Shot Sponsors Bolton Darts Academy

The importance of academies in the world of darts is constantly growing. With more and more youngsters tasting success and raising the bar on the Development Tour, Challenge Tour and main PDC circuit, it’s incredibly exciting to think about how fruitful the future could be. With more and more children becoming fixated from a young age and the sport capturing the attention of a whole new demographic, interest has never been higher. We are thrilled and incredibly proud to be associated with the Bolton Darts Academy, which has recently enjoyed a successful launch.

With a huge focus on making sessions accessible for all, we decided to catch up with Academy Director Dave Ashworth to discuss this new service set up to aid young players' development: “We are extremely excited about the launch of our academy. We’ve worked hard to get to this stage and cannot wait to welcome the students.

“The sessions will be set up to ensure all students can enjoy the academy and want to come back week on week. We have many coaches and volunteers with experience in the sport and will take into consideration every child’s needs when delivering sessions and helping the students on our different aspects week on week.

“The JDC provides a unique platform and structure for all children of all abilities. Using the JDC routine and Green Zone Boards, it allows the students of all abilities to be included but also track their progress. They have a system which give the students a handicap as such so they can compete against better players. This allows all abilities to compete against each other. JDC also allows opportunities for players to compete in the foundation tour and advanced tour and also allows them to compete all across the world (world championships in Gibraltar). Having this platform behind us gives us a structure that we can stick to and allow the students to develop and flourish into top-class darts player like the pros if they wish.”

Not every youngster will become the next Luke Littler, there is still so much more to take from participating and it is crucial to emphasise that for many, enjoyment is key. On this, Dave added: “Whilst Luke has taken the game to new heights in recent months, it’s really important that we embrace every one of our future students whether they want to go far in the sport or not. The social aspect of it is so important for the youngsters and helping them build confidence, make new friends and really feel welcomed is something that we are striving to achieve.

Of course, one of the greatest female players of all time hails from Bolton, a source of inspiration for young girls looking to attend, four-time World Champion Lisa Ashton. Asked whether he hopes people want to follow in her footsteps, Dave said: “Lisa is one of, if not the, greatest women players of all time and everyone in Bolton is extremely proud of her achievements I’m sure. We want lots of female players/students to be part of what we’re doing and we hope to see many there in the near future.

“Without a doubt. Bolton, in our opinion, is already a darting hotspot and has already produced excellent players including Lisa, Joe Murnan, and Scott Taylor to name a couple. PDC tour card holder Rhys Griffin also plays and lives in Bolton and our local leagues are full of exceptional talent. Local competitions also have a growing number of young players entering that already play at JDC level so we’re really excited about the future of darts in Bolton.

“Academies are massive going forward in the sport. It’s important that kids get involved at a young age and have the opportunities to grow and go further in the sport.”

Recent Shot signing and recent winner on the Modus Super Series Bradley Brooks was in attendance for the launch, which was greatly pleasing for all involved: “A few of us know Bradley very well and his former Lancashire Youth captain is one of our coaches/volunteers. Bradley is a great example of what the youth system does and how important it is to get kids involved from a young age.

“He’s really grown as a player and has done excellent things already in his career so far and I’m sure he will continue to be a success in the sport.”

Speaking about the importance of Shot’s backing, Dave added: “It’s extremely important to have the backing and support of Shot. Without organisations such as yourselves offering a helping hand to academics like ours, it’s impossible to get them going so we really cannot wait to start our partnership with Shot.”

If you or someone you know would like to find out more or indeed get involved in the sessions being put on, you can email boltondartsacademy@gmail.com.