Last weekend, our table-tennis teams traveled to the Franconian International School in Erlangen to participate in the first official German International Schools Sports Tournament (GISST) for this discipline. This event marked the culmination of a journey that started in November 2023 with the selection process here at ISF. After 15 weeks of training and hard-fought matches, 16 players out of 65 had earned a place to compete against 6 International schools from all over the country.
Right from the start, it was clear that our players had not travelled to Erlangen to make up the numbers. Motivation and excitement were high. Early victories put the Varsity and U14 boys on top of their groups, while the girls were on track to win Gold after the first day. Unfortunately, the second day did not prove to be as successful as the first one. After a series of fierce matches, our Varsity boys came agonizingly close to qualify for the final, only losing on points average (218 vs 217 points)! Nevertheless, the team received the award for Sportsmanship, an achievement they should be proud of.
Meanwhile, our Varsity girls and U14 boys took the third place in their respective categories, both losing out on a place in the final by the smallest of margins. Our U14 girls, who had two of the youngest players in the whole tournament (Linda Wilz & Sena Yesilhark), finished 4th in their category, but deservedly won the Sportsmanship award.
All our players showed fantastic skills and great composure throughout the two days, and the coaches were very proud of the team spirit and camaraderie showed by all of them. Finally, a huge congratulation to Emily Gibney Moreno and Yewon Hwang for winning the medal for Best 2nd Seed Double, a fantastic feat achieved against more experienced pairs.
