News
Junior and Cadet 6 Nations Championship - Limerick
08 March 2011
The elite Junior and Cadet players from Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Guernsey and the Isle of Man travel to Limerick University, Ireland on the 11th March to compete in the Junior and Cadet 6 Nations Championship, with an action packed weekend of table tennis anticipated. The ITTA is proud to host this event in the University of Limerick's magnificent sporting facilities, and we are very much looking forward to a fantastic exhibition of our sport's young talent.
The 2010 competition saw a talented Irish squad travel to the event in Largs, Scotland to claim a fantastic 3 Gold medals – the Cadet Girls(Ashley Givan and Edel O’Reilly) and Junior Boys(Paul McCreery, Ashley Robinson and Sam Logue) in the Team events and Paul McCreery in the Junior Boys event. Ashley Givan also claimed silver in the Cadet Girls to complete an excellent weekend for the Irish. This year all of the players named above bar Paul McCreery will once again be in the medal hunt for Ireland.
In the Cadet Girls event, Ireland will be represented by Emma Ludlow, Hannah-Lynch Dawson and Katie McGlone. The team, under the guidance of NPC Louise Long will look to bond well and perhaps claim a medal – in Charlotte Carey of Wales and Isobel Ashley of England they have some strong opponents. The Cadet Boys led by NPC Marcus McDonnell is made up of three Dublin based players, Ryan Farrell, Kevin Hutchinson and Conor Mullally. Farell made the QF of the 2010 event(beaten by England’s Patel) and will look to draw on his experience to progresss further this year. The English team of Weerasinghe and Patel look particularly impressive and will be the Team Event favourites.
In the Junior Girls, Edel O’Reilly, Ashley Givan and Sarah Timlin combine under coach Phyllis Kenny. Having won the Cadet Team Event in 2010, the girls will certainly be up for the challenge and are well aware of what is required at this level. Abbie Milwain and Jessica Dawson of England will be hot favourites, although Alice Loveridge of Guernsey will also look to make a major impact. The Junior Boys may just represent Ireland’s best chance of Gold, with Ashley Robinson 2nd seed in the Singles – Limerick is a happy hunting ground for Robinson as he claimed the title here at the Senior Schools International last year. He is joined by Sam Logue and Declan O’Brien – both of whom on their day will fancy their chances against anyone in this event. NPC is Andrew Dennison.
The Irish team will look to draw on home advantage and the support of the home crowd to bring home as many medals as possible.
This prestigious event is a massive undertaking for the Association, expertly led by the Organising Committee, chaired by ITTA Marketing Director Tony Farrell. The Association is most grateful to our partners and sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible. Event sponsors include Shannon Development, Limerick City and County Councils and the Travelodge Hotel Group, all of whom were instrumental in bringing this event to Limerick, with significant benefits to the local economy. We also acknowledge the ITTA National Eqipment Sponsor – Butterfly / TeesSports Ltd. The Referee for the tournament is the respected Tony Martin from Dublin, assisted by Con O’Ceadaigh.
Speaking on the event, Mr. Tony Farrell, Marketing Director of the ITTA, commented
‘The ITTA are proud to be hosting the elite of International table tennis at this year’s Junior & Cadet Six Nations. We are delighted to be returning again to the excellent facilities at UL, and gratefully acknowledge all who assisted in the staging of this event, in particular our primary sponsors - Butterfly, Shannon Development and Limerick City and County Councils. We wish all countries a competitive and enjoyable weekend.'
In the weeks prior to the tournament, the ITTA will be co-ordinating a number of events under its participation/WIS initiative. These events will be in conjunction with the local Sports Partnerships, and are aimed at establishing Limerick as centre for table tennis in the region.
The event is being held in the main sports pavilion of the UL Sports Campus. The programme of play commences at 5.00pm on Friday evening (11th March) with the Team event and continues on Saturday (12th)at 9.30am, and again on Sunday (13th)at 9.30am with the singles event. All spectators are welcome, and no cover charge will apply over the 3 day event.
Please see here for event poster – please download and place on your club/school noticeboard
