Chloe to be number one at Christmas
Rising Rattray arrows ace Chloe O’Brien will finish the year as Scotland’s number one under-18 girl.
The Blairgowrie High School pupil may only be 14 but performances this year have her sitting top of the national pile.
Chloe, who only started playing the sport a year and a half ago, has thrown her way to six national titles in 2017.
Her latest triumph came at the North Ayrshire Darts Open with a 3-0 final win against Highlands player Kara Sutherland.
A member of Blairgowrie and Distr ict Dar ts Youth Academy (BDDYA), Chloe is now being tipped to light up the youth darts scene.
Dar yl Stewart, founder of the BDDYA, said: “It was very obvious from the start that Chloe had a natural talent for playing darts as she had a lovely stance and throw and was able to hit big scores from the start.
“Chloe’s success this year is down to a variety of reasons, mainly her natural ability along with the hard work that she has put in on the practice board.
“S h e h a s a s t ro n g w i n n e r ’s mentality and great support from her family, who have ensured that she can attend all of the different competitions over the year. She also listens to and acts on good advice from experienced coaches and mentors.
“All of Chloe’s achievements are more impressive when her age is taken into account, along with only playing for a year and a half.
“She is guaranteed to end the year as the number one ranked under-18 girl in Scotland.
“She is a current Scotland youth international. Only two players in the whole of Scotland are selected.
“And she has made her county debut for Perthshire A team, playing against adults and winning with the highest average in the match.
“I f i r ml y b e l i e v e t hat Chl o e has the ability to at least play for Scotland at full international level if she keeps on working hard, enjoys playing darts and continues improving the way she has been.
“Beyond that, there is playing at World Championships, World Masters and other major tournaments as well as a realistic goal.”
Dar yl is hoping to see more east Perthshire stars rising up the sporting ladder.
The pr imar y school teacher s a i d : “Bl a i r g o wr i e h a s a l way s produced good darts players in the past, including some full Scotland international players.
“This is helped by having a strong local darts league.
“I believe three players from Perthshire have represented Scotland at youth level in the past, although not had the same level of success as Chloe has had this year.
“The youth academy has been a massive success, which I am absolutely delighted about.
“I started it with the simple aim of getting youngsters involved in the game that I love and promoting all that is good about it.
“I think the image of darts is changing, away from the beerdrinking, smoking reputation of the past to an image based more on professionalism, ability and fun.
“I have been pleasantly surprised at how quickly success has come to some of our players.
“I was confident we would have some success eventually but for it to happen so soon has been brilliant.”