Aiming for bullseye; Local dart duo ready to represent Canada at World Masters

By BRENDAN MILLER on August 21, 2024.

Two talented dart players from Medicine Hat are getting ready to represent Canada at WDF World Masters held in Budapest, Hungary this October – an event that typically attracts more than 1,000 participants from 70-plus countries.

Seventeen-year-old Sofie McFarlane and 12-year-old Mya Kochie will be representing the country at one of the oldest and most prestigious darts tournaments following their success on the provincial and national level.

To help the youth with their travel expenses and accommodations to Hungary, the Medicine Hat Dart League is hosting a fundraiser dart shoot and toonie toss on Sept. 7 at the Redcliff Legion as well as collecting donations.

McFarlane was introduced to throwing darts around the age of eight and at the age of 12 she began participating and winning provincial tournaments, despite her age.

McFarlane recalls her confusion after defeating the No. 1 ranked player in the province during a provincial tournament in 2018 and receiving praise from spectators.

“Everyone was just hugging me,” said McFarlane. “At some point I was wondering why there were girls crying next to me and everyone was just so emotional and I had no idea why, I was just there to throw darts.”

Following her provincial success McFarlane has represented Team Alberta three times at the Canada Cup hosted by the National Darts Federation of Canada, winning two silver medals. This year Team Alberta won gold and McFarlane was on the team as an alternate.

McFarlane has developed her game around her pinpoint accuracy as well as her natural ability to perform quick math calculations during a match.

“I’m a little bit better at hitting bulls when I can,” explains McFarlane. “Then when I can, triple 20’s. I normally try to re-centre my stance while aiming for the bullseye, which helps a lot.”

Doing quick calculations can also be beneficial in winning a match of darts, as players start with 501 points and have to gradually reduce that total to exactly zero to win.

McFarlane says her quick calculations can give her an edge in competitions.

“I played one lady who was top ranked in Alberta for ladies and she had one weakness,” says McFarlane. “If you threw too fast, right after her, it would throw her game off. So I kept using that to my advantage.”

Kochie, 12, says at the age of two she would try to climb a table to throw darts with her parents. Eventually she would sit in a chair with her father, Rob Kochie who coaches youth players in the Medicine Hat Dart League.

“Then I would use a chair at dart practice to throw on,” says Kochie.

Kochie says her passion for darts developed at the age of nine after competing in a doubles tournament in Ponoka.

“It was a lot of fun, I was surprised,” she says.

At a provincial tournament in 2023 Kochie made it to the semifinals and was matched against McFarlane. McFarlane would win the match and would earn the No. 1 ranking in Alberta and Kochie, at the age of 11, would be ranked second in the province.

At a recent tournament in Calgary this year, Kochie defeated the one of the top ranked female players in Canada and made it to the quarterfinals in an all ages singles tournament.

“I was playing against one of the best ladies in Canada and I had 83 left to go,” says Kochie. “I was like, ‘Oh that’s easy, go for triple 11 and then go for the double bulls eye,’ and I hit it and my dad was surprised, because I would never usually be able to double with bulls.”

The fundraiser dart shoot at the Redcliff Legion is open to anyone and costs $20 to enter with a blind draw and 50 per cent payout. The shoot kicks off at 11 a.m on Sept. 7 and will also feature a brown paper bag raffle, 50/50 and toonie toss.

Donations can also be made through the Medicine Hat Dart League by contacting Rob by phone at 403-878-7295 or online at robkochie1975@hotmail.ca.

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