Cat Fight strong after twenty years
By Ty Hughes
New Years Day is exclusively reserved for Cindy Gilbert’s Annual Cat Fight and has been for the past 20 years straight. Female dart players all over the Puget Sound anxiously await this one particular day. Ask any one of them throughout the year where they’ll be on New Years Day, and they’ll surely respond, “At Cactus Moon for the Cat Fight, of course!”
Each and every year, the girls battle it out for bragging rights as Cat Fight champions. And brag they do. Then, come New Years Day, they gather yet again in hopes of stealing the title from the current holders.
It’s always a friendly, good time among competitors. Everybody comes out for the event, even lots of folks that don’t intend to play darts ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äú they just like being in the company of such a lively and fun-loving group.
Last month’s event drew 27 teams even after a hard night of partying to welcome a brand new year, though many I spoke with admitted to staying home and out of the bars altogether. Maybe they were reserving their bladders for the big day at Cactus.
The bar was completely packed with bodies, top to bottom, including some familiar faces from way back who had set aside an afternoon to rediscover their love of the game.
As usual, the bar staff were busy running around, tending to everyone’s needs. You don’t even have to leave your stool, they are there before you even realize you’re ready for a refill.
As for the tournament itself, Paul and Robyn, Cactus owners, had kicked in $1,000 in guaranteed cash added to the entry fees, making for a very healthy $1,270 payout. Cindy paid out all the way down to 13th place!
Yelena Husman and Naomi Bentz teamed up and took the field by storm, shooting their way all the way to the finish line! Way to go girls!
Runners up to champions Yelena and Naomi were Charissa Patneaude and Krys Hargan, and in a respectable third place, came Jackie Williams and Kim Weaver.
Cindy Gilbert has made it clear that it’s finally time to pass the baton to the next capable coordinator of the longest-running dart competition still in effect. She hasn’t yet made any formal announcements, but we will probably be seeing a changing of the guard for next year’s Cat Fight.
The Medallion would like to formally congratulate Cindy on her commitment to this event for the last twenty years. She’s been instrumental in keeping this event going strong all these years. Her dedication to the girls and the sport is truly spectacular.
Thanks Cindy! And thanks Paul and Robyn for your willingness to support such an amazing phenomenon. We look forward to many more years of Cat Fights to come.
