To the players and associations of the American Darts Organization

Firstly, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year!  Secondly, thank you for re-electing me as your ADO President for 2016-17.

2015 brought on several changes within the ADO, the most major one being the closing of the ADO Office in Anaheim, CA.  This was a very hard decision for the board to make as Katie Harris has been a big part of the ADO for 39 years.  However, we understood that things had to change; the ADO was going in the wrong direction and it had to be stopped.

Katie will be on board with the ADO through the end of January 2016 to work with our new CFO, who I mention in the next paragraph.  After that time, she will be called upon when needed as a consultant; after all, she knows more about the ADO than everyone else on the planet combined.  Katie: Thank you for all your time and service with the ADO.  I truly appreciate everything you have taught me about the ADO.

I would like to welcome our new CFO, Jeff Inman, to the ADO.  I believe this is a huge step forward for the ADO.  Jeff is a Certified Public Accountant employed as a senior tax specialist.  He has 30+ years of experience working in a variety of positions, primarily focused on providing tax compliance and consulting services for small- to mid-sized businesses and individuals. He has extensive experience dealing with and resolving issues with the Internal Revenue Service, including assisting nonprofit clients with reinstating tax exempt status and other related issues.  Jeff, welcome aboard!  You will be a huge help in moving the ADO into right direction.

The current ADO board, which I believe is filled with the right people who all have a vision on how to move the ADO forward, will be constantly working together to achieve the goals of giving back more to the players.  We are looking to increase National Championship payouts, give added benefits and awards to US National Team members and past National Champions, provide more opportunities for players to represent the USA overseas and provide more opportunities for all players to participate in ADO National Finals.

2016 will also introduce the first ever Americas Cup ADO Youth Qualifier for the ADO.  One boy and one girl will represent the USA at the Americas Cup in Barbados this July. The Americas Cup Youth Qualifier will take place in Charlotte, NC, and we are very excited about giving the youth players this opportunity.  This is just the first step as we look to put far more emphasis on the youth game in the United States.

We are also in the process of re-writing the by-laws and tournament rules to get rid of grey areas, to add new laws/rules that have come into play and to eliminate some redundant rules that no longer affect how the ADO and its tournaments are run.

We have redesigned the ADO website so it offers more information to the players.  As you can see, the overhaul has already taken place.  New ADO Calendar for easier visibility for the players and associations, new/updated pages about the history of the ADO, added features such as an FAQ section and a suggestion box that will automatically email the suggestion to the ADO Board.  We have separate international pages for BDO and WDF events/tournaments/rules.  There is new way to submit results from ADO tournaments and National qualifiers, which should simplify and streamline the process.  If you look through the website, you will also see several other additions that are benefits to the players and association.  More pages and information will be added as we move forward.  Some examples of those pages: FAQs, QAs, individual members, associated club pages, Area/Region and historical results information covering all appearances by Americans at Lakeside, Masters, World Cups etc.  If you have any suggestions on what you would like to see on the website, please contact me via email at president@adodarts.com.

Another major change is the introduction of a separate ADO Youth website which can be found at http://www.adoyouthdarts.com.  This website has information about ADO Youth tournaments, WDF Youth tournaments, National information, Americas Cup Qualifier information and the current status of the ADO Youth Scholarship fund.

I understand there are a lot of people and associations that are unhappy at what has happened to the ADO over the years, and quite honestly, I don’t blame them.  Some have left the ADO and vowed never to return.  My goal is to show that we are not the “same old” ADO; to show that we are moving forward, and will continue to do so.  I want the players and associations to be proud of their ADO membership, and I want us all to work together for the good of not just the ADO, but for the good of the American game as a whole.  I believe we will succeed and that the best of the ADO is ahead of us.  I am very excited about the direction we are starting to move.

Regards,
David Hascup
ADO President

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