On Sunday 17th September twelve Under 16 teams took to the newly refurbished courts at Shirley High school for the Regional U16 qualifying tournament. The tournament determines who competes in the U16 league during the 2017-18 season. With only eight spaces available, competition was tight. Crystal Palace, Breakaways, Telstars and AP Saints all started strong and secured automatic qualification spots. Leaving Essex Open, Kent County, Wealden, Manor, Eclipse, Sabina, Tiffin and Grasshoppers having to play off for one of the final four spaces. Everyone played hard and there were some extremely close games including the Manor v Wealden game which had to go to extra time to separate the two teams. Manor came out eventual qualifiers from that game with Essex Open, Sabina and Grasshoppers joining them in the league. The eight qualifying teams now player each other twice across the season with the top two teams at the end of the season qualifying to represent the London and South East region at the National U16 Club Finals. If the qualifying tournament was anything to go by it is going to be a close and exciting season. Good luck to all the teams!