Dozens of Cumbrian youngsters are stepping up to the oche to play darts across Cumbria.
Darts suddenly hit the mainstream again when 18-year-old Luke Littler was crowned world champion last year – becoming the youngest ever to hold that title.
Youngsters in Cumbria are taking inspiration from the teen and attending academies across the county.
One of the players is Thomas Mullen, 16.
He has been playing darts for 10 months at the academy and three months in the Fellside Darts League.
His dad Paul said: “The progression Thomas is making with going to the darts academy is a positive one due to the fact the games John Duncan puts on uses the full board and not just the 20 segment of it.
“He is also learning his counting and subtracting the scores whist trying to leave finishes. Thinking about how every dart being thrown is not being wasted is also building Thomas’ confidence.
“Being out throwing with and in front of different people at the academy in a really friendly atmosphere makes the social side of the game enjoyable as well.
The staff at the Museum are also very welcoming. Talking to Thomas he said the academy gets you practising more often and getting taught by someone who has played darts for a while helps build skills needed to play a game.”
Joan Foster, the Fellside captain, said: “In the short time Thomas has been playing he has won eight out of eight singles in the matches and is doing really well for himself.
“There won’t be many young players that in their first year of playing in a team have won every singles part of the league games so far.
“He is also a very likeable young man that fit’s right into the team ethic that we have and really seems to enjoy playing.”
In Wigton, a junior darts club has been set up at the town’s bowling club. Its session this week attracted 47 youngsters aged between eight and 17.
It runs from 4.30pm to 6pm and costs £2.
In West Cumbria, Marras & Arras is proving very popular with players of all ages – and its first event of 2025 was a youth event, which saw 24 up-and-coming arrowsmiths compete.
All the competitors were aged 16 or under and the event was the first of its kind for Marras and Arras.
Workington Darts Organisation is one of the groups bringing darts back into the mainstream in Cumbria.
