Alan 'The Boy' Shillitoe is 31 and currently resides in Bedford although he is originally from Essex and has reperesented both counties in competition. Having graduated from Southampton University in Aeronautics and Astronautics he is now a fully-fledged Rocket Scientist. As a junior, he represented England U25 on several occasions, including winning the Junior Camrose in 1999. Now he focuses on bringing through the future generations of young players and has been involved in coaching 'his kiddies' for a number of years.

Outside of Bridge, his main interests are Running and Cycling. He is a member of the Bedford Harriers running club with whom he trains 3/4 times per week and insists on organising U20 squad training sessions around his racing schedule. As a cyclist, he will be taking on the Dartmoor Classic later this year as a prelude to riding the Etape du Tour, an actual Pyreneean mountain stage of the Tour de France. His major ambition is to get the U20 squad to come out for a run with him on a Sunday morning, but so far they have always chickened out.

He also enjoys DJing (Deep House), but has had to temporariliy hang up his headphones because he is so busy. This is mainly because he has just started a second degree in Sport Science, part-time via distance learning with Manchester Metropolitan Uni. Now he is a qualified student again, he is thinking of raising a Portland Bowl side to knock all the young whippersnappers into shape!