Loveridge beats the age barrier

ALICE LOVERIDGE'S bronze-medal winning performance put the 'icing on the cake for Guernsey', said Peter Dean, organiser of the British Primary Schools' Championships. Loveridge, aged nine, gave at least two years away to many of her rivals from around the United Kingdom, but won four matches out of six to take the bronze.

'To see one of our own girls on the medal podium was very special,' said Dean.

'The highlight of the weekend was our girls defeating Scotland, but Alice's performance was the icing on the cake.

'She's got two years left in this age group. If she carries on the progress she has made already she will be a realistic contender for gold,' added Dean.

Loveridge had qualified from arguably the toughest of the four groups.

Three of the five players won three and lost one of their round-robin matches, but Loveridge went through on countback.

She then thrashed the Irish girl, Rebecca Kenny, 11-7, 11-6, 11-3 to win a place in the semi-finals against England's Katie Rule, who had beaten Loveridge in the team event.

The English girl won the first two games for a combined total of eight points, but egged on by a big crowd at the Guernsey Bowls Stadium Loveridge clinched the third 12-10, having been 8-10 down.

At 9-9 in the fourth Loveridge was within a couple of points of forcing a decider, but Rule ruled and the Guernsey girl's gallant run in the tournament had come to a thrilling end.

There was further celebration among the home support when Tim Ravenscroft put behind him a disappointing couple of days to win the consolation singles.

Ravenscroft was 0-5 down in the decider, but hit back to beat Scotland's Mark Porteous 11-9, a result which delighted GTTA president Derek Webb.

But everyone involved with running the tournament was a winner, said Peter Hirst, the former English TTA director of coaching and development.

'It was fantastic,' said Hirst. 'The organisation was like clockwork. Guernsey can be proud of that,' he added.

Guernsey now look forward to staging the 2006 Junior Six Nations, the 2004 version of which is being staged in the Isle of Man in a fortnight's time.