Corrine Hammond pre-Lakeside interview - "I’ve had a fairly successful year"

In the interview, we speak about her getting into darts, her run to the final last year, her opponent this year Fallon Sherrock. As well as her 2017/2018 season and her sponsorship with Showtime Darts.
Q. Thanks for accepting to do an interview with me Corrine, first of all how did you get into playing darts initially??
"It’s my pleasure and thanks to you for asking me! My darts journey started in an old next door neighbours garage. He had a board in there that we used to muck around on playing things like cricket and killer. He kept at me to head down to the local club for their regular social blind mixed pairs afternoon. Once I finally did, you could say the rest is history!"
Q. On a similar theme who would you say inspired you to play darts??
"I’ve not had any one person who’s ‘inspired’ me to play darts. I don’t come from what you’d call a ‘dart playing’ family background as you find most players do. No one else in my family has ever played. When I first started, I got a lot of confused ‘You’re playing what?!’ questions from them! Haha Now of course, they think it’s pretty cool, and follow what I’m up to and are proud of everything I’ve achieved."
Q. Going into your 3rd Lakeside in a few weeks, you were runner up last year, how determined are you to go one better this year??
"No one heads in to the World Championships with the intention of just making up the numbers. Everyone believes they can win and I’m no different. It’s all about what happens on the day - sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t - we’ve all been there. Having good preparation leading up to it is important - and that looks different for everyone as we all prepare in our own ways. I’m comfortable with how my preparation has been coming along, so we’ll see what happens!"
Q. You face Fallon Sherrock in the first round, how do you assess that draw going into it and would you say it shows the strength of women's darts that all of the ties are hard??
"There will be no easy matches during 2018 World Championships. Right from the first round with Fallon will be no exception. She’s also a World Championship finalist (2015) and has been in good form. If nothing else, should make for a good game! I think the ladies lineup overall this year is probably the most exciting it’s been for a while. It will provide some really great matches for all the fans at The Lakeside, and also for the viewers at home. All 16 ladies are experienced and talented, and on their day, are capable of lifting that trophy."
Q. We are edging towards the end of 2017. How would you assess your year so far and what are your ambitions for next year??
"I have had a whirlwind 2017 - and wouldn’t change a thing. I arrived in the UK for the World Dart Trophy in May, and haven’t been home since! Haha. I’m now 7 months in to a 12 month stay here, and have been having a fantastic time! It’s great to be able to play so much darts. The sheer number of ladies that play, and the depth of talent that there is, has really made me work hard at my game. I ended the 2017 season being crowned British Open Champion and up to number 5 in the rankings. I’d say I’ve had a fairly successful year. My 2018 season kicked off with being the Winmau World Masters finalist, and I’ve also recently won the Czech Open. I’m hoping to keep going with similar results into the new year."
Q. You signed for Showtime Darts this year. How has that impacted you and are your darts available to the readers if they want to buy them??
"Showtime Darts are my equipment sponsor and are currently in the process of designing a signature set of darts for me. Which hopefully should be available for purchase in the new year and of course I’ll let people know once they are! A big contributing factor in me being able to have my 12 month stay in the UK is I’ve also become part of Modus Darts. Who I believe, are the best in the business for dart player management - so I’m really well looked after in that respect. I am lucky to have such great support as it allows me to just be able to get on with it and play darts - which is what we all love to do!"
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Interview conducted by Samuel Gill, writer for Dartsnews.com