Heightened interest in the sport of darts cannot have escaped your attention. Mainstream media have taken the focus darts is receiving to levels never seen before. People of all ages are interested in the playing darts and none more so than the youngsters inspired by Luke Littler.
Bullseye beginnings: Moray Youth darts
Back in early January we were contacted by Craig Balfour, a member of the Moray country darts team who we have previously done some work for making custom dart shirts for the county team. When Craig mentioned that he was starting the Moray Youth Academy together with a group of passionate darts enthusiasts, Which darts was delighted to get involved in whatever way we could.
About the Moray Youth darts Academy
The Academy opened it’s doors in the Lossiemouth football social club to the members in the middle of February and was full to capacity as the first darts were thrown by the kids. With a maximum of 40 players being able to join the sessions on a Monday evening from 17:30 until 19:00 every week, the Tungsten is flying to the dartboard under the watchful eye of the coaches.
Craig Balfour , Sean Adams and Michael Smith (a popular name in darts it seems) are the founders and are 3 county darts players keen to pass on their knowledge of the sport. With coaches who have been part of the county darts squad for a number of years passionate to share their knowledge and experiences in darts, you can be rest assured the members are learing the ropes.
Local businesses have been proud to get involved and deserve every credit for supporting the academy through sponsorship:
AMP Heating and Plumbling services
The Steamboat Bar- Lossiemouth
JDC affilaition and looking to expand
The Luke Littler effect has certainly been seen in Moray with the Academy being so over subscribed that a waiting list had to be drawn up which is currently at almost double the 40 capacity for darts night. As such Craig and the team are exploring every opportunity to be in a position to offer a second night so that those on the waiting list can join up as soon as possible.
With such a passionate team involved and with the huge interest from local children queing up to toe the oche, it is no surprise that the Academy will be affiliating with the JDC in April, thus offering even more opportunity for the children to develop their game.
Custom dart shirts and dart flights for the Academy
Having made shirts for Craig and the county team in the past, assiting in the making of custom dart shirts for the members to wear on darts night was something we were keen to do for them. The feeling of belonging to the team is heightened when wearing the kit, and in this respect darts is no different from football. Every child is now a proud owner of a team shirt and we are thrilled to have played in a small part in making this possible. (If you are looking for custom shirts for your darts team or pool team feel free to drop us an email)
Together with our friends at Pentathlon darts we have provided the Academy with 500 sets of customised darts flights and number of sets of the new Pentathlon darts range for the Academy to provide to the players to use on darts nights.
If you are a local business keen to get involved in the Academy, or if you are a parent looking to enrol your child, please contact Moray Youth darts on Facebook, or via email
