Four young Northern Ireland darts stars aiming to be double tops at a major competition in Gibraltar later this year.
The quartet will compete at the Junior Darts Corporation (JDC) World Cup and World Championships at the Europa Point Sports Complex from November 22-25.
The team is made up of captain Jake Sproule (17, from Castlederg), Jack Campbell (17, Belfast), Ryan Fowles (15, Carrickfergus) and Craig Murtagh (15, Larne).
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They will be joined by team manager Gregg Fowles in a travelling party of nine for the prestigious event.
All four boys are members of the Carrickfergus Junior Darts Academy (CJDA), which is the only JDC Academy in Northern Ireland.
It was set up in 2020, and is one of many JDC Academies all over the world and the numbers are increasing on a monthly basis.
The boys were selected to be part of Team Northern Ireland by team boss Fowles who is also Academy director and co-founder of the Carrickfergus JDA.
With representation in the World Cup Team event the boys have also gained their places in the other three events. Jake, Craig and Ryan would have automatically qualified for the World Championship event via the JDC Academy order of merit.
"The Carrickfergus Junior Darts Academy was represented at the inaugural JDC Virtual World Amateur Darts Championships in June 2021. It certainly put its members, the CJDA and Northern Ireland on the JDC map," said Gregg.
"Shortly after their return the opportunity to pit together the first ever Team Northern Ireland was mentioned. That's when I took up the role of team manager and assembled the first ever team for the November 2021 championships.
"Covid hampered the championship but it still managed to see over 100 players from over 14 different nations compete. The 2022 Championships is set to be the biggest ever. Australia and New Zealand have confirmed their teams along with all the home nations.
"They will be joined by the highest quality of players from Europe, North America and hosts Gibraltar. There will be around 200 players heading to Gibraltar in late November."
Gregg added: "The quality of youth darts at this present moment in time is staggering. At last year's Championships there were 90 plus averages and even a nine-dart leg. Simply outstanding from players of such a young age."
The team is currently fundraising ahead of November's trip to Gibraltar. It will cost each player in excess of £800 to compete at the four-day event.
Friends and family have been supporting the team in recent weeks, while the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council has also been backing the young players.
"It is a massive honour to represent your country, but it does come at some cost to the team," added Gregg.
"With travel, accommodation and competition fees, it costs over £800 per player to be part of this fantastic event. That said, this opportunity is fir some of the team a once in a lifetime experience.
"The team have had fantastic support from family and friends and along with local businesses their a chipping away at the costs involved. They have also been helped by the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
"The team is mainly self-funded, but they manage to raise money via ballots , fun days and we will be holding a mega prize draw and bingo evening in early October.
"We hope to be setting up a GoFundMe page while PayPal donations can be made to greggfowles@btinternet.com."
A special Fun Day and Coffee Morning has been organised for this Saturday, August 6 as the team continues its fundraising campaign.
It will run from 10am to 1pm at Cairncastle Orange Hall and will feature face painting, bouncy castle, glitter tattoos and much more. Entry costs £5 for adults and £2 for kids and Under 3's can go free. All proceeds will be donated to the Junior Darts Academy.
"The CJDA is very much a family affair and a family darts club. We are slowly building a great bunch of young people," added Gregg.
"We try and provide much more than darts but introduce members to new activities and try and give each and every member opportunities and experiences that they can remember in later years. We also try and help with their social and personal development and help improve confidence within themselves."
Anyone interested in knowing more about the Carrickfergus Junior Darts Academy or the Junior Darts Corporation can follow them on Facebook and on Twitter.
You can also contact Academy director Gregg via email: greggfowles@btinternet.com
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