Sunday 13^th May should have marked the start of the Welsh Junior campaign for the 2018 British Junior County title. Due to the group arrangement this year, Wales are in a group of five. This meant our Juniors had an open date. However, the opportunity to get all potential players together for a friendly was too good to miss and this was held at the Oval Bowling Club, Llandudno.

All in all there were some 45 juniors. These came from the east of Wales, Wrexham and Flintshire Areas and from the West, Glyndwr and Gwynedd.  The event was managed by Selectors Dave Jones, Kevin Stephenson and Jay Salisbury. Practice was scheduled from 12 noon and the match got underway at one.

President Brenda Jones was there to support the occasion and the Referee was Derek Evans.

Among the participants were several seasoned players and for some this was their first chance to join up with team mates from previous years. There were plenty of new faces too, and if the enthusiasm of all those taking part is anything to go by, Wales has a healthy Junior uptake. The weather was perfect and the green in excellent condition. Most of the games were close or very close and all the juniors who took part can take a pat on the back. There was good support and encouragement from family members as we have come to expect.

It never ceases to amaze me how confident these young players seem to be. For some, it was their first experience of a large match event and they handled themselves well.

Everyone took something positive away with them. Seasoned players reconnected with their competitive spirit at county level, new players got a taste of things to come and the selectors had a host of new talent to tap into.

The stars of tomorrow were out there and we wish them all a chance to shine when the real hard work begins with their first county match next month.

Jeanette Higham