Cadet and Junior 4* events will see some hard fought competition this season as some of the best young players in the country battle to qualify for the Mark Bates Ltd Cadet National Championships in March and the Mark Bates Ltd Junior National Championships in May.

The series of Cadet and Junior 4* events around the country will again provide a route to the Nationals, as they have since 2021.

There will be five events in the series, and a leader board for eligible players will be published and updated on the National Championships event page, after results have been received for each event. This will allow players and coaches to see how they compare in their quest to qualify for the National Championships.

The five 4* events taking place this season as are:

• Cleveland 4* – 26-27 October 2024 (closing date 30 September) | Click to enter
• Chandlers 4* – 09-10 November (closing date 11 October) | Click to enter
• Cippenham 4* – 30 November – 01 December
• Cambridge 4* – 25-26 January 2025
• Plymouth 4* – 08-09 February

The Plymouth 4* event will not form part of the Cadet qualification leaderboard, due to timings of invitations, but will comprise part of player eligibility having to take part in a minimum 2 x 4* events.

Invitations to the Nationals will be issued on the following basis:

1. All ranking, qualifying and leader board invitees to Mark Bates Ltd Cadet Nationals 2025 and Mark Bates Ltd Junior Nationals 2025 must participate in at least two 4* events, notwithstanding mitigating circumstances.

2. Invitations will be issued to eligible players in priority order (for each category):

• 20 from ranking list, noting point 1 above. These places will default to additional qualifiers if declined
• 2 wildcards. These places will default to additional qualifiers if declined or places are unfilled
• 10 qualifying from 4* events:

• All boys’ and girls’ Cadet (U15) and Junior (U19) 4* winners will receive an automatic invitation, noting point 1 above. These places will default to additional qualifiers if declined or places are unfilled
• The remaining invites will be invited contiguously from the 4* leaderboard, noting point 1 above
• Where players are tied on the 4* leader board, positions will be differentiated by ranking in the 24/05 ranking (Cadets) and 24/07 rankings (Juniors)

3. The ‘leaderboard’ will be established using the scoring system below, from main events only; no points (except those for entering) are available for consolation events

Points awarded as follows:

Enter: 1 point
Main QF: +1 point (2 total)
Main SF: +1 point (3 total)
Main R/up: +1 point (4 total)
Main Winner: +2 points (5 total; automatic qualification)

Cadet invitations will be based on the January 24/05 ranking run and seedings will be based on the February 24/06 ranking run.

Junior invitations will be based on the March 24/07 ranking run and seedings will be based on the April 24/08 ranking run.

Click here for more information about the Mark Bates Ltd National Championships.