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Guernsey's top junior table tennis talents showcased their skills at the annual Senior Schools International tournament held on the Isle of Man last weekend.
Sixteen players competed across Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18 age groups, facing elite opponents from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, and the host nation.
In the Under-14 Boys category, Guernsey's 'A' team secured a commendable seventh place.
Despite a narrow play-off defeat to Jersey 'A', the team achieved strong 5-0 victories over Isle of Man 'B' and Wales. Notable performances included Barnaby Groves' victories over England's Ibrahim Hussain and Scotland's William Wang. The 'B' team, featuring Aiden Ozanne and Luke Evans, both still under 12, finished ninth and featured 5-0 win against Isle of Man 'A' and a 3-1 victory over Wales.
The Under-14 Girls team was also youthful, with three of the four players representing Guernsey in April's Primary Schools International and used the tournament as experience at this level of competition. One particular highlight was Keira Eldridge's strong 3-0 win over Jersey's Anna Middleton.
The Under-16 Boys teams came ninth and 10th respectively, but with all players being young for their age group, with both teams unlucky in defeat to Jersey and Ireland 3-2. In the Under-16 Girls team event, Emily Gavey picked up an impressive win against Ireland's Caoimhe Deane.
The Under-18 Girls duo, Shelby Timms and Hollie Jenkins, finished sixth, triumphing 3-2 over Scotland 'B' and narrowly losing to a strong Isle of Man pair. Timms ended the tournament with four wins out of eight, showcasing her tenacity and improved strokeplay.
Sunday's individual events saw Guernsey players competing in round robin groups.
In the Under-14 Boys category, Oskar Cleal excelled, defeating Scotland's Angus Halliday and England's Ibrahim Hussain and advancing as the group winner despite a narrow loss to Jersey's Callum Allaway.
Groves also impressed, securing wins against players from Isle of Man and Wales, though he narrowly lost to Jersey's Oskar Karwowski in a tight five-game match. Groves finished with a superb 13 wins out of 17 played over the weekend.
In the Under-16 event, Cameron Powell and Xavier Ingrouille progressed through their groups, with Ingrouille's notable victory over Jersey's Jack Le Blond highlighting his improved attacking game.
Due to flight and ferry delays affecting the Welsh and Scottish teams, some matches were moved from Friday into an already tightly-packed Saturday schedule and the players deserve credit for enduring long and tiring days.
Despite this it was a strong showing from the team, with many players having one or more years left in their respective age groups, the future looks bright for next year's instalment, which will be held in Jersey.
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