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I have been asked on numerous occasions why I have never ‘interviewed’ Kim Whaley.
Believe me folks, I have been trying for three years but it appears that Kim is a little ‘camera shy.’
However, with the help of Wally Hilts, I have finally managed to get Kim to chat with me.
 Hello Kim, welcome to my domain. I am sure you
won’t find it as terrifying as you may think. Lets get some of the personal information out of the way. What do you do for a living?
I worked at Nortel Networks for 20 years until they closed. At Nortel I
tested and programmed printed circuit boards. After they closed, I went to Loyalist College for two years and went through for a Development Service
Worker (D.S.W.). Now I work with children and adults with handicaps and special needs.
Is your employer supportive of the time you may have to take off for darts?
Up to this point my employers both past and present have always been very supportive.
What about your family – how many children do you have?
I have two daughters, Shauna and Tanya. My youngest Tanya made me a
very proud grandmother and my granddaughter Alexis will be two years old in February. My fiancé (Wally) has a 17 hear old son Nick.
Is your significant other supportive of the time you spend away at tournaments?
Wally has supported me for all of the 13 years that we have been together,
and as I am sure you know Kip, he is the greatest. Most of the dart players would know Wally Hilts as he has been around the dart scene as long as I
have. Wally and I have traveled all over the world together. All I have to do
is ‘think’ darts and he takes care of everything else. Wally also plays darts and we have won the Ontario Provincial Mixed Doubles three times. When
my name first appeared on the National Ranking List, Wally said that I should go to more ranked tournaments. He then immediately booked us
flights to travel to Edmonton to the Klondike Open.
Do any of your children play darts?
All three of the kids play and all enjoy the game.
What is your favorite food?
Wally makes the best Lemon Garlic Chicken with Fettuccini Alfredo. He
also does most of the cooking.
What is your favorite TV show?
My favorite soap opera is the ‘Young and the Restless.’ I also like comedy.
Any other pastimes or hobbies that you have when you are not playing or practicing darts?
I like doing crossword puzzles. My favorite pastime besides spending time
with my granddaughter is spending all summer at our trailer at the lake.
Now that we know a little about you away from the dartboard, let’s get down
to the reason we are talking. How many years have you been involved with darts both at the provincial level and at the national level?
I have been playing at this level for 15 years.
How many years have you been a member of Team Ontario?
I have been a member of Team Ontario for 14 consecutive years, 1989 to 2003.
With the achievements that you have had, I am sure you have reached most
of your goals. Is there anything left that you would like to achieve?
You’re correct Kip, I have achieved most of the goals that I set for myself.
Being able to travel to ranked tournaments helped me to be the #1 ranked lady in Canada. The goal of being National Champion was reachable but it
took a while, as there are some tough players in Canada. I feel that I could do more at the world level if I was able to attend more world ranked
tournament.
How much time do you spend practicing during the regular season?
I play in two leagues, Belleville and District Ladies Dart League and Quinte
Regional Dart League. I don’t spend a lot of time practicing at home but we do play in as many weekend tournaments as we can.
Are you interested in other sports either as a participant or a spectator?
Funny you should ask! I have a new set of golf clubs and I would like to
start using them a little more often. I do play in our horseshoe tournaments at the trailer during the summer.
A question that I always ask our top ranked players, do you have any words
of encouragement that you would like to give to the youth players?
The kids need to remember to enjoy the game and not to get down on
themselves when they lose. If they keep plugging away they will achieve their goals.
Would you outline the events that you have participated in as a member of Team Canada?
I went to the World Masters in England in 1997 and 2002 and I attended the
2003 World Cup held in France.
Is there anything that I have missed that might be of interest to the readers?
I got started with darts because of my Dads love for the game. He got my
mom Judy Jones started in the Ladies League and we both still play in it. I
used to practice a lot when my dad was alive. We would play almost every night for two or three hours. Whoever had the least amount of wins would
have to buy the Chinese food on Friday night.
We now hold a dart tournament in memory of my father in Belleville Ontario
called The Bob Jones Memorial. This tournament is Canadian ranked and we are growing every year. This year is our 8th and the date will always be
the full weekend before Halloween.
I knew about that tournament but I didn’t realize that it was in memory of your
father. Finally, do you think there is anything that could be done in Canada to improve the level of darts?
I think that the level of darts in Canada has grown over the past few years. I
think that sponsorship would help but I realize that this is difficult to obtain.
There are some great players across our country and with some sponsorship they could go to the next level. I would like to see much more television
coverage. Every big tournament we go to people are always asking, "will it
be on TV?" I think John Part has brought some life back into the game with his accomplishments.
Thank you very much Kim for the time that you have given to me. I hope
you continue to enjoy success on the dartboard and I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in Summerside, Prince Edward Island in June 2004.
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