News
Butterfly National Juniors 2010
30 March 2010
The ITTA has today announced details of the forthcoming BUTTERFLY National Junior Championships which take place this year in Dublin City University, Glasnevin on the 17th and 18th of April, 2010. Entries are now open and will remain open until Wednesday 7th April, 2010.
This is the most prestigious event on the Irish domestic Junior calendar, with players from all over the island competing for the title of National champion. Commenting on the launch of this event, ITTA Secretary Kenneth Strong stated that
"Underage table tennis is vitally important to the ITTA Board - and the BUTTERFLY National Junior Championships represent a fantastic opportunity for our young players to compete at the highest level domestically. We continue to rate this event as equal in importance to our National Seniors and we are delighted to host the Championships in DCU this year."
In the Junior Boys section, Paul McCreery will be strong favourite following a breakthrough year at Senior level. Ulster's Ashley Robinson who had an outstanding Senior Interpros winning the inaugural Tommy Caffrey Player of the Year trophy and Leinster's Sam Logue will look to challenge. Declan O'Brien leads the Munster players in this age group and has also had a very good season.
The Junior Girls will present yet another chance for Ashley Givan(who won both the Junior and Cadet titles in '09 and is the current Senior Women's Champion) to shine on the National stage. She will be pushed to her limits by Rebecca Kenny and Sara Dolan(who is the only player to have won a Junior ranking event this year apart from Givan) of Leinster, Connacht's Sarah Timlin and Munster's Edel O'Reilly who lost out to Givan in both finals in 2009.
In the Cadet girls, can 14 year old Ashley Givan retain her title for the 3rd Year in a row? She would be most people's favourite but Edel O'Reilly will again look to challenge and the other top ranked players will be hoping that the perhaps Givan's focus may be on the Junior title. In the Cadet Boys, Neil Irwin and Ryan Farrell will continue what has been a fascinating season for them both, both will look to claim victory. They will be challenged by youngsters Kevin Hutchinson and Jonathan Porter who have both risen quickly up the Cadet rankings this season and may spring a surprise.
At Under 12 level, there are many talented young players looking to progress in the competition. Ulster's Jonathan Porter has been unbeaten at Under 12 level this season and will look to add to his Ulster, Munster and Leinster titles by retaining his National title. Leinster's Kevin Hutchinson will again challenge while Eric Sheckleton and Mark Gordon of Ulster have both shown good form this season. In the Under 12 Girls, a winner is hard to pick - Katie McGlone and Elayna McGlone have both had good seasons, as but Ulster's Laura Finn tops the rankings and has a 100% ranking tournament record this season. Sarah Cooney from Munster will also challenge.
With a full programme of events including including a National Under 10 Event for newcomers to the sport, it is sure to be a great day of competition in DCU.
All players entering this tournament must be affiliated to the ITTA. If you have yet to affiliate and would like to enter, please contact the ITTA office(01 625 1135) to discuss affiliation options.
Please click here for entry form and further details.
