A squad of nine top young talents travel to Czech Republic next week for the European Youth Championships, accompanied by National Coaches Louise Long and John Murphy. The team has prepared extensively in the past weeks, with most attending an ETTU training course hosted in Dublin last week by expert coach Piotr Skierski, supported by National Coaches John Murphy, Mark O’Flynn and Amanda Mogey.
Going in to the event, ITTA High Performance Director stated;
“This is a mainly young squad and most of the Irish players will be attending their first European Youth Championships. The players will be hoping to improve their understanding of what it takes to compete at this level, and how to prepare for major championships. The players and NPCs will also be looking to learn more about how the top European teams practice and compete so that Ireland can aspire towards that level in future years.”
The squad is as follows:
CADET BOYS
Owen CATHCART
Alexander GILLEN
Zak WILSON
CADET GIRLS
Rebecca FINN
Katie MCGLONE
Chloe O’HALLORAN
JUNIOR GIRLS
Emma LUDLOW
Ashley GIVAN
Hannah LYNCH DAWSON
The draw has thrown up some interesting clashes in the Team Event, which takes place first. At Cadet Level, the Girls face Armenia, Turkey and Slovakia. The Cadet Boys face some familiar opponents, drawn against Scotland, England and the Ukraine. The Junior Girls, led by newly crowned Senior Schools International Champion Ashley Givan, will face Slovenia, Portugal, Finland and Latvia.
The event kicks off on 12th July, with the team event running to the 16th July before the individual event begins. Don’t forget to follow the ITTA site and social media pages for full updates from this major event. Best wishes to all of the squad members from all at Irish Table Tennis.