And the Darts for Charity championship trophy goes to …

It’s a good thing seoplus+ is relocating to a larger office space because the digital marketing agency is going to need the extra room for the trophy it won Wednesday night.

It participated in and sponsored the inaugural Darts for Charity tournament held at Manor Lounge in support of the Senators Community Foundation.

As first-place winners, senior account manager Connor Neshcov and account manager Bachar Neema also scored honking big replica championship rings. They’ll no doubt choose to flaunt those bejewelled beauties around town at every opportunity. As well, the pair took home large gift baskets donated by the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club.

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The men never expected to be the last team standing. “We came here thinking we were going to play a couple of games and then be done, and that would be it,” Neshcov told OBJ.social at the entertainment venue on Elgin Street. It serves as a restaurant, bar and a hotspot for such games as darts and bocce ball, or to solve one’s way through an escape room.

The evening was “a blast,” seoplus+ co-founder and COO Brock Murray said later. “It was really great to see the community come together and have some fun while supporting a great cause,” said Murray, who’s looking forward to putting the trophy at the company’s new office at Lansdowne, where they’re in the midst of moving to. “We’ll have to make sure to bring it back next year to defend the championship.”

The winners narrowly beat out John Robinson, president and CEO of boutique IT support company Intega IT, and his new business development manager Linnaea Briand. As a consolation prize, the second-place winners each won their own pickleball paddle sets, allowing them to take up another game that’s both fun and highly social. Intega IT was also a sponsor of the event.

“Overall, we came in not knowing what to expect, never playing darts before, so I was a little bit nervous,” Robinson told OBJ.social afterward. “Somehow, we ended up in second place.”

There was anecdotal evidence to suggest a pint of beer or a glass of wine helped to improve many of the players’ aim and accuracy that night.

The sponsors of the fundraiser also included Mirabel Management, Courtney Turk Interiors, Keynote Search and Meerkat Marketing. The goal was to raise $10,000 in support of the Senators Community Foundation, which funds programs and supports partner charities that have made a tangible and measurable impact on the lives of children and youth in Ottawa and Western Quebec.

The fundraiser was organized by James Baker, CEO and co-founder of executive search and recruitment firm Keynote Search, and Kyle Turk, CEO of boutique marketing firm Meerkat. They figured it was the perfect way to bring people together through a sport anyone can play, regardless of physical size, fitness level or skill set. You didn’t even need math — the scoring was all done automatically. 

Turk got the idea from a networking social he attended last year at Manor Lounge, hosted by seoplus+.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, who works just down the street, dropped in at the start of the event to chat with organizers and try his hand at a few practice darts. 

The Senators Community Foundation was “thrilled” to be the recipient charity of the new event, said president Jacqueline Belsito.  “It’s so nice to do something different,” she added. “I heard a lot of people say that they were going to put dart boards up in their offices. People also remarked on what a great team-building opportunity it was; so simple, so fun, and something that everyone can participate in.”

Funds raised will also help to move the needle on supporting families in the community, she pointed out.

Excited to participate were Oliver Kershaw and Lindsay Hockey, both senior vice presidents at Colliers commercial real estate firm.

Kershaw, who’s originally from Newport, Wales, loves darts. So much so that he attended the PDC World Darts Championship held at Alexandra Palace in London a few years ago. He also has a family dart board at home in the basement. 

Unfortunately, the Colliers team was knocked out before making it to the end. “My professional dart dreams have been dashed,” quipped Kershaw. “I guess I’ll stick to real estate.”