From the 20th to the 23rd March 2008, two teams (one Under 13 and one Under 15) took part in the Aros Junior Cup in Denmark.  The tournament is seen as an important stage in the development of the young players and good preparation for future International Championship events.

The Under 13 Team comprised of:

Boys
Ben Garnham
Alex Lane
Sam Parsons
Cameron Weber

Girls
Brittany Ashton
Chloe Birch
Serena Midha
Jenny Moore

Boys Singles
Ben Garnham was unlucky not to get out of his box.  Although Alex Lane, Sam Parsons and Cameron Weber all did negotiate this tricky phase.  Upon reaching the main draw only Cameron made it passed the first round though.

Girls Singles
All four girls made it out of their boxes successfully and made the main draw. In which Jennifer Moore and Serena Midha were unlucky not to make it passed the first round and Brittany Ashton lost out to a good Finnish player in the second.  Chloe Birch made the best progress before losing to the eventual winner in the semi-final.

Boys Doubles
Alex Lane and Cameron Weber lost in a close three set match in the first round.  While Sam Parsons and Ben Garnham won through to the quarter finals before losing to a Danish pair.

Girls Doubles
Brittany Ashton and Jenny Moore lost in three sets to a strong German pair in round one.  The pairing of Chloe Birch and Serena Midha faired better though as they reached the final losing out to a very good Danish pair in straight sets in the final.

Mixed Doubles
Traditionally England strongest event and this was again proved by the results here.  Jenny Moore and Ben Garnham, along with Serena Midha and Cameron Weber were two pairs unfortunate to lose in the first round but Chloe Bich and Alex Lane made it to the semi finals before losing to the eventual winners from Finland.  Brittany Ashton and Sam Parsons went one better, reaching the final of the event but were beaten in three very tight sets (19-21, 21-13, 18-21) by the same Finnish pair.

The Under 15 team comprised of:

Boys
Steven Cappleman
Sam Dobson
Jack Kinmond
Tim Stranks

Girls
Emily Westwood
Lauren Bromley
Piya Sachdeva

Boys Singles
All four boys negotiated their way through their boxes to the main draw.  Tim Stranks lost in the first round, Jack Kinmond went one round better before losing to a strong Swedish player.  Sam Dobson won two matches, reaching the quarter final before losing.  Steven Cappleman made the most progress in the event, making the semi final but lost to the eventual winner from Sweden.

Girls Singles
Lauren Bromley and Piya Sachdeva both made it through their respective boxes into the main draw of the event but once there neither could progress past the first round.  Piya losing in an especially tight affair 19-21, 19-21 to Kirsty McGlynn of Scotland.

Boys Doubles
Two strong performances by the English pairs in this discipline.  Jack Kinmond and Tim Stranks fought their way through to the semi finals before losing to a good Danish pair playing at their home venue.  But the best performance of the tournament goes to Sam Dobson and Steven Cappleman who beat all comers and won the Boys Doubles crown, beating another Danish pair in the final.

Girls Doubles
Piya Sachdeva and Lauren Bromley played well, knocking out a Danish pair and a Swedish pair but they unfortunately couldn't repeat the trick against another Danish pair of Vestergaard and Madsen in the quarter finals.

Mixed Doubles
A mixed set of results for the English players, Piya Sachdeva and Steven Cappleman lost in the first round.  Lauren Bromley and Jack Kinmond made the second round but could go no further.  Tim Stranks playing with a Scottish partner in Kirsty Gilmour did very well and reached semi-finals, losing in three tight games to a very strong Danish pair in Antonsen and Kjaersfeldt.  Emily Westwood and Sam Dobson went one further made it all the way through to the final, unfortunately they couldn't claim the win and lost in three games 17-21, 21-14, 24-26, an outstadingly tight final game that could have gone either.

Overall some good performance all round by the English contingent.  Some invaluable experience was gained by all and the players involved can use this as a base to build on for the rest of this season and into the next.