Legion hosting darts fundrasier for local player

Local darts player Mykel Kequahtooway is hoping to turn his dream of competing at the Winmau World Masters in England a reality — and the community will be out to help him Saturday at the Royal Canadian Legion.

The 16-year-old Albertan champion qualified for the international event after winning a qualifier in Quebec — which he entered while representing his province at the national championships in May — but it only covers his entry.

“When he won that, it got him an invite to go to the World Masters,” said Rob Kochie, Kequahtooway’s coach and uncle. “It doesn’t pay for anything there, it just gives him a foot through the door, so to speak.

“It probably had anywhere between 30 and 40 competitors, both junior and senior boys, and he managed to get all the way to the final and win.”

Teams can register for the blind draw doubles tournament until 11:45 a.m., with darts running from noon to 4 p.m. Entry is $10 per person.

“We’ve got a pretty tightknit dart community, we call it our darts familiy,” Kochie said. “I’m hoping we’ll have a good turnout, I’d like to get anywhere from eight to 10 teams.”

He says they haven’t set any sort of bar as to fundraising goals, just that every penny helps.

“We’re pretty much raising funds, not only just for Mykel, but myself and my wife are going too, as his chapperones,” said Kochie, head coach at Southeast Alberta Youth Darts. “It’s not cheap to go to England, I’m not a rich person. This is basically our last fundraiser.

“We did a few square boards where we raised some funds off that. I also did a barbecue-slash-bottle drive fundraising event for him and that did pretty good. Honest to God, it doesn’t really matter the number that I raise because anything and everything will help.”

The event will also feature a 50/50 draw, auctions and a bake sale to support Kequahtooway on his road to the world stage.

“If you can’t play darts, come down and at least bid on some pretty unique items and maybe walk away with some tasty baked goods, because I’ve got a lot of people that are baking some really tasty treats,” said Kochie.