Youngsters head to Tranent in Scottish Secondary Schools Table Tennis Championships

Mar 8 2012 by Kieran Westbrook, West Lothian Courier

A BAND of young West Lothian players took part in the Scottish Secondary Schools Championships at Meadowmill in Tranent.

Rising stars Robbie Fairley and Kieran Boyle, who are both ranked highly for their age group, were not available.

So it was down to Aaron Cameron, James Marris, Andrew Fischbacher, Jack Wilkinson, Marius Sundnes, Matthew Nicholls and Julia MacDougall to represent the region.

Only Aaron had real experience of competitive table tennis and this event was a real chance for the rest to get a taste of the sport at that level.

Aaron won some games but not enough to reach the latter stages while the others found sets difficult to come by. They all gave of their best and enjoyed the experience.

While the youngsters battled it out in Tranent, there was also the fourth of five assessments in the veteran’s calendar.

George Anderson, competing in the over 60s, pulled a calf muscle and will now miss the rest of the season.

In the over-70s Drew McLaren’s hopes of an international berth took a blow as he finished bottom of the three players vying for second spot. In the over-40s, Dariusz Szymczak took a credible seventh.