Have a go at darts day for Eltham junior club
A junior youth darts club is starting in Eltham, South Taranaki.
Tracy Karaitiana says she decided to start a club after her own daughter, Georgia Stevens (14), became interested in the sport.
“We used to bring her to New Plymouth each week to play against the kids there but since my partner and I purchased the old rugby gym in Eltham, we decided to start something up locally for the people.”
The have-a-go nights will cater for children aged eight to 13 years old and youth aged 14-17 years old.
“We want to make it accessible to as many kids as possible.”
Tracy says she’s been playing darts herself for 12 years.
“It started when I was watching my partner play. I was encouraged to try it and since then, I’ve been hooked.”
She says darts is a great sport and believes it’ll be something kids will enjoy.
“We had a give darts-a-go day in Kaponga about four years ago. There were 20 children and they all had a great time. It was such a good day that I decided to try and start a club in Eltham this year to get people interested.”
Tracy says children don’t need to bring anything other than a willingness to give it a go, with all equipment provided. Children do need to wear closed-in shoes, however, for safety reasons.
“Players from the South Taranaki Senior Darts Association have donated their old darts to use.”
If children are interested, there’s also a chance to compete regionally and nationally, says Tracy.
“We’ve set up the South Taranaki Junior Youth League which is part of the New Zealand Darts Council. Because of this, we can sign up for tournaments and competitions. As they progress, they can compete in these.”
She says as well as herself, senior players from Kaponga Darts Club will also be at the sessions.
“This is to give the kids one-on-one teaching and also so they can play a great game of darts and see how it’s done.”
The first session is on Friday, February 16 and Tracy says she is looking forward to introducing others to the sport she loves.
“We can’t wait to see you there.”