Twenty-five talented young players have been invited to a Future Hopes trial weekend at the Elite Training Centre in Sheffield after impressing at the recent Mark Bates Ltd U10-13 National Championships.

The players, aged from nine to 12, were spotted at the Nationals, either because of their results, the level that they were playing at, or through their behaviours that they showed on the table.

The trial weekend on 31 May-1 June is being led by Charlotte Carey and Ben Barlow and Futures support coach Olly Tyndall, plus sparring partners – including a number of players in the GBTS programme.

The weekend will bring this group of young players together to have more time on the table, enable them to see what being part of a squad could look like, as well as enabling the coaching team to assess their level in a training environment.

Additionally, Emma Vickers (Head of Pathway Development) and Natalie Green (DiSE Lead and Talent Pathway Support) will be hosting a parent-coach workshop and Q&A session around the Player Pathway.

Following the weekend, selection for the 2025/2026 Futures Squad will take place and players will be notified in June if they have been successful for the new programme starting in August.

The Futures Programme will be made up of 22 players in the U13 age category.

The winners of the U12 National Championships 2025 (male and female) and winners of the U11 National Championships 2025 (male and female) will be automatically selected.

The remaining squad will be selected via series of wildcards based on the selection of the National Futures Squad coach + talent team. Considerations will be made around: 

• Player domestic/international results 
• Player attitude, behaviours 
• Player potential & trajectory (to consider both the 9-10 and 11-3 age brackets) 
• Performances at talent events (e.g., PDC weekend camps, talent ID days) 
• Player commitment 
• Performance at Futures Trial Camps (x 2 per year) 

There will be another Futures Hopes trial weekend held in early 2026, for further players to be assessed, for consideration to be included in larger camps and for the Futures 26-27 programme.

Emma Vickers said: “Congratulations to all of the players who have been invited to this event following being scouted at the recent U10-13 National Championships.

“The Future Hopes trial event is a new event in our calendar, which we will aim to run twice a year to ensure we are selecting the right players to enter into our annual Futures Programme.

“This event is part of a series of new events and initiatives we are running under the ‘Hopes’ banner to help us find the next generation of talent across England.”