Teenage national women's singles champion Brittany Joseph will lead a strong 32-member team for the Caribbean Table Tennis Federation Cadet & Junior Championship which serves off at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo, from April 3 to 7.
In addition to Joseph, other notable members of the T&T team who have competed on the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) circuit in Latin America and the Caribbean are Arun Wilson, recent double-crown winner in the Silver Bowl Junior Table Tennis Championship, and his main local rival, Aaron Wilson.
Joseph will lead the Girls Junior (Under-18) 'A' squad which also features Catherine Spicer, a four-time top-ranked junior, Artienea Gregoire and Adefa James while Wilson and Roopnarine are joined on the Boys Junior 'A' team by Sarvesh Mungal and Andreus Pantin-Abraham.
The quartet of Varoun Sitram, Kourdell Powell, Che-Pierre Fournillier and Isiah Welch comprise the Under-18 'B' squad.
Among the under-15s, T&T will have two teams each in both the boys and girls competition.
With less than two weeks before the tournament serves off, the six-member local coaching staff of eight-time national women's champion Aleena Edwards, top-ranked local men's player Curtis Humphreys, Dennis La Rose, Aaron Edwards, former Caribbean and national singles champ Courtney Pugh and Edwin Humphrey are expected to continue their training sessions on a daily basis at various venues across the country.
However, the entire team, inclusive of players from Tobago, will gather at Maloney Indoor Sports Arena, Maloney, on Sunday from 12 noon for an intense session.
The other countries listed to compete are Barbados, Suriname, Curacao, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Grenada, St Maarten and Dominican Republic.
T&T TEAMS
Juniors (Under-18)
Girls A: Catherine Spicer, Brittany Joseph, Artienea Gregoire, Adefa James, Jevaune Stewart (reserve)
Boys A: Aaron Wilson, Arun Roopnarine, Sarvesh Mungal, Andreus Pantin-Abraham
Boys B Varoun Sitram, Kourdell Powell, Che-Pierre Fournillier, Isiah Welch, Keon Constanntine (reserve)
Cadet (Under-15)
Girls A: Gyshan Latchman, Nalini Boodoo, Jasher De Gannes, Ray J Thomas
Girls B: Anjana Valsalan, Danielle Dick, Shanekah Johnson, Monique Cooper
Reserves: Chelsea Fong, Shurja Welch
Boys A: Amresh Mungal, Shakeel Mitchell, Daniel Enriques, Joshua Maxwell
Boys B: Jesse Ramgoolie, Koren Welch, Benoni Daniel, Brandon Lee Young
Reserve: Jabari Garraway
Technical staff: Aleena Edwards (manager/coach), Curtis Humphreys (coach), Dennis La Rose (coach), Aaron Edwards (coach), Courtney Pugh (coach), Edwin Humphreys (coach)?