First win for Gibraltar in Nations Cup

Gibraltar U15s Blackball A team claimed its first victory on the opening day of play.

Although falling earlier in the morning to Northern Ireland with a 10–5 scoreline against them, Gibraltar made a comeback later the same morning to beat Wales 10–5.

Northern Ireland, playing against Scotland at the same time, went on to lose 11–4 to the Scots. This marked the second win for the Scotland U15 side, having beaten Wales 10–5 earlier in the day.

In the Ladies Doubles category, the Gibraltar A team lost 20–5 to Northern Ireland.

This first category to take to the tables on Thursday saw Gibraltar celebrate a successful opening of the Nations Cup on home soil.

With well over 1,000 players participating, and just as many coaches and families accompanying them, the Nations Cup is among the pinnacle moments in the Gibraltar Pool Association calendar.

Just under a decade since professional pool moved away from using Gibraltar as a venue, the arrival of the Nations Cup brings the sport back to the Rock with even more players involved and a huge following. With seventeen visiting associations, the exposure for the Rock is on par with events such as football internationals and the youth Netball World Cup recently held in Gibraltar, adding to the list of successfully hosted sporting events on the Rock in recent years.

The Nations Cup is a ten-day event which will see numerous categories compete, with the main events — the senior categories — taking to the tables later in the schedule.