Five Oxford players took part in the Cippenham Young Players’ Summer Festival over the weekend of June 22/23. Most successful once again were youngsters Reece Chamdal and Vicky Coll. Reece stepped up from last week’s Under 11 runner-up spot at Waterside to take the Under 12 runner-up trophy this time, losing out 0-3 in the Final to Sam Wilson (Bucks), whom he had beaten 3-0 in the groups. But overall this was a big improvement for Reece, who went on to reach the Quarter-Finals of the Under 14 event after a fine series of wins, including a 3-1 over Ben Naylor-Smith (Bucks).  Above all he kept his morale together in the face of adversity throughout a very long and exhausting day.

Vicky continues to excel – her 2^nd place in the Under 12 Girls’ event was a fine achievement. She battled through several close matches, notably defeating Talia Banin-Reid (Middlesex) 11-6 in the 5^th.  Once again Shristi Ghosh (Bucks) was too strong for her, defeating Vicky 3-1 in both the Under 12 and Under 14 events. Vicky reached the semi-finals in Under 14s to complete a memorable four weeks of tournament play, in which her game has blossomed.