The 2024 Europe Netball Open Challenge got underway at the National Sports Centre on Thursday.
The event is being held over three days featuring the Isle of Man representative squad plus teams from Northern Ireland, UAE, Malta, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, France and Gibraltar.
The Manx contingent consists of: Becca Cooke, Alice Cross, Rhian Evans, Ashley Hall, Hannah Halsall, Aalish Harris, Mairi Harrison, Rachel Johnstone, Zoe Kirkham, Kenzie Pizzey, Lydia Shaw, Paige Skillicorn, Niamh Skillicorn, Chloe Swales and Nan Williams.
Halsall, Harrison and Williams are making their debuts for the senior Isle of Man team at the event.
The Isle of Man went up against Northern Ireland in the first game on Thursday morning and it proved to be a tough test for the Manx side against a team ranked 12th in the world having competed at the last three Commonwealth Games.
But the host nation battled well throughout the contest, restricting the Irish side to a 10-16 lead in the opening quarter before the first half ended 14-30.
The third quarter belonged to Northern Ireland as they increased their lead out to 21-51, before rounding off a 29-70 to get off to a winning start.
The Isle of Man were back on court at the time of going to press, taking on United Arab Emirates.
The remaining schedule for the tournament is as follows:
Friday, May 17:
Game seven 9am - Gibraltar v Malta
Game eight 11am - Switzerland v France
Game nine 1pm - Northern Ireland v UAE
Game ten 3pm - Republic of Ireland v Isle of Man
Game eleven 5pm - Switzerland v Gibraltar
Game twelve 7pm - France v Malta
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Saturday, May 18:
Game thirteen 10am - first place Group X v fourth place Group X
Game fourteen 12pm - second place Group X v third place Group X
Game fifteen 3pm - first place group Y v fourth place Group Y
Game sixteen 5pm - second place Group Y v third place Group Y
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Sunday, May 19:
Game seventeen 9am - Group X game thirteen losers v Group X game fourteen losers Game eighteen 11am - Group X game thirteen winners v Group X game fourteen winners
Game nineteen 1pm - Group Y game fifteen losers v Group Y game sixteen losers
Game twenty 3pm - Group Y game fifteen winners v Group Y game sixteen winners.
Ticket for the competition can be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com - search for ‘Europe Netball Open Challenge’.
Under-11s tickets cost only £3 while adults cost £7.