Inverness Boys Brigade stars reach national table tennis finals
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A TEAM of Inverness youngsters will be heading to a national table tennis finals next month.
The 12th Inverness Boys’ Brigade, based in Dalneigh, are no strangers to sport. Badminton, football and cross country are all regular activities.
So too is table tennis. Funding from Cashback for Communities allowed them to buy the necessary equipment and arrange coaching sessions from Inverness Table Tennis Club coach Stephen Gertsen.
Gertsen has plenty of international pedigree, including as the Scottish national team coach and team manager at last summer’s Commonwealth Games, and under his guidance Inverness High School pupils Maddex Reid, Alastair Bain, DJ Aitken and Kyle Fox developed their game well.
This year, they entered the national Boys’ Brigade competition.
Travelling across Scotland, 12th Inverness defeated 3rd Inverness, 25th A Stirling, 6th/8th Dundee and 25th B Stirling to move within reach of the UK finals.
Last weekend, the Highlanders took on 128th Glasgow, narrowly winning 5-4 to book their place at Widnes on Saturday, April 22 where they will take on the best teams from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Captain of 12th Inverness Boys’ Brigade, Neil Morrison, said of the achievement: “Sports are an important part of the Boys’ Brigade and are always popular with our young people.
“I don’t think any of them really expected to get this far. As far as we are aware, this is the first time our Boys’ Brigade have ever made it to a national final, and we are very proud of what they have achieved.
“We will be competing against the best teams from England, Wales and Northern Ireland at Stobart Stadium, so it will be a tough day.
“However, our boys are very excited and are really looking forward to the challenge.
“They are keen to get in some more coaching sessions with Stephen and also more competitive practice with the help of Inverness Table Tennis Club.
“No matter how the boys get on at the national finals, we are delighted with what they have achieved and we hope their success will inspire more of our young people to get involved.”
Over two groups, 12th Inverness cater for young people from primary four to the end of secondary school.
