Ormeau, Urban TTC, Fusion and BATTS are in action this Saturday as the first round of the new SBL Premier Division is completed.
Ormeau welcome Urban TTC to Belfast, with Gergely Urban, Toby Ellis and James Hamblett making the short trip across the Irish sea.
Zak Wilson, back from his campaign at the Commonwealth Games and recent Irish Senior Classification win, and Matt Ware, into his fourth season for Ormeau, will line up for the home side. They will be joined by the club’s number one junior boy James Skelton.
The Norther-Irish side will once again be coached by Keith Knox, who is delighted to see the Premier Division return. He said: “We were somewhat disappointed with how our campaign ended last season but we are refocused, refuelled and ready to get the 2022/23 season going with our first match at home.
“We know Urban are previous winners and we will have to step it up to get a result on Saturday. We would like to take this moment to send our best wishes to the other teams kickstarting their campaign. Good luck all!”
In what could be classed as a local derby, BATTS will travel just 30 miles for their fixture against Fusion.
Ethan Walsh, who has been a regular member of the BATTS team and has represented the club in JBL, Championship and Premier Division, has missed out due to injury. He has been replaced by Ralph Pattison, an exciting young prospect for the London-based club. The under-11 and under-13 National Champion remarkably has a 75% record in the Premier Division, achieved last season when he was just 13-years-old.
He will be joined by Josh Bennett and Joe Ferguson. Ferguson is a new addition to the BATTS roster having played in Denmark for the past few seasons.
North Ayrshire picked up the first win of the league last weekend, beating Brighton TTC 4-3 after a thrilling comeback.
Ormeau v Urban TTC gets underway at 13:00, whilst Fusion take on Batts from 14:00. Both matches will be streamed live on the new TTE.TV channel.