WITH St Helens becoming increasingly known as a darts hotspot, a pop-up shop has launched to provide even more opportunities in the town.
After Luke Littler reached the final of the World Championships and won the Premier League in his debut season, demand has skyrocketed at his former darts academy in St Helens.
To help with this demand, and offer kids something productive throughout the school holidays, a free pop-up darts academy has launched for six weeks in St Helens town centre.
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A collaboration between St Helens Council and St Helens Darts Academy, the pop-up shop offers sessions for 9 to 13-year-olds in the mornings, and sessions for 14-18-year-olds in the afternoons.
Eleanor Cairns, a youth world champion who is helping to run the pop-up shop, said: "The demand is so high for darts at the minute, and we have so many people coming to the Academy wanting to be the next Luke Littler.
"There is a really long waiting list at the Academy, so the pop-up has been great to give more kids the opportunity to get involved in darts.
"They all love it and it's great to see them so happy when they win or get a 180, because that's how I used to feel when I was younger."
With an increasing number of young people now playing darts, Eleanor said it has been particularly pleasing to see more girls wanting to get involved in the sport.
Eleanor, 19, who has dreams of becoming a professional darts player, added: "When I was younger, darts was just seen as a pub game and it was frowned upon for girls to get involved.
"But now there are so many kids wanting to get involved, and a lot more opportunities for girls.
"With things like this, the sport is only going to get bigger and bigger."
Funded by the Department for Education, the pop-up academy is part of St Helens Council's Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme to offer healthy activities throughout the summer holidays, free of charge.
The pop-up shop can be found above the former 'That's Entertainment' shop on Church Street, and is open from Monday to Friday, excluding Wednesdays. Morning sessions can be booked here and afternoon sessions here.
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