Women’s team provide Sarnian silver lining
THE Guernsey women managed to retain their trophy on a tough weekend for the wider squad at the padel inter-insular.
Jersey triumphed 31-17 on home soil to record their first overall inter-insular victory from three events, this being the second in which the Corcuera Cup was up for grabs.
Jersey’s players have come on leaps and bounds over the past twelve months, helped by a new padel centre, and they proved too strong for the visiting side.
But the women’s event finished 8-8, meaning the greens retained the trophy they won in 2021.
In the men’s open, Jersey clinched five points in crucial championship tie breaks, which made all the difference as they won 10-6.
The Jersey men’s veterans were the standout team of the weekend, winning their event 13-3.
Two Guernsey players – Nico Robinson and Lauren Barker picked up their respective MVP awards for being the only players across the islands to have a 100% win record, collecting eight points each, over the two runnings of the Corcuera Cup.
Women’s captain Chantelle de La Mare called it ‘a tough weekend for us all’.
‘Jersey have improved immeasurably and they deserved to win,’ she said.
‘However, I’m proud of our ladies’ team, who all managed to contribute points to the overall total and allow us to bring home the Ladies’ Trophy to Guernsey.
‘The team spirit in the Guernsey team is high, and we are already looking forward to getting back on court over the winter to work on improving our play so we can try to win back the Corcuera Cup next year.’
The development of five-court facilities on both islands has seen padel boom in recent years and the Channel Islands are punching above their weight in British Isles terms.
Participation rates continue to soar, with more and more people taking up the social and fun sport.
Stuart Perfitt, executive chairman of Rocq Capital, congratulated Jersey for winning and putting on a great weekend.
‘Channel Islands padel is growing in popularity and quality each year and the inter-insular rivalry is in rude health,’ he said.
‘Padel continues to go from strength to strength on the island and Rocq Capital are proud to support the sport across the spectrum – from helping to fund programmes for school children right up to sponsoring the Guernsey Team.
‘The spirit that all the matches were played in over the weekend was a great example to all young people of how competitive sport should be played, and we hope more and more people will be encouraged to pick up a racket and give padel a go.’
