Ireland’s top young schools cross country athletes from the 2006 Kit Kat Irish Schools Athletics Championships will compete against the best young athletes from Scotland, Wales and England at the upcoming Schools International Athletics Board (SIAB) Cross Country International which takes place on Saturday, 8th April 2006 at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire, England.This annual event will see the cream of under-15 and under-17 cross country runners from Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland pit their talent against one another in what is renowned as an exciting affair in the international sports calendar. This event has been a breeding ground for some of the best distance runners in these islands since 1974 and most of the great long to middle distance stars have also earned their stripes in the SIAB Cross Country International. The young Irish athletes who compete in this coveted international championship have already beaten off stiff competition at national level in the Kit Kat Irish Schools Athletics regional and All-Ireland cross country finals. Ireland has had a proud record in the SIAB Cross Country International with team and individual wins recorded in the past, but England will also be very strong with their huge pool of talent. Key performances for the Ireland team will include the Intermediate Girls' team with rising stars such as Ciara Cronin, Abbey CC Waterford, the Ffrench-O'Carroll twins, Rebecca and Charlotte from Loreto St Stephen's Green, Suzanne Huet, Loreto Foxrock and Grace Sweeney, Loreto Foxrock, who won the Junior race at this event last year. In the Intermediate Boys’ race Craig Murphy, Douglas Community School, Conor Dooney, Monkstown CBC and Niall Touhy, Newtown School Waterford have been improving steadily over the season and can be expected to give a good account of themselves. In the Junior Boys' race Shane Quinn, De La Salle Waterford was an impressive winner of the Kit Kat All-Ireland Schools' in DCU and with support from Kevin Pierce, St Fintan's Sutton, and Cian O'Reilly, St Patrick's Cavan, should perform well. Shasha Hooks, Belfast Royal Academy, and Fiona McKenna, Loreto Dalkey are tipped for success at Junior Girls' level. Shasha ran exceptionally well in this race last year All the efforts of the athletes will be backed by their team managers and by sponsors Kit Kat who have been supporting budding Irish athletes through the Irish Schools Athletics Association for 44 years. We wish all the athletes the best of luck and that they will do themselves, their schools and the Irish Schools Athletics Association proud. For further information on any of these positions contact John Shields at john_shields@iol.ie or (01) 831 1311