Netherlands
will host the
biggest ever European Team Squash Championships when the 2008 event -
featuring a record 28 nations competing in the men's event and 19 in the
women's - takes place at the Frans Otten Stadion in Amsterdam
from 30 April to 3 May.
The men's championship
welcomes Serbia for the first time - and also Portugal and
Luxembourg, returning to the event for the first time since 1999 and
1997, respectively.
The women's event boasts the
biggest entry since 2000 - and hails first-timers Ukraine, while also
welcoming back Greece for the first time since 1989.
The 2008 staging marks the
ninth time the prestigious Championships have been hosted by Netherlands
- more times than any other country.
England,
defending champions in both the men's and women's events, are seeded to
retain their titles - the men's squad for the 33rd time since the
inaugural event in 1973, and the women's having held the title unchallenged
since 1978.
England's men's squad will
be led by world No4 James Willstrop, supported by world No10 Peter
Barker, No11 Lee Beachill, No14 Adrian Grant, and -
making his international debut - Joey Barrington, ranked 28 in the
world. In the absence of Tania Bailey, who is recovering from knee
surgery, the England women's team features world No6 Jenny Duncalf,
No8 Vicky Botwright, No11 Alison Waters and No12 Laura
Lengthorn-Massaro.
But, after finishing as
runner-up in both events last year, hosts Netherlands will be hoping to make
a long-awaited breakthrough on 'home soil'. Seeded two, and looking for
first-time success in both events, Netherlands will present a men's squad
led by world No19 Laurens Jan Anjema, with Dylan Bennett,
Tom Hoevenaars, Piedro Schweertman, Rene Mijs and
40-year-old nine-time Dutch National champion Lucas Buit.
Former world champion
Vanessa Atkinson leads the Dutch women's squad which has finished in
second place each year since 2003. Supporting the world No10 will be world
No18 Annelize Naude, Karen Kronemeyer, Orla Noom and Dagmar
Vermeulen.
Strong contenders in the
men's event in Amsterdam will be France. Runners-up to England for
seven years in a row since 2000, France contested last year's championship
without injured Gregory Gaultier and Thierry Lincou. This
time the pair - ranked three and seven in the world, respectively - are back
in action and will compete alongside team-mates Renan Lavigne,
Julien Balbo and Mathieu Castagnet.
Men's qualifying pools (with
seedings in brackets) are:
Pool A: [1] ENGLAND, [8]
SCOTLAND, [9] DENMARK, [16] BELGIUM
Pool B: [2] NETHERLANDS, [7]
SWEDEN, [10] SWITZERLAND, [15] HUNGARY
Pool C: [3] FRANCE, [6]
IRELAND, [11] SPAIN, [14] AUSTRIA
Pool D: [4] WALES, [5]
GERMANY, [12] FINLAND, [13] ITALY
Pool E: [17] ISRAEL, [24]
ISLE OF MAN, PORTUGAL
Pool F: [18] CZECH REPUBLIC,
[23] RUSSIA, SERBIA
Pool G: [19] SLOVAKIA, [22]
GIBRALTAR, SLOVENIA
Pool H: [20] UKRAINE, [21]
LATVIA, LUXEMBOURG
Women's qualifying
pools:
Pool A: [1] ENGLAND, [4]
GERMANY, [5] IRELAND, [8] SPAIN
Pool B: [2] NETHERLANDS, [3]
DENMARK, [6] SWITZERLAND, [7] FRANCE
Pool C: [9] WALES, [14]
FINLAND, [15] SCOTLAND
Pool D: [10] ITALY, [13]
AUSTRIA, [16] RUSSIA, UKRAINE
Pool E: [11] BELGIUM, [12]
CZECH REPUBLIC, SWEDEN, GREECE
