Castle Manor Academy pupil Ruby Grey from Haverhill wins England Open Girls title at first attempt

David Grey believes ‘the sky’s the limit’ for his daughter Ruby after she won a national under-18s darts title at her first major event where he was told she had the best throw in the women’s game.

The Haverhill-based 15-year-old stunned the junior world number two ranked player, Scotland’s Sophie McKinlay, in the final to carry off the Girls title at the England Open Festival of Darts in Ilfracombe, Devon.

After finishing top of her group with a pair of victories, the unseeded player won her semi-final at the World Darts Federation (WDF) event held at Ilfracombe Holiday Park the weekend before last 4-1 before going on to convincingly prevail in the final 5-2.

The points accumulated from what also doubled as the third of eight England team qualifiers also put the Castle Manor Academy pupil in pole position for a national shirt.

And to cap off a dream weekend that also featured female star players Deta Hedman and world number one Beau Greaves, her father was told by a respected coach that Ruby’s throw was the best he had seen on the circuit.

"She has got the natural ability, she's got such a natural flow,” said David Grey.

"We're very excited about it and the sky's the limit basically at the moment.

"There was a coach down at the tournament there who reckons she has the best throw in the whole of the women's game at the moment – and that includes the seniors.

"It's quite an eye opener to think there are ladies earning tens of thousands of pounds and to think they think my daughter has got a better throw, it's crazy."

He said he was always confident she was going to win the final though, having watched her throw six 180s in the warm-up and two more across the group and semi-final stages.

“She was just flying over the weekend and couldn’t miss, it was amazing,” he said.

Ruby took up the sport playing with her darts-mad dad shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. And having played in local leagues in Haverhill and Sudbury, progressed to the Haverhill Ladies Super League and through the Suffolk youth team to the seniors, making her A team debut last weekend in Kesgrave.

Her rapid rise has come despite having to gear up for her GCSEs, which she has just completed, in the midst of a house fire a year ago which claimed her dart board and saw the family have to move into a flat for eight months. But family friends and fellow local league players Cliff Foley and Penny Doyle ensured it did not stop her practicing after buying her a new board.

Her mother Sophie, the catering and facilities manager at the New Croft, said: “To deal with that while also getting ready for her GCSEs and not let it stop her doing what she wants to do is quite incredible really.”

The next big tournaments will come in September for Ruby with the England Masters in Selsey, Sussex followed by the British Classic in Bridlington, east Yorkshire as she looks to continue a bid for a national spot.

The family wished to thank her existing sponsors, Craig Brown SDG, who made her custom shirt, Glenn Wilson Flooring and the Haverhill Community Trust for their support with travel expenses.

Since her tournament win she has also been backed by £1,000 raised by Andy Palazon's Disco Kitchen community group and received a pledge from The New Croft and New Croft Foundation.

Sophie said: “She’s been very lucky she’s got a lot of local people who want to support her on her journey as well which has been amazing for her.”