Yukon dart players have it tough.
In most enlightened Western nations, you just have to go to a local pub to toss a few. Here, public dart boards are few and far between.
However, that scarcity of boards didn’t stop Whitehorse’s Wayne Morrisey from finishing first in the BC Provincials in February.
“It was kind of just to see where I’m at,” said Morrisey, who was given the nickname “Yukon Wayne” while competing in BC.
“I expected to make the team, but I didn’t think I was going to win the whole province because of the lack of playing over the last few years. But I played pretty good actually.”
Despite his jingoistic nickname, Morrisey has been asked to captain the BC team for the nationals being held in Montreal, Quebec, in mid-June. In the nationals, Morrisey will be joined by the other top finishers from the BC provincials.
“I’ll be part of the BC team because the Yukon doesn’t have a darts organization,” said Morrisey. “So the Yukon is part of BC Darts.
“I played for Alberta before I moved up here five years ago.”
About seven years ago, before moving to the territory, Morrisey was ranked second in Canada and, over the last decade, has represented Canada three times at the World Masters in England.
His best result was in 2001, finishing with a world ranking of 33.
“I usually wear a Yukon shirt I got myself,” said Morrisey. “For the first little bit I was trying to get a sponsor for the Canadian tour. But because I’m so limited—it’s so expensive to fly out of here—the only way to travel is to go to BC. It’s a lot harder because I have a lot less competition here, so mostly I practise on my own.”
The only regular competition that Morrisey has in the territory is a Wednesday league at the Mt. McIntyre Recreation Centre, upstairs from the curling sheets.
“There are two or three really good guys here, but they’re here and haven’t gotten out and played in the bigger tournaments,” said Morrisey. “I’ve tried to get a couple people to go play in some bigger shoots with me, but they don’t seem to want to leave.
“They were shocked that I still got first in BC after not playing competitively for four years—this is my first year back playing.”
The provincials operated under a round robin system with every competitor playing three matches against each other. Finishing second was Kent Peterson from Chilliwack, BC, whom Morrisey has played doubles with in the past.
As BC’s champion, Morrisey will face off against other provincial winners for the chance to represent Canada at the World Cup in Charlotte, North Carolina, in late September.
Contact Tom Patrick at
tomp@yukon-news.com