UK Athletics today named five athletes with an average age of 23 in the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the European Winter Throwing Cup to be staged at Yalta, Ukraine, on Saturday 17 March.

National hammer champion Andy Frost, aged 25 (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) is the only man in the squad.

Senior women are Carys Parry, aged 25 (Rhondda Harriers and Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow AC) in the hammer and 24-year-old Goldie Sayers (Belgrave Harriers) in the javelin.

UK Under 23 champions being given experience of top-class international competition are 20-year-old Kirsty Law (Inverness Harriers / Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers) in the discus and Susan McKelvie, aged 21 (Edinburgh Southern Harriers) in the hammer.

Their Team Leader will be former European and Commonwealth javelin medallist Mick Hill, who said: “It’s a golden opportunity for those who have made themselves available to step up to the plate and compete against some of the best throwers in Europe. Not many of our throwers are able to prepare through warm weather training but the experience will show them where they are with their training and hopefully spark them to come up with personal bests when the season starts in a couple of months’ time.

”We must remember that their main targets for this year are five or six months away – the World Championships and the European Under 23 Championships – challenging steps on the way to London 2012.”