Charles Chocolate will celebrate its 29th anniversary of sponsorship of the Catch National Junior Tennis Championship from April 8-13 at the newly constructed National Racket Centre in Tacarigua.
It will be the first time the tournament is being held at the new state-of-the art facility. In a release on Monday the company’s representative Chantelle Williams said they are proud to once again sponsor the tournament. “There are very few sponsorships worldwide that last this long, spanning all economic cycles, but our steadfast commitment to this event is representative of our continued support for our community through sport. We stand strong in our commitment and belief in fostering the personal and social development of the youth of T&T. This tournament offers the participants the opportunity to compete at all levels, therefore building their competitive spirit in addition to encouraging good camaraderie and support of others,” Williams explained.
Jermille Danclar, secretary of the Tennis Association of T&T said an improved level of competition is expected at the new venue. As such, his association will attempt to provide the public with live streaming of matches of the finals and other round of games in a bold move to boost the sport. This year rising talent Aiden Carter who won both the Under-14 and 16 categories last year will again be the man to beat.
He is scheduled to defend his title in the U-16s and go after the U-18 crown as well, but it will be no easy task as he will be up against his teammates from the just concluded Junior Davis Cup tournament in El Salvador— Adam Ramkissoon, Samuel West and Edward Laquis, as well as last year’s runner-up in the U-18s Scott Hackshaw.
The quartet finished 9th out of 16 teams in El Salvador last week but this time they will have a go at each other to determine the best among them, while Hackshaw will be hoping to make good on his attempt to secure silverware this time around.
Meanwhile, Solange Skeene, the TATT nominee for the First Citizens Sports Awards will go after the titles in the Girls U-14 and 16 divisions, after winning the U-12 in 2016.
The tennis prodigy promises to be a force to reckon with after her impressive display at the recent Shell Tranquility Tennis Open Championship in which she defeated top competitors Emma Davis and Anya King on her way to the Open final at just 13 years.
She could find herself on a collision course though, with defending U-16 champion Yin Lee Assang, while Davis will attempt to rebound from a not so favourable display at the Tranquility Open in the U-18 category, going up against her name-sake Emma Rose Trestrail, Assang and others.
Meanwhile, Boys U-18 champion Nabeel Mohammed will attempt to win the newly created U-21 category, expected to be a challenging one.