Alice Loveridge has a hectic schedule, including school commitments. She was competing for the Grammar in the Liberation Day schools road relay. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 0770439)

THERE will be one notable absentee from the Guernsey team travelling to next week’s Commonwealth Championships in Glasgow.  And that is Alice Loveridge.

The 14-year-old member of the Great Britain Olympic Development squad for the 2012 London Games, will be at a training camp in Bratislava.

She is then competing in the Slovakian Junior Open, followed by the Polish Junior Open.  Although she will be with the British squad, she will be representing Guernsey at these competitions.

Her mother Tina said that the British Table Tennis Federation, who fund the Guernsey star, are understandably calling the shots.

‘We’ve got to prioritise,’ she said.  ‘She would have gone [to Glasgow] but it’s not going to benefit her. We’ve got to do what’s best for her. It’s a tough decision, but she can’t be everywhere.’

However, there is some uncertainty as to whether Loveridge junior will represent Guernsey at the Commonwealth Games or whether she concentrates on qualifying for England.