Platform to Sicilian league

Advanced players from the Table Tennis Nursery will be able to take part in the Sicilian league following talks between the nursery and Catania's Pol Sporting Club.

A contract has already been signed through which Malta's Jessica Pace will play for the Sicilian club's women's team in Division B.

Matches are played during weekends, starting on Saturday.

Discussions were led by Pol Sporting Club president Fabio Bellassai and David Pace, Table Tennis Nursery director.

Jessica Pace is now set to benefit from playing against opponents with different styles of play. She will also practise with a variety of top-level sparring partners in Catania.

David Pace said: "Sicily is our first connection to mainland Europe. So, we feel it is important for our organisation to take advantage of Malta's proximity to Sicily. This is an opportunity to measure our standards and improve. We are confident that this is the way forward.

"Thanks to our agreement with Pol Sporting, any player from our nursery who reaches the required standard of play may benefit from this agreement in future."

The Table Tennis Nursery will be assisted by the sponsorship of Air Malta and the backing of the MOC Youth Scheme in their venture in Sicily.