Trinidad and Tobago will open its campaign in the World Youth Netball Championships against Bermuda tomorrow.

The competition started in spectacular style yesterday with a breathtaking opening ceremony followed by host nation Scotland’s first game against the Cayman Islands.

A 3000 strong crowd watched Scotland dominate on court as they beat Cayman Islands 72-21.

The Championships will run until August 31, in the Emirates Arena. All twenty teams will battle it out in 70 games across the next ten days.

Today will see Northern Ireland compete against Malta, Nimibia face Fiji, New Zealand against Bermuda and current world youth champions Australia battling it out against Israel.

Tomorrow night will see Jamaica compete against Samoa, Singapore face New Zealand and England playing Republic of Ireland.

There was a young enthusiastic crowd cheering the home nation on tonight. An astounding 5000 schoolchildren from across Scotland are attending the Championships. Children from as far away as Shetland and the Western Isles are making the long but exciting trip to Glasgow to get caught up in the electric atmosphere the Championships will deliver on.

Chair of Glasgow Life and the Executive Member of the Commonwealth Games, Councillor Archie Graham, said: “The World Youth Netball Championships kicked off tonight in spectacular style with some fantastic entertainment and sportsmanship. I couldn’t be prouder of the Scotland team who showed exceptional skill on the court and did their home nation proud with such an impressive win.”

“Tonight really gave us a taste of what is in store over the next ten days and I hope the people of Glasgow and Scotland come out in droves to support the teams.”

The Championships will feature some of the best young netball players from across the world. Host nation Scotland will battle it out against 19 other countries, from as far afield as Singapore and Samoa, in a bid to be crowned the best in the world at under-21 level.

The ten-day event, which is part of UK Sport’s £27million Gold Event Series, is the first world netball event to be staged in Scotland since 1987 and will take place less than a year before the sport takes centre stage at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Organisers are hoping to build on the success of the recent World Premier Club Challenge competition at the Emirates Arena, which was attended by around 2,500 netball fans.

The competing countries are: Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, England, Fiji, Israel, Jamaica, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Papau New Guinea, Republic of Ireland, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, T&T and Wales.

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