Interview Francisca Hoenselaar

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Darts1 interview
with Francisca Hoenselaar

Is ladies darts appreciated in Holland or is it always in the shadow of the men?

It always was and still is in the shadow of the men.

What are your ideas how one could change it? Certainly women like Mike de Boer or Anastasia Dobromyslova arouse attention but did or do they help as well?

Well - I started this with the ladies darts association but it turned out to be very very difficult. And I would say of course women like Anastasia do help.

What did you think when Anastasia changed?

I thought she was very courageous!

Has a female darter a chance at all in the PDC?

My answer to this is yes, of course. It might be hard but of course there is a chance.

What did you think about Barry Hearn's offer to play in the Grand Slam?

I immediately decided to play. And I really enjoy it, It's organised very well, the people are all very very friendly, all the officials, the players. The venue is great, the practice setup is great and the crowd received me kindly. I am already looking forward to play here again next year.

How important is experience for playing on such a level?

Experience is really very important and the main reason while we have to slowly lead up the young players.

Would you like to be able to really compete with the men or do you prefer separate ladies tournaments?

I think in the end I like to be able to compete with the men from time to time but I prefer separate ladies tournaments.

Would you say women are as competitive as men and have as much bottle and ability to assert themselves?

Women are rather competitive as well. What at least I myself have to fight is that I am too emotional. And I would say we women have more ups and downs in our lives while men seem to be to me much more balanced or straight forward.

What for you is the real difference between a female and a male darter?

I think the answer to this is that women and men just are different. We women probably have to many things that hinder us to exclusively occupy us with darts - there are too many other things we have to do beside this, that we have to do. .By this might be the men are more focused and in the end more consistent. They can concentrate on only playing darts, there is no household, no family, they have to look after.

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