TWENTY-FOUR players have been selected to compete for places in the under-15 and under-19 teams in the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Associations national competitions over the next two days at the National Racquet Center in Tacarigua.
Each team will consist of four players, but there is only one spot available in the under-15 girls category as Jnai Samuel, Elizabeth Rajah and Jannah Mohammed were automatically picked.
Nadira Rampersad, Sophia Singh, Zuri Radge Coomar and Hidayah Mohammed will play a straight round-robin event to get the trials for that seat underway from 9am.
With France-based Malik Gopaul and Josiah Joseph automatically selected, there are only two places available in the boys' Under-19 division.
Sekel McIntosh, who won the Under-15 trials last year and was later crowned national champion in the age group, and Jonathan Cottoy, winner of the Under-15 title at last year's Silver Bowl Championships, are the favorites to to complete the team.
But last year's Trinbago Open Under-15 champion Gabriel John, who had a stint in China a few months ago, and fellow wildcard Samuel Humphreys are also in contention, along with Ameer Mohammed.
Two-time defending national Under-19 champion Gopaul and Tobago Open Under-15 and 19 winner Joseph will not have the weekend off as they were given wildcards to compete for places in the men's national team.
But Chloe Fraser will, as in addition to being exempt along with five-time Caribbean champion Rheann Chung and top-ranked Imani Edwards-Taylor in the women's event, the two-time defending national champion was also given an automatic pick in the under-19 category.
16-year-old Jordan Thong, a fellow Frenchman, is in the field of seven to battle for the other three spots, along with Jerisse Elder, Lyllana Boodhan, Yzabelle Morris, Makeisha Lewis, Nanyakma Peters and Jinique Subero-Noreiga.
With last year's top five now outdated, Joshua Bhim is the top-ranked man in the Under-15 trials, and his brother Daniel, last year's No. 1 Under-13 player, is next on the list of eight .
The others selected to compete for the four spots are Aiden Noel, Mateo Mollineau, Jonathan Alleyne, Ethan Mohammed, Nirav Basant and Jared Simon.
Elder, Rajah, Samuel, Thong and former top player Linda Partap-Boodhan compete for the last spot in the women's team.
US-based duo Khaleel Asgarali and Derron Douglas are among the nine chosen to compete for the four men's spots, along with Joseph, Gopaul, Luc OYoung, Arun Roopnarine and national champions Aaron Wilson, Curtis Humphreys and Yuvraaj Dookram .
The men's and women's tests start from 2 p.m
