The latest North Tyneside Social Badminton tournament, the second since the Pandemic, which took place recently in the sports hall at John Spence Community High School, North Shields, attracted 50 players, with ages ranging from 14 up to 79!! It was very pleasing to see a good number of Juniors take part, and they thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Adam Tang, aged 16, and Matthew Fraser aged 15, won all their group games, then in the semi-final, they only lost by 2 points, 21-19, to the experienced pair of Mark Henderson and Dave McCully. Though none of the Juniors actually reached a final, they stayed until the very end to enjoy the friendly yet competitive atmosphere. They also watched the finals, after which the winners and runners-up were presented with their trophies by Bewicke Badminton Club volunteer Paul Harrison. The tournament was organised and run by volunteers from Bewicke BC, which plays in the school sports hall on Tuesday and Friday evenings, and volunteer helpers from North Tyneside Badminton Partnership.
Kathryn Armstrong, who won the Ladies Doubles in the previous social tournament, was once again victorious, but this time with a different partner, Monika Przech. There was a large entry in the Men’s Doubles event. In their semi-final, Mark Armstrong and Simon Entwistle avenged their very close defeat by William Bowman and Darren Fowdy in the previous tournament’s final, by this time defeating the pair 21-17. Mark and Simon went on to win the final, with a 21-17 victory over regular competitor (and frequent finalist!) Mark Henderson and his partner Dave McCully. The Mixed Doubles final produced a second title for both Mark Armstrong and Monika Przech, who defeated Simon Entwistle and Kathryn Armstrong 21-11.
This was yet another highly successful, well organised and enjoyable social tournament. Players were most grateful to the tournament organisers and helpers, with many much appreciated comments and queries as to when the next tournament will be!!
RESULTS OF FINALS Games were played initially in groups, with knockout semi-finals then finals.
LADIES DOUBLES
Monika Przech and Kathryn Armstrong defeated Liz Mitchell and Pam Moat 21-10
MEN’S DOUBLES
Mark Armstrong and Simon Entwistle defeated Mark Henderson and Dave McCully 21-17
MIXED DOUBLES
Mark Armstrong and Monika Przech defeated Simon Entwistle and Kathryn Armstrong 21-11
PHOTOS – OF ALL THE FINALISTS WITH THEIR TROPHIES, PRESENTED BY PAUL HARRISON (CENTRE) OF BEWICKE BADMINTON CLUB
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Northumberland’s Lucy Dodd is having an excellent season. Not only has she excelled in Junior tournaments, she has also recently had some outstanding results in Senior Gold events. Lucy and Northumberland’s Josh Young lifted the Mixed Doubles title in the Northumberland Senior Gold tournament in January at the Tyneside Badminton Centre, defeating some notable pairs in the process. They then went on the reach the final of the Mixed Doubles in the Notts Open Senior Gold tournament last weekend!! Well done to both players!!
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Lucy Dodd, Northumberland’s top Junior, is having a fantastic 2022 season. Following on from her recent European titles won in Lithuania and Sweden, and her Sport Newcastle Rising Star Award, Lucy has just become National U17 Mixed Doubles Champion!!!
Fighting off illness, Lucy played brilliantly to take the Mixed Doubles title in Milton Keynes with her partner Dan Kemp from Cumbria. In the Final they defeated Hugh Simpson (Yorkshire) and Matilda Franklin (Notts) in a close 3 end match. Lucy also reached the semi-finals of the Girls Doubles with Matilda. Had it not been for feeling so poorly and the effects of a long weekend of badminton, Lucy and Matilda might well have added another title – their most recent win together was an U17 European title in Girls Doubles in Sweden.
In the recent U19 Nationals (Lucy is still just 15), against older players, Lucy did very well to reach 3 quarter finals.
Lucy should feel very proud of her achievements so far this season. Let’s hope her successes continue in 2023!! Northumberland’s Performance Centre juniors have an excellent role model to follow!! Very well done Lucy!!
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Lucy Dodd, Northumberland’s 15 year old top junior, has had a fantastic season so far. Lucy, from Ponteland, is the first player for 15 years from Northumberland to be part of the England Pathway. Lucy has just started to compete in European Junior Tournaments.
In her first event in Lithuania, she won the Mixed Doubles with her Welsh partner.
Then last weekend, Lucy competed in Sweden, where she won the Girls Doubles title!! Outstanding achievements!
Lucy receiving her Rising Star Award from Mike Booth
Lucy has also just become a Sport Newcastle Rising Star. As she was competing in Sweden, Lucy was unable to attend the Sport Newcastle Dinner in person on 17th November, to collect her trophy. Brother James attended the Dinner and picked up the trophy for his sister. However Mike Booth, Chairman of the Sport Newcastle Awards Committee, visited the Performance Centre so that he could meet Lucy and present her with her trophy before she departed for Sweden. Lucy has received funding support from Sport Newcastle – very well deserved. We all wish Lucy continued success!
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Foundation Award (Level 1) for Assistant Coaches in Badminton – Tyneside Badminton Centre, Newcastle
The Foundation Award is the starting point for people who would like to get into coaching badminton and become a coaching assistant. This course will teach you to: lead fun games, activities and tournaments, understand the badminton landscape and structure in England, support a Level 2 coach in the delivery of sessions, deliver Badminton England programmes such as: No Strings, SmashUp! & Racket Pack Lite, effectively support the development of clubs/sessions and maximise participant experience.
Dates: Saturday 3rd & Saturday 10th December 2022
Times: 9am – 5pm on both days
Venue: Tyneside Badminton Centre, Bowness Road, Slatyford, Newcastle, NE5 2TA
Cost: £175 for Badminton England members & £195 for non-members
* All learners must be aged 16 or over on the first day of the course.
1st 4sport Certificate for Coaches in Badminton at Level 2 (Club Specialism) – Tyneside Badminton Centre, Newcastle
The Level 2 coaching course provides the opportunity to train to coach independently through a bespoke learning journey, tailored to coaches’ own environments. Formed of a core module and a specialism module where coaches get to choose whether to apply the knowledge and skills learnt to a ‘club’ or ‘talent’ environment, this course allows coaches to focus on their learning needs.
Dates: Saturday 7th January, Sunday 8th January, Saturday 4th February, Sunday 5th February & Sunday 5th March 2023
Times: 9am – 5pm on all 5 days
Venue: Tyneside Badminton Centre, Bowness Road, Slatyford, Newcastle, NE5 2TA
Cost: £390 for Badminton England Coach Members, £400 for Badminton England members & £420 for non-members
Foundation Award (Level 1) for Assistant Coaches in Badminton – Tyneside Badminton Centre, Newcastle
The Foundation Award is the starting point for people who would like to get into coaching badminton and become a coaching assistant. This course will teach you to: lead fun games, activities and tournaments, understand the badminton landscape and structure in England, support a Level 2 coach in the delivery of sessions, deliver Badminton England programmes such as: No Strings & SmashUp! effectively support the development of clubs/sessions and maximise participant experience.
Dates: Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th September 2022
Times: 9am – 5pm on both days
Venue: Tyneside Badminton Centre, Bowness Road, Slatyford, Newcastle, NE5 2TA
Cost: £175 for Badminton England members & £195 for non-members
The NBA End of Season Function took place for the first time since 2019, at Newcastle Cricket Club in Jesmond on Friday 20th May. NBA Volunteer Awards were presented to 2 very worthy recipients. Ian Little of Yehlex Ltd, who very kindly once again provided the trophies, presented the awards to Viv Harmer (for services to Badminton in Northumberland) and to Bob Pearson, current President of Northumberland Badminton Association (for longstanding service to Badminton in Northumberland). Both award winners are pictured with Ian.
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What a weekend for the senior county first team as they made it through the Division 1 Play-Offs placing second behind Kent with two excellent 7-4 wins over Dorset and Lanarkshire.
Having been on tenterhooks for a fortnight whilst waiting for Badminton England to rule on the un-played fixtures in Division 1 North, the county first team were delighted to learn that they had indeed made second spot behind Lanarkshire, by a point from Lothian. That meant a trip to Milton Keynes for the Division 1 Play-Offs against Lanark and the top two from Division 1 South, Kent and Dorset.
The last time Northumberland made the Play-Offs in season 2008-09, they played out three 5-5 draws before missing out, being placed third on countback. With the format now best of 11, as in the regular season, at least that fate couldn’t befall them again! Kent would likely be the strongest team having averaged 9-2 per match no less, but with Dorset roughly on a par and our regular season loss to Lanark only having been by 6-5, hopes were high.
Back Row:- Rachel Frobisher, Ryan Jelley, Eddie Burgess, James Anderson: Front Row:- Catherine Thomas, Eleanor Laws, Lauren Young, Garrylee McMullen, Lucy Dodd: Kneeling:- Philip Pahatouridis
KENT
The weekend opened against Kent who were weaker than expected, missing Rory Easton, representing England in the Europeans the following week, and top ladies’ singles player Paige Butler. Another England junior was present though in Max Flynn, flown in from Germany the night before, and they were still likely to prove too strong overall.
A good win from Philip Pahatouridis at second string was all there was to show from the men’s singles, James Anderson, for once, unable to convert his customary three-ender! The highlight was 15-year-old Lucy Dodd who battled strongly against a higher graded player in Holly Williams, eventually prevailing 15-21, 22-20, 21-16.
Despite three more 3-setters that was the limit of their success although especial mention should go to James and Ryan Jelley, only just shaded 24-22 in the third. Only two points to show then and a strong performance needed in the afternoon against Dorset to redress the balance.
DORSET
Garrylee McMullen got us off to a great start defeating the A graded Patrick Adair in straight sets, backed up by Philip with another two-set win. Lucy was again successful, this time defeating the B graded Sophie Males, ranked 26 in England, in two sets to leave us leading 3-2.
Both the men’s and ladies’ doubles were split one each, Garrylee and Philip winning at top string and Lucy and Lauren Young coming from a set down at top string to win 16 in the third. Both our second pairs were competitive taking a set each but were overcome in the third to leave the lead at 5-4 and all on the mixed.
Philip was drafted in for his third game of the match and he and Lauren duly obliged in two sets for the match victory. Points are everything in this format though and Ed Burgess and Rachel Frobisher had meanwhile taken their opening set only to be pegged back at 1-set all. Several clear winners from Ed combined with good net play from Rachel and some excellent retrieving was to see them home 21-12 for a vital extra point and a final score of 7-4 to get us right back in it.
Kent had meanwhile beaten Lanark 7-4 so the scores at the end of the day read Kent 16. Lanark 10, Northumberland 9 and Dorset 9. Thus, we needed a 6-5 win over Lanark to draw level with them but we would go through on that result providing Kent took their expected win against Dorset.
LANARKSHIRE
Sunday dawned and we knew we needed a strong start in the singles to stand a chance of victory. Garrylee was up against Scottish number 2 Danny Robson and just lost a tight opening set 21-17. Philip had meanwhile taken his opener to 18 and comfortably ran out a winner in the second to get us on the scoreboard. Garrylee had meanwhile established control in the forecourt and battled back to level at one set all and James had started by taking his opening set 21-19.
An excellent start by Garrylee in the decider, again controlling the forecourt saw him change ends well ahead and he ran out a comfortable winner 21-10. James was meanwhile close to victory but Callum MacMillan was rallying well and was to just edge the second set 24-22. Undeterred, James continued to apply himself in the decider which was just as close with neither player managing to get a run of points to establish a telling lead, but James changed ends 11-9 to the good. The game remained close but James got to 19 first only for MacMillan to once again level. James continued to keep a good length and cover the court well though and he held on for victory 21-19.
Lucy Dodd had meanwhile started against Scottish No 5 Toni Woods who she had lost to in straight sets in the regular season match. Some excellent court coverage backed by her determination to get just one more shuttle back saw her to game point but Woods was to level at 20-all. A cross-court winner got Lucy to 21 before a sliced drop from Woods went just wide with Lucy again covering at full stretch to give her the opener 22-20.
Lucy maintained her level in the second set but this time Woods used her experience to just edge it by the same score as the opener to level at one set all. Could Lucy get over that disappointment? You bet she could, with her deep high serving keeping her opponents slice at bay, she continued to rally strongly to get her nose ahead at the change of ends. More excellent retrieving saw her maintain her lead and she held on well to take the decider 21-17 amidst much excitement on the Northumberland bench!
What a start to the match! 4-0 the lead then, two more needed and surely a chance for a famous victory? Lanark fought back strongly with their top men’s pair featuring Scottish No 6 Jack MacGregor and the experienced Keith Turnbull. who had been unbeaten during the regular season, playing particularly well to defeat Garrylee and Philip. With more players with international tournament experience to call upon in Kirsten Berry and Robert Dunn, the tide was turning and despite us competing well the score was levelled at 4-all.
Next it was the turn of second ladies pair Catherine Thomas and Eleanor Laws to take centre stage and they made a great start taking their opening set 21-6. The second set was much more competitive though and they were just edged out 21-19 to set up a decider.
They continued to attack in their preferred style with Cat trying to dictate the play hitting down from the back court and Elle pressing the net for the winner. The lead changed hands several times before a net winner saw them hand in at 19-all. Cool serving from Eleanor saw them to match point and a smash returned wide and they were home. Cue more celebrations from team and supporters alike!
5-4 then and all on the mixed, one needed for victory and to clinch promotion. Could we repeat the heroics of the previous day against Dorset? Philip and Lauren started well and secured their opening set 21-18, closely followed by Ed and Rachel at 21-16.
Back came the Scots again, Dunn and Berry taking the second set comfortably against Phil and Loz and Ed and Rachel were also pegged back at 1-set all, to set up two crucial deciding sets.
Phil and Loz got it together at the start of the third and it was nip and tuck throughout until Dunn and Berry edged ahead and got to match point at 20-18. A cross court winner from the forecourt by Phil kept us in it at 19-20 and an error at the net and we were level at 20-all. Another tight serve saw a forecourt push wide from the Scots and we were in turn at match point. Another push cut out by Phil for a cross court winner and we were home! Cue even wilder celebrations from one and all.
Ed and Rachel had meanwhile edged ahead in their decider and were leading 16-12. Somehow they managed to maintain their concentration despite all the drama on the court next to them and they held on to take it 21-18 to ‘ice the cake’ on a famous 7-4 win!
Kent had meanwhile defeated Dorset 7-4 to leave the final positions Kent on 23, Northumberland on 16, Lanark 14 and Dorset 13. Promotion to the Championship, the second tier in the SCC behind the Premiership, duly secured and what a challenge that will be against the likes of Notts, Essex, Glasgow & North Strathclyde et al. Follow this link for complete results BADMINTON England – Senior County Championships – Regional Divisions 2021-22 – General (tournamentsoftware.com)
The team (those not already in the shower!) with their medals
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There was a small but quality entry in the U19 Silver, the first time we have staged a BE Silver tournament in this age group, and there was to be much success for the locals. Tim Bodani won the singles and the doubles with James Dodd but was prevented from making it a treble by Lucy Dodd and Cumbria’s Dan Kemp who won the mixed and Lucy also won the singles without the loss of a set. Ellen Davison was also victorious in the ladies’ doubles with Molly Whitaker from Yorkshire and was runner-up with Tom Hunt in the mixed.
Both Tim Bodani, seeded 3/4, and Tom Hunt won their groups but the highlight was to be group F where every game played went to 3 sets and there were two locals vying for the top spot in Ryan Cockett and Jamie Grant but in the end it was to be Matthew Ellis from Surrey who prevailed on count-back on points difference.
Tim then overcame Tom in the quarter-final before defeating Cumbria’s Dan Kemp in the semi, 21-17 in the third, and Yorkshire’s Ethan Fox in the final in straight sets.
Tim Bodani & James Dodd – Men’s Doubles winners
Tim was to have more success in the doubles when he and James Dodd won their group without the loss of a set before taking the final comfortably in two sets. Lucy Dodd was meanwhile carrying all before her in the singles taking it comfortably without the loss of a set and Ellen Davison, partnered by Molly Whitaker from Yorkshire, was also a comfortable winner in the ladies doubles, defeating Charlotte Graham and Yorkshire’s Yawei Li in the final.
Ellen Davison & Molly Whitaker – Ladies Doubles Champions
The mixed had looked on paper to be the closest event of the day and it did not disappoint. The pick of the early games saw Tim and Charlotte just miss out to Ben & Molly Whitaker 21-16, 22-24, 19-21 and, unfortunately for Tim, an Achilles problem was then to force him to withdraw. Tom Hunt and Ellen beat the Whitakers in 3 sets before losing to Dan Kemp and Lucy Dodd setting up an intriguing finale between the latter two.
Dan and Lucy won the first before just being edged out 25-23 in the second. Back they came and, despite spirited resistance from the Yorkies, they held on to take the decider to 16 which meant Tom and Ellen were runners-up.
Lucy Dodd & Dan Kemp
With only Tim and James being out of this age group next year, it surely bodes well for continuing with U19 Silvers in future years.
