This weekend several Orcadians competed for Great Britain at The Intercontinental Championships (Europe/Africa) in Dordrecht the Netherlands.
Back row Left to Right, Matt Oliver (Coach) James Christen, Dan Parsloe, Declan Mcnulty, Toby Curle, Tom Pitchforth, David Bruce. Front Row left to right Peter Rooney (Coach) Matthew Adams, Nathan Archer, Billy Sarsfield, Henry Ing-Simmons, Tom Burgess, James Finnimore.
David Bruce, the first ever GB Mens Elite player from Orkney, won a silver medal in a nail biting final against Turkey. David had played in a round robin over the previous week which saw the GB men beat France, an extremely strong national team, top two in the World.
In the Women’s Masters Division Orkney players Katy Firth, Flo Ungaro and Rebecka Kiff were joined by former Orkney team mates Helen Sawers (Vice Captain) and Mags Gough (Captain).
This was the first time Katy, Helen and Mags had represented the Masters, having spent several years each playing at Elite level from 2008-2013. In the final GB Masters took it to the wire but clinched Gold in extra time against reigning Masters Women World Champions France. Third in this division was USA who had been allowed to attend due to their Intercontinental tournament in Colombia being cancelled.
After 10 months of following a rigorous training programme and travelling to Leeds and London for training camps, all GB teams’ performances at this tournament have guaranteed their spots at the World Championship in 2027.
