Lancashire Juniors took an experienced team of eighteen players to the U9 EPSCA Northern Counties Zonal at Bridgewater School in Manchester. After initial shirt presentations to debutants Tiago Cedron, Matthew Fleming, Harrison Jones and Lewis Harrison, round 1 quickly followed with a mixed selection of county opponents. Parents and coaches, back in the team room, gasped as the wins kept stacking up until the remarkable score of 11 out of 12 was confirmed. What was in the Shredded Wheat?!
Following a bit of fresh air to recover, round 2 saw more strong scoring, particularly from boards 7-12 and a very healthy score of 9 out of 12 was confirmed. Cameron Hill destroyed his opponent in seven moves and Joe Birks sacrificed his Bishop to force a cunning mate.
The team knew, going into the third and final round that they must be in the mix for a medal. But could they get close to the all-conquering and formidable Nottinghamshire who had dominated the event in recent years?
In the final round Caleb Lister lost his Queen but managed to fight back to win, Evie Maher, in a tight finish, stayed very cool to ensure victory and Ben Bearon played the longest game of all, on a reserve board too! Lewis Harrison, Ruby Robinson, Caleb Lister, Joe Birks and Kiran Naidoo all clocked up an excellent hat-trick of wins as did Luke Ryan and Isaac Wood.
The final round saw the team score 9 out of 12, resulting in a grand total of 29 points. The Nottinghamshire Team Manager came over to congratulate the team - we had won by five points! Graciously, he praised the team's coolness under pressure as well as the players' general good attitude in the matches.
So a great day, with tea and medals all-round. Watch out THE SOUTH, Lancashire U9s are coming to get you!
Malcolm Birks (Team Manager)
| Board | Name | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Total | Pos | Team | Points | Wins | |
| 1 | Joe Birks | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Lancashire | 29 | 29 | |
| 2 | Ivan Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Nottinghamshire | 24 | 23 | |
| 3 | Cameron Hill | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | Manchester | 18.5 | 18 | |
| 4 | Daniel Dable | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | = | Cheshire & North Wales | 18.5 | 18 | |
| 5 | Matthew Wood | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | Tameside | 16 | 15 | |
| 6 | Evie Maher | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | Merseyside | 11.5 | 10 | |
| 7 | Isaac Wood | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Wirral | 8.5 | 7 | |
| 8 | Caleb Lister | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 9 | Lewis Harrison | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 10 | Luke Ryan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 11 | Ruby Robinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 12 | Kiran Naidoo | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 11 | 9 | 9 | 29 | ||||||