CDC and NAWDA Announce Partnership

Three-Year Agreement Provides Opportunity for Top Women to Join Sport’s Elite in US, Canada

(Chicago, Illinois and Nashville, Tennessee – March 14, 2022) Championship Darts Corporation, owner of the Championship Darts Circuit – North America’s professional darts tour – and the North America Women’s Dart Association, the premier organization showcasing top-level talent in the ladies’ game, today announce the formation of a three-year strategic partnership that will provide two women players the opportunity to join the ranks of professional darts players on the “CDC Tour.”

Beginning in 2022, the winner and runner-up in the NAWDA Championship (to be held in conjunction with the Music City Classic in Nashville in August this year) will receive their CDC Tour Cards for the following calendar year, allowing them to enter the otherwise-closed professional events and play against the continent’s best. Championship Darts Corporation will also sponsor entry fees into two of the CDC Tour events for each player. Further, the two NAWDA-qualified players will be able to take additional sponsorship dollars earned via NAWDA play and apply it to either:
• Assist in covering costs for the following year’s Women’s Series events run by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in Europe; or
• Cover entry fees to the remainder of the CDC Tour events for the year in which their Tour Card is valid (not to exceed 10 additional events, for a total of 12 paid event entries between CDC and NAWDA sponsorship).

“We’re excited to partner with Rita (Wilkinson) and Amy (Fahey) at NAWDA to provide top women players the opportunity to play alongside the best on the continent,” said Peter Citera, CEO of Championship Darts Corporation, “darts is a sport where the biological differences between men and women are largely irrelevant. Look, for example, at the success Fallon Sherrock has enjoyed in the most elite events put on by our partners at the PDC. There is no reason that talented women with the drive and determination to succeed in our game shouldn’t have the opportunity to compete and prove themselves against all comers.”

In addition to providing the Tour Cards and sponsorship, CDC stands ready to advise and assist the NAWDA leadership team on an as-needed basis in event planning and any potential future expansion of the organization.
“Given the talent our women darters possess, I believe they will have no problem competing with the men of the CDC,” said Rita Wilkinson, Administrator of the NAWDA. I’m so excited for NAWDA to partner with the CDC to provide equal opportunities for North American women darters they would not otherwise have. This organization started off being an avenue for women to compete in the PDC World Championship qualifiers in hopes to advance to the Alexandra Palace stage in England. The women will still have that opportunity if they choose but, given the international travel challenges at the moment, providing them an added opportunity stateside is more than we could have hoped for!”