A NORTH Ayrshire teenager, who is the under 18 Scottish Table Tennis Champion, has just served another triumph after being part of the winning team at the Junior Girls British League Championships.

Rebecca Plaistow, who goes to St Matthew’s Academy in Saltcoats, was part of the Warrington Table Tennis team which won the title in Derby – and the 16-year-old from Kilbirnie was ranked number one in the team.

Rebecca’s mum Denise said: “She was playing for Warrington because they’d lost a couple of players in their team. As there were no Scottish girls playing in the league the team got in touch with Table Tennis Scotland. They recommended Rebecca.

“She thoroughly enjoyed it. She was ranked number one in the team. She was in the first division

playing for Warrington and so they’ve automatically promoted her to Premier Division for next season.

“Rebecca is very quiet about her achievements and says she just loves playing and prefers it to doing anything else. She’s quite a modest girl. The head teacher at St Matthew’s is always finding out about her achievements weeks later and he always says: ‘Rebecca, why didn’t you tell me?’ She seems to take it in her stride.”

Rebecca started playing playing table tennis while a pupil at St Bridget’s Primary in Kilbirnie when she was nine.

She now practices at North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and Garnock Valley table tennis clubs. She also plays for South Ayrshire in the Scottish National League, Division 1 and is a member of the Scotland National team.

Rebecca is sponsored by North Ayrshire Council’s Nurturing Excellence Programme but Denise said that helping her daughter pursue her dreams is costly.

She said: “We’re looking for sponsorship for her because it’s very expensive. Travelling down to England for competitions is expensive and then there are all the entry fees.

“She receives a grant from the Nurturing Excellence in Sport programme run by North Ayrshire Council and last year received a grant from SportsAid Scotland which includes a donation from the Moffatt Trust. Her school, St Matthew’s, have also supported her both financially and allowing her the time off school to attend some competitions. She is looking for more sponsorship though as this would enable us to pay for more training for her.”

Councillor Alan Hill, Cabinet Member for Connected Communities, said: “I always feel really humbled and inspired when I see the dedication of our aspiring young sports people.

“We recognise that competing at an elite level of sport can be demanding mentally, physically and also financially so the programme was set up to help maximise our young people’s chances of reaching their potential.

“It’s great to see Rebecca doing well and her list of achievements are fantastic. We’ve played a small part in helping her along the way but she’s the one with the talent and commitment. She deserves all the credit and I’m sure she will continue to excel and win trophies.”

Rebecca is pictured second from right, receiving the trophy.