READY to take on the world! A formidable winning team from Merkinch Youth Club who all but swept the boards in the opening rounds of the Inverness & Nairn Association of Youth Clubs’ Annual Competitions. In the first session at Charleston Academy on 6th February teams from all over Inverness battled it out at dominoes, draughts, chess, table tennis, darts and unihoc, and the Merkinch kids, who are coached by Winton Wilson and Chris Chisholm, won 13 of the 16 competitions. That was followed by more wins at pool on the second leg, and at a quiz, basketball and badminton at the third, and by the time it came to the football on the 27th Merkinch Seniors, at least, were uncatchable. The winners in each section go forward to contest the Highlands and Islands finals on 18th March; the victorious youngsters at this event will gain a place in the Scottish finals. Good luck, kids!