Mossman Squash and Tennis Club had their annual junior championships over the weekend and saw the next generation of court stars show what they had to offer.

The day saw a total of 22 entries across three divisions.

Along with the championships they also saw Red Ball competition, a modified format for the younger and new players – a whole new level of upcoming fresh talent.

There were five red ball players all under 8 years of age. The kids may have been young, but they demonstrated fantastic grit, sportsmanship and determination, all playing four matches each with the winner being Nate Bender with Charlie Moffat runner up.

Club President Alan Lane told Newsport that it was a great day with lots of talented young athletes taking part.

“Clear blue skies and almost no wind – perfect conditions as for many players wind is their worst nightmare,” Lane said.

“The story within the tournament was how close the competition was with most competitors having a good chance of winning the trophy.”

Division One was the largest group with each player required to play seven singles matches in front of spectators with the players putting on a great show.

“Many rallies were long with much running and scrambling back and forth by both players. Everyone was eager to get as many wins as possible, so this quickly established the tactics,” Lane added.

“The main tactic was what they call percentage play - run everything down, keep the ball in and hope your opponent makes the first mistake.

“This resulted in many players feeling the heat and running out of puff.”

Mr Lane added that the behaviour, sportsmanship and competitive nature of the athletes was to really be applauded.

“On the day, the players gave the very best they could manage - players like Hugo Heweston and Alex O’Donaghue did not win a trophy but for where they are at with their personal improvement they performed perfectly.