Cameron Menzies has described the week-long junior darts extravaganza in Gibraltar as “a massive opportunity” for the players involved – and said he still feels pride at seeing Scotland win the JDC World Cup a year ago.
The popular PDC star – who won his first ProTour title last month – found out about Scotland’s surprise World Cup triumph on The Rock via social media and was delighted to see videos of the history-making win flooding his feed.
He wished every player participating this year the best of luck – but naturally saved a special mention for his compatriots.
“The week in Gibraltar is a massive opportunity,” said Menzies. “I’ve seen what the JDC have been doing the last couple of years and it’s bringing more into youth darts.
“The Development Tour is for players 16 and above, but a lot of kids younger than that are playing darts now. Having been a youth player many moons ago myself, I’m sure a lot of these players will be seen on the pro circuit in the next five, six, seven years.”
A year ago, Scotland stunned the junior darts world by winning the World Cup, beating an England team containing Luke Littler in the semi-final, before beating Ireland in the final.
For Logan Gilmour, Kyle Davidson, Sophie McKinlay and Mitchell Lawrie it was an incredible achievement that certainly did not go unnoticed back home – even among the country’s PDC stars.
“It was massive,” said Menzies. “I saw videos of it and I was proud of them. I remember being a kid and I can just imagine that feeling for them.
“There’s a lot of good young players kicking about in Scotland. I see what a lot of them are achieving via their parents on Facebook and it’s fantastic.
“There are a lot of academies now, including one close to home in North Ayrshire, and it’s massive – and we need that in the sport.
“Darts is changing from what it used to be and academies are giving kids a good environment to play in. Playing in that environment is good practice for what the future holds for them.
“So I’d like to wish everyone competing at the JDC World Cup in Gibraltar good luck, especially Team Scotland – bring it home again!”
On his own form, Menzies is feeling more comfortable among the PDC’s elite after a promising year in which won a Players Championship event and reached the quarter-final of a televised major – last week’s Grand Slam of Darts.
“I think I’m starting to believe that I belong here,” he said. “I used to take it with a pinch of salt and enjoy the moments because I didn’t think there’d be too many of them.
“But now I think I’m getting better and hopefully I can have a run at a major – and hopefully that’s the worlds, because that’s where you want to do well.”
Written by Steve Cotton
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