and at the very least, you'll have fun with some cool people.

As far as advice for brand-spanking new darters...I do have some. Don't be intimidated. When I started throwing, I had no idea this "dart world" existed. It seemed people were speaking an entirely different language. And I had never even conceptualized of someone owning more than one pair of darts. WHAT!?!? Not to mention going to your first tournament and walking into a brightly lit room devoid of sound except for the thump, thump, thump of the hundred or so people practicing on the 75 darts boards lined up on the wall. It can be intimidating. Ignore it. Now I speak the language, own several sets of darts and tournaments are becoming an old hat. The people are great and I promise you will have fun. Just jump in.

Where you able to watch the first live coverage of the Las Vegas Desert Classic II this past July?

I did not watch the first live televised coverage of darts this past July. I had no idea about them until the Open when I was watching a video of it on the TV. at tournament central. As I was watching, a guy came up and started up a conversation. I didn't know his name. It became clear he knew what was going to happen and I assumed that it was because he had already seen it. Right before I left to play in singles cricket, I asked him if the guy who was shooting went on to win it. He said, "No, I beat him in the next round". Afterwards I was told it was John Part. Amazing.

What makes a good sportsman with regard to darts, i.e. what are the qualities of a "Passionate Darter"?

In my opinion, a good sportsman has the ability to be encouraging of his or her fellow darters and the ability to appreciate everyone's contribution to the team or game at whatever level they can produce. There will always be greater or lesser darters than you so encourage those that need encouragement and appreciate all. That's the attitude I try to keep.

You were successful at winning the single's Pro-Am qualifier. Do you attend any other tournaments?

As far as other tournaments out of town, it took me weeks to get ready for the Pro-Am. I can't imagine how I could afford to go to more tournaments, money-wise or time-wise.

My thanks to Carla Raymond for sharing her take on darts and her experience at the Pro-Am shoot at the Windy City Qualifier. She is a passionate darter YOU should know! After only playing for 2 years and throwing some awesome darts, this is one darter to watch in the future. And let me know Carla, if you're looking for that kick-ass team to shoot with on Monday nights as we always welcome excellent women darters to our all-girls team!

Till next time, shoot well and I'll see you at the line.