Day ONE of the European Division 3 Team Championships On Thursday 7th April 2011 eleven men's teams and eight ladies teams took part in the inaugural European teams division three held at the Griff squash club in Budapest. Mens teams were divided into four pools with the Isle of Man being drawn in Pool A along with Greece and Russia. In his first match Ashley Sykes sustained an injury when he slipped in Greece at the rear of the court. The Isle of Man number 2 has now been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. Greece went on to win 4-0. In Russia vs Isle of Man, Tom Whiteaway fought well to lose 3-2 by 2 points in the last, after coming back of the floor because of a rushing Russian body checking him. Dave Norman winning the first match for the Isle of Man in the tournament. Day TWO IOM vs Norway......Wow! there was nor'way of stopping the onslaught, Only one manx man could triumph, yes Gravy Norman's boat set sail to sink the viking boat in an hour and 8mins of high sea action, to be the only Manx winner. From then on it was plain sailing for the Norwegians. The group for 9th to 11th positions saw the Isle of Man TT races come up against the Monaco Grand Prix. With lap records threatening to tumble and speeds exceeding 100mph, the last encounter from the show of the purple helmets saw a dead heat after four laps, with the timekeeper being brought into play and the Isle of Man winning by a wheel, a Laxey wheel. All the teams would like to thank Hungary for a well ran tournament and enjoyed their three days there. The tournament showed some great young talent with their skills both on the court and OFF the court. Lyndon Cheetham brought home the bacon for Isle of Man team, and as he snores he says "dust dust dust, bacon bacon bacon stone!!!" Full reports from Les can be found at http://www.squashsite.co.uk/2009/etcdivision32011.htm Ends