“IT’S still unreal. I can’t believe it happened.”
So says dale darts ace Kirsty Hutchinson as she reflected on 2022, the year she made the final of the World Darts Federation women’s world championship at the sport’s spiritual home, the Lakeside, Frimley Green.
In the final, she lost to all conquering teenage prodigy Beau Greaves, who is likely to become the biggest name in women’s darts and who competed at the PDC world championships, recently concluded at the Alexandra Palace, in London.
“I can only be proud of what I achieved. All I can take from it are positives,” added Kirsty, who lives in Middleton-in-Teesdale and works at Green Lane Nursery, in Barnard Castle.
“Everybody who is interested in women’s darts knows Beau is the standard of the men in the PDC.”
It was only when she checked social media that she realised the huge level of support rooting for her.
“It was phenomenal, overwhelming,” she said. “Even the nursery had the TV on when I was playing.”
Since making the world final, Kirsty said she has been “scraping quarters and semis” in subsequent competitions, a state of affairs she admitted “does need improvement”.
She concluded her 2022 campaign at the World Open and World Masters events that were held alongside each other in Holland.
In both events, she was defeated by eventual finalists.
In the open, she fell at the quarter-final stage to eventual winner Aileen de Graff, while in the masters, after making it through the group stage, Kirsty lost 5-3 to Japanese thrower Mayumi Ouchi in the last 16.
Kirsty will be back for another tilt at the WDF world championships in 2023 – despite slipping from third to ninth in the rankings.
“As a finalist, I thought I automatically qualified for the next world championships, so there were a number of competitions I didn’t go to.
“Then when I checked with the organisers, they said that was the old BDO (British Darts Organisation) rule and not the WDF rule.
“So I have worked really hard to stay there in the rankings.”
Also coming up in 2023 is a new women’s competition organised by the Amateur Darts Circuit.
It will feature 12 tour events across three weekends, with the top eight qualifying for a final play-off in November.
“It’s just been a competition for men until now – I was entering in the Newcastle area,” said Kirsty.
“It’s a great opportunity for women’s darts. It’s all heading in the right direction.
“People are putting in a bit of time and effort to heighten the profile of women's darts and it's something else to play for.”
However, first up in the new year, it's back to the WDF tour and trips to the Dutch Open and Romanian Open in search of more ranking points.
“I still enjoy playing so I will carry on. I am in good form, but there is a lot of inconsistency.”
To tackle that and maintain her motivation, she is hitting the practice board with her mates at the Forresters, in Middleton-in-Teesdale, the team she turns out for in the local league when not away competing. “For 2023, I would like to get back into the top eight and pick up a few trophies and titles and if I can inspire the next generation to start throwing darts, that would be great.”
