The Touch Atlantic Youth Cup kicked off in Nottingham this week with 10 nations competing across 3 days. Teams have travelled from across Europe but also from USA, Cayman Islands, South Africa and China. England has teams competing in all age categories from Under 15s to Under 20s and we have players and coaches from Canterbury representing England across these teams. Touch is a unique sport as we have girls and boys teams but also mixed teams where girls and boys play together on the pitch.
Abby Pritchard and Iris Nasir are part of the Girls U18s team. Both have been playing for nearly 8 years and have previously represented England at Under 15 and Under 18 level. Abby has also played for Middle East Under 15s. Canterbury also features on the coaching panel for Girls Under 18’s with Flori Nasir stepping into the Assistant Coach role for the first time this year after. She previously captained the Mixed U15s and was a junior touch coach at Canterbury for a number of years. Lola Sanderson is a newcomer to touch and the great progress she has made has resulted in her being named as a reserve player in the Mixed Under 15s team. She plays for both Canterbury and Wolves.
JJ Lister is playing in the Mixed Under 18 category and Danny Ticehurst in the Mixed U20s. Both are making their England debut at this tournament! Danny also plays touch for Bath University. Eliot Nye and Matt Mayall are playing in the Boys U20s category. They have both been playing for about 8 years and have represented England at previous junior tournaments. Eliot was also part of the Mixed Open squad for last years European Championships.
Alice Summers is playing in the Girls U20s team. She has previously represented England at Under 18 and Under 15 level. She was also part of the Mixed Open squad at the European Championships last year. Lydia Ticehurst is debuting as Assistant Coach for the Girls U20s and she is also an England Womens Opens player so is a great addition to the coaching panel!
Matches kick off on Thursday 20th July with finals being played on Saturday 22nd. Follow England Touch on socials for a link to the live stream and regular updates!
If you’re interested in coming along to play some Touch at Canterbury, we welcome all players from beginners through to elite level. Contact info@canterburytouch.co.uk for more information.