A local darts celebrity is back home after a European trip.
13-year-old Jaxson Danis was in the Netherlands earlier this month to take part in the World Dart Masters tournament.
Jaxson, who has a fear of flying, said that it was a bit of a stressful start to the trip.
"I watched movies the whole time," Jaxson said. "We lost our luggage on the flight."
The family landed in Amsterdam on a Tuesday (Dec. 6) but wasn't able to get reunited with all their luggage until that Friday (Dec. 9).
Sherilyn Danis, Jaxson's mother, says it was a bit difficult but they made things work.
"We did have all of our darts so at least Jaxson could play on Friday and we had his Team Canada shirt but that's about it," said Sherilyn.
It was the first time that Jaxson had played on the world stage against other countries.
"[I played] the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Scotland, Denmark, and the Netherlands," said Danis.
Unlike playing in tournaments in Alberta, where he was put into a pool correlating to his age group, this tournament had Jaxson going up against the entire youth pool, including some players as old as 19.
"We kind of chuckled sometimes when Jaxson is up there playing against what I would say close to a 19-year-old who has close to a full beard and is six feet tall," laughed Sherilyn.
"But I beat him 4-0, though," interjected Jaxson.
At the end of the day, Jaxson placed 56th out of almost 100 kids competing from all over the world. His brother, Jett, was also competing and placed in the 60s.
Jaxson says that the experience opened his eyes to the difference between playing darts in Canada compared to Europe.
"A lot of people are better than people who come from Canada," said Jaxson.
"You can tell the European countries are quite strong because that is what they do," said Sherilyn. "Here in Alberta, we have two major competitions and then they have their provincials so comparing three or four tournaments to some of these other countries that probably play once a month, you can tell the difference."
Reflecting on everything, the family is so thankful for the support they received.
"We are just so thankful for everyone who supported Jaxson in our community," said Sherilyn. "It's hard for a 13-year-old to wrap his brain around how special this is and why people want to hear from him."
"Thank you, the city of Fort Saskatchewan, and all of our friends and family for cheering Jaxson on."
As for what's next for Danis, he plans on competing in Edmonton for a snowflake open tournament in early January.