Charles Read Academy and Whitgift School will represent English Schools’ Table Tennis at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) World Schools’ Table Tennis Championships next year.
The Academy will be represented by Danielle Kelly, Mollie Patterson, Darcie Proud and Karrie Rogers in the Girls’ School Team Championships. Whitgift players George Hazell, Jason Kwok, James Smith and Reiss Vydelingum will compete in the Boys’ School Team Competition.
They will be joined by Charlotte Bardsley (Heathfield Knoll School, Kidderminster), Kate Cheer (The College of Richard Collyer, Horsham), Gauri Duhan (Hymers College, Hull) and Jasmin Wong (Ackworth School, Pontefract) playing in the Girls’ Nationally Selected Team, along with Joe Clark (Grantham College), Joseph Hee (City of London School), Samuel Kwan (Nunthorpe Academy, Middlesbrough) and Shayan Siraj (Grantham College) in the Boys’ Nationally Selected Team events.
The squad includes three current Butterfly National Schools’ Individual Champions – Cheer (Under-19 Girls), Hee (Under-16 Boys) and Bardsley (Under-16 Girls) together with runners-up Kwan and Duhan. The four players in the Whitgift team are those who were crowned Butterfly Schools’ National Team Championships in March this year.
The championships will be held in Malta from April 8-14, 2018, and it is anticipated that some 20 countries will field teams including Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taipei, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg and Turkey.
It was a Patronage event organised by the English Schools’ Table Tennis Association in 1993 in Birmingham that persuaded the ISF to add the sport of table tennis to its regular biennial calendar of some 13 sports. There are now almost 40 sports in their calendar.
This ISF six-day team and individual event, including Opening and Closing Ceremonies together with a cultural visit and activities, complements the English Schools’ Programme of Team, Individual and Home Countries International Championships.
England has sent teams to every ISF Table Tennis Championships. Gail Johns has been an ever present member of each Delegation, firstly as a Non Playing Captain but now for the second time as Head of Delegation.
The full delegation is:
Head of Delegation: Gail Johns
Boys’ School Team: Whitgift School, South Croydon (George Hazell, Jason Kwok, James Smith, Reiss Vydelingum, Goran Maric (NPC)
Girls’ School Team: Charles Read Academy (Danielle Kelly, Mollie Patterson, Darcie Proud, Karrie Rogers, Scot Webb (NPC)
National Selected Team – Boys: Joe Clark (Grantham College), Joseph Hee (City of London School), Samuel Kwan (Nunthorpe Academy Middlesbrough), Shayan Siraj (Grantham College), Sam Perry (NPC)
National Selected Team – Girls: Charlotte Bardsley (Heathfield Knoll School, Kidderminster), Kate Cheer (The College of Richard Collyer, Horsham), Gauri Duhan (Hymers College, Hull), Jasmin Wong (Ackworth School), Kate Hughes (NPC)
Official Umpires: Alex Mercer & Lester Smith
Press Officer/Ass. HoD: Steve Burge