Many people would think that darts is a sport only played in pubs while sipping on a beer, but all of the top-class players competing at the Geelong Darts Club on Sunday, July 2, are not old enough to drink.
Junior darts players from around Victoria were hitting their mark at the Victorian State tryouts, with a spot at the National Junior Darts Championships on offer.
Among them was Zane Kilroy from the Seymour District Darts Association, who has been part of the Victoria State Team before.
“I was going into it (the state tryouts) pretty confident I could handle my nerves well,” Kilroy said.
“I'd say this is probably my fourth year playing proper darts.
“My brother made the state team last year, so I've sort of just followed what he’s done.
“It's very competitive (at home). Every time we play each other, there's a lot of banter, a lot of good darts. I'd have to say I come out on top.
“I play two to three nights a week, which really helps ... I play in my dad's team, the Pirates (in the Seymour District Darts Association).”
Kilroy was up against 12 other boys on the day, and in the female category, six girls were facing off in a best-of-three games format of 501.
In the scoring system, players accumulated points based on games won. A 2-0 victory earns one point, while a 2-1 victory earns 0.5 points.
Additionally, players kept track of their three-dart average throughout the entire day, which is calculated and reflected on a leaderboard.
With the assistance of several parents and guardians in scoring the matches, the day progressed smoothly.
After all the games were completed, the scores were tallied to determine the selected squads.
As many boys had similar win-loss records, there were palpable nerves among the players and parents awaiting the squad announcement.
Kilroy lived up to expectations and emerged as the top performer with an impressive 11-1 win-loss record and secured the highest three-dart average of 20.6 across the day.
“Coming out on top, being the first pick is a pretty good feeling,” Kilroy said.
“It was playing my own game, not worrying about my opponent, so I went into the first game and I haven't beaten Jacob Turvey in a long time, and so he beat me, but after that, I won every single game.
“I like being in a team environment, especially with juniors. They're a lot easier to work with than adults, so I enjoy it.”
Following Kilroy was Te Werita Tapara from Geelong Darts with 10 wins, two losses and the fifth-highest average, and Turvey from Corowa District Darts in third place with nine wins, three losses and the third-highest average.
Andy Nielsen from Melton Darts Club claimed nine wins, three losses and the fourth-highest average, securing his place in the squad.
Although Coby Jannenga from Shepparton Darts finished with the second-highest average and eight wins, four losses, he narrowly missed out on a spot in the selected squad and was named as the reserve player.
The statistics for the girls' category were not provided, but Kody Lane from Geelong Darts topped the table, followed by Jordan Gillman from Corowa District Darts, Taini Hoffman from Geelong Darts, and Lusiahntay Ahotolu from Dandenong Darts.
Petra WahihiAsplater from Melton Darts Club was named as the reserve.
Kilroy and his selected teammates will travel west in January 2024 when the nationals take place at Murray Bridge Darts Club in South Australia.
“There are other events, but this is the main junior event,” Kilroy said.
“Victoria came third last year, but it was about 15 points between first and third, so it was really close.
“My main goal this year is to do as well as I can at states, and last year they had an Australian selection squad where two kids got to go to Denmark (for an international competition), so if they do anything like that this year, I would want to be picked.”
With the form the youngster is in at the moment, things are looking on target for Victoria when the championships get under way.