Cadet and Junior 4* events will see some fierce competition this season as some of the best young players in the country battle to qualify for the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet, U17 & Junior National Championships.

Once again, the series of Cadet and Junior 4* events around the country will provide a route to the Nationals, as they have since 2021.

There will be six events in the series, and a leaderboard will be published and updated on the Nationals’ page on this website after results have been received for each event – allowing the players and coaches to keep track of how they are progressing towards qualification for the Championships, which will be in Nottingham on the weekend of May 4-5.

The six 4* events which will contribute to qualification are:

• Cambridge 4* – 19-20 August (closed for entries)
• Blackpool 4* – 23-24 September (closing date 19 August)
• Cleveland 4* – 28-29 October (closing date 29 September)
• Chandlers 4* – 11-12 November (closing date 13 October) | Click to enter
• Cippenham 4* – 2-3 December
• Plymouth 4* – 10-11 February

Cippenham entries will open earlier for the higher ranked players and therefore we encourage everyone to enter in a timely fashion to be assured of their priority place. More information will be announced via Cippenham TTC in due course.

Invitations to the Nationals will be issued on the following basis:

1. All ranking, qualifying and leaderboard invitees to Mark Bates Ltd Cadet & Junior Nationals 2024 must participate in at least two (of six) 4* events, notwithstanding mitigating circumstances

2. Invitations will be issued in priority order (for each category):

• 20 from ranking list, noting point 1 above. These places will default to additional qualifiers if declined
• 2 wildcards. These places will default to additional qualifiers if declined or places are unfilled
• 10 qualifying from 4* events:

3. The ‘leaderboard’ will be established using the scoring system below, from main events only; no points (except those for entering) are available for consolation events

Points awarded as follows:

Enter: 1 point
Main QF: +1 point (2 total)
Main SF: +1 point (3 total)
Main R/up: +1 point (4 total)
Main Winner: +2 points (5 total; automatic qualification)

Invitations will be based on the March ranking run and seedings will be based on the April ranking run.

Click here for more about the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet, U17 & Junior National Championships.