Stephanie McKenney has been throwing darts since she was a toddler, and now she is taking her talents to Team Ontario.
The 14-year-old Grade 9 student from WDSS qualified for the squad over the weekend, at the provincial youth championship tournament held in St. Catharines.
After winning the round robin, McKenney was the runner-up in the junior females singles portion of the tournament.
“I was happy that I made it, and I can’t wait until nationals. I was really excited, winning round robin and then going on. I had a couple games where I was a little nervous, but I was mostly excited,” she said.
This qualifies her, along with three other girls and four boys, for the provincial team who will represent Ontario at the national championships being held from May 13-17.
McKenney said she improved upon last year’s result, where she finished 5th in the junior girls singles.
“I learned to handle my nerves. There is a lot of people there. A lot of people watch and you just have to focus. There is room for improvement always, but I did do better than last year,” she said.
The former A.A. Wright student said she got her first dart board when she was in kindergarten.
“I grew up playing darts, ever since I was little. I always played, all the time. I mostly play in the garage, but I’ve also play in a ladies league at the Legion for three years,” she said.
With no youth leagues in Wallaceburg, McKenney said she gets most of her practice in with her grandparents and her Mom.
“Personally, I enjoy playing against adults because you always have to work harder to try and keep up to the same level as them, but also playing against youth they can shoot good too. It’s fun playing against my peers.”
