Cambs IIIrds Register Norfolk Win

Cambs IIIrds started their first home match of the season with a win in both men's singles. James Watkins took a while to get going against Norfolk number one, winning comfortably in the third end 21 -12. Geoff Green at number two, recently welcomed back from a month of Carribean holiday, cruised to a comfortable win in two ends. Ladies singles, and our ladies found it tough against well trained opposition. Both ladies losing in two ends.

2-2, going into the men's doubles, Paul Martell and James Watkins playing at number one, after going awol in the second, won the third easily 21-9. They also went on to defeat the second pairing. New pairing of Damien Dugmore and Geoff Greene comfortably beating the second pair, and just losing out to the first's 21-19, 21-19. The ladies competed in some well-contested games, Laurel Bennett and Liz Salmon, losing to the first pair in two and narrowly losing out to the seconds in three. Sharon Chandler and Klaudia Otoka were unlucky not to take the second pair to three and lost out to the first in two ends.

Going into the mixed 5-7, Cambs had it all to do. News spread quickly that Liz had brought some of legendary chocolate brownies, sugared up, Sharon and Paul at number one had too much quality for their opposition winning in two. With Liz and James replicating the score line, it was 7-7, winner takes all! Laurel and Damien with nerves of steel made it look easy, winning in two ends, to take the tie 8-7.

A great win, showing our strength in mixed game play.

Joint players of the match: Laurel and Damien.

The Team: Damien Dugmore, James Watkins, Geoff Green, Paul Martell (c), Laurel Bennett, Liz Salmon, Sharon Chandler, Klaudia Otoka (j)

Match report by Paul Martell.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.

U11 & U13 Fun Badminton Tournament Entries Open

Applications are now open for the Cambridgeshire U11 & U13 Fun Badminton Tournament, to be held on Saturday 1 March at Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough. 

Any juniors keen on trying competitive badminton (even if you are a beginner), or wanting to get more experience of tournament play, are extremely welcome.

If you are a coach with children U11 and U13, please do encourage them to participate. 

You can download the entry form from the Tournaments Page. 

Coaching Bursaries Available From Living Sport

Living Sport, the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough sports partnership, has 10 coaching bursaries of up to £250 available each to support coaches wishing to gain a Level 2 coaching qualification.
 
More qualified coaches on the ground working in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough’s clubs and communities will support an increase in participation, contributing to the development of the local coaching workforce. By supporting the local coaching workforce, Living Sport aims to contribute to the national objective of more people participating in regular sport and physical activity.
 
This coaching bursary scheme will contribute to the Sportivate programme aims of over 5,000 young people aged 11-25 years, participating in regular sport and/or physical activity in the county, with coaches successful through such funding committing to delivering a series of 6 beginner/taster sessions for these young people.
 
The deadline for the submission of an application for a Living Sport Coaching Bursary is Friday 17th January 2014. As there are only 10 bursaries available, we strongly recommend coaches apply as soon as possible to ensure they do not miss out.
 
Ryan Cullum, Living Sport’s lead officer on Sportivate said, “The launch of this coaching bursary scheme, through the Sportivate programme, will see more young people being able to access opportunities to play sport while improving local coaches. We can only encourage local clubs and coaches to apply for a bursary today.“
 
For more information, or to discuss a Living Sport Coaching Bursary, please contact Ryan Cullum on 01487 849924 / ryan.cullum@livingsport.co.uk or Helen Clarke on 01487 849922 / helen.clarke@livingsport.co.uk.

If you are interested in applying, you can also have a look at the Guidance Form, and the Bursary Application Form.

Cambs Ist Christmas Bonus

On Sunday 15th December Cambridgeshire’s Ist badminton team kicked off Christmas in style as they took on East Anglian Division 2 East league rivals, Norfolk.  Norfolk fielded four extremely strong ladies, so Cambs knew it was going to be a tough match.

The match started with the men’s singles, Min Dabasinskas playing Norfolk’s top singles player (Daniel Leers) and Paul Heads playing their second singles player (Mike Philpott).  Both games were extremely hardly fought with the rest of the Cambs players maintaining the standing of being the loudest supporters in the league!  Both Min and Paul played outstandingly and were eventually both victorious.

Next was the turn of the ladies singles, with Natalie Taylor playing against their top singles player (Devon Minnis) and Olga Bryant playing against their second lady (Louise Culyer).  Unfortunately, the opposition were too strong and both Cambs ladies lost in two straight games.

Next came the doubles, with Cambs’ first mens pair of Min and Simon Woodhouse teaming up together and winning both of their doubles games in style against Gerrard/Atmore and Piff/Leers.    Paul then paired up with Sam Scharf to play well and pick up a win against Piff/Leers, but unfortunately lost to Gerrard/Atmore, losing 23-21 in the second end.

The ladies doubles was always going to be an uphill struggle with Norfolk fielding current and ex-England National players.  Nat and Sara Cunnington had a slow start against their top pair of Culyer/Pike, but came back stronger in the second end, narrowing losing out, but fared better against Norfolk’s second pair (Minnis/Cooper), losing a very close three-ender, 21-18 in the third.  Olga and Alison Meijers then took on the might of Norfolk, but also lost to both Norfolk pairs, although in extremely close games.

So, Cambs were 5-7 down going into the mixed doubles and needed all three to win.  Cambs first pair of Min/Olga and 3rd pair, Sam/Sara, went on court and quickly showed their dominance, winning both games comfortably.  The last game on court (second mixed) Si/Nat v Atmore/Culyer became the match decider…So to keep everyone their toes, Nat and Si decided to make it as close as possible and see how many supporters nerves would break!!!  Luckily, they were “completely” in control and eventually won the third end 24-22… giving Cambs Ist Team their first victory of the season.

Thanks to Sara and Alison for baking lovely Christmas treats and congratulations to Si and Min for winning joint players of the match.

So in true Cambs 1st celebratory style (and to get in the Christmas spirit) you are expected to sing the rest of the match report…

Ready??....

On the 12 days of Christmas Cambs 1st team gave to me…
12 points for league leaders 
11 points more than cambs had!
10 days til Christmas
9 ladies doubles ends 
8 top cambs players
7 doubles ends won
6 men’s singles ends
5 hours of badminton
4 doubles pairs
3 mixed doubles wins
2 men of the match 
And A WIN FOR CAMBS BADMINTON FIRSTS!!!!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The team: Mindaugas Dabasinskas, Paul Heads, Simon Woodhouse, Sam Scharf, Natalie Taylor, Olga Bryant, Sara Cunnington (c), Alison Meijers.

Match report by Natalie Taylor.

More information about results of the Cambs I team is available on the Team Page.

Entries Open for Cambs Silver

Entries are now welcomed for the Cambridgeshire Tournament on the Badminton England Senior Silver Circuit.

The tournament will take place at Cambridge Regional College (Kings Hedges Road, Cambridge CB4 2QT) on 24 and 25 January 2014.

The entry form can be downloaded from the Badminton England website.

Cambs Ists Host League Leaders Leics I

On 1st December Cambridgeshire Ist team hosted league leaders Leicestershire I in what was inevitably going to be a very tough afternoon.  And so it proved...

Having been a long-standing & established Premier Division team only a few seasons ago, it's rather a surprise to see Leicestershire's Ist team competing in Division 2 this season.  And with this season's return of their star player Tom Armstrong from coaching in New Zealand, Leicestershire appear to be back to the strength of prior years; which they are emphatically proving so far this season, having won all of their opening 3 matches against Norfolk, Hertfordshire & Warwickshire with convincing 12-3 scorelines.

Cambridgeshire were therefore under no illusions of the size of the task facing them as singles players took to the courts...

Min Dabasinskas produced an excellent performance to take Tom Armstrong to 3 sets, but the opponent was able to show his true pedigree in the 3rd end, taking it 21-9.

At second singles Paul Heads showed early promise in the first end, losing out 21-15 to a meticulous James White.  However the resolute steadiness & consistency of the Leicestershire player proved too much as he took the second end 21-9.

Leicestershire completed the clean-sweep of the singles games by also taking both ladies' singles.  Natalie Taylor narrowly lost out in 21-15 in a deciding set, despite producing what was arguably her strongest singles performance of the season.  And at second singles, Olga Bryant fell to a 21-15, 21-16 defeat.

The first round of level doubles followed in the same vein as Leicestershire enforced their strength, again taking all 4 rubbers despite some very close contests; most notably Natalie & Sara Cunnington at top ladies doubles, losing out 21-17 in a deciding set.  There were also fighting performances from Ist team debutant Abu Kaher, and Adele Woodhams.

However, the second round of level doubles saw Cambridgeshire eventually reap rewards for all their efforts.  Simon Woodhouse & Min took a fantastic straight-sets victory against the strong twin-brother pairing of James & Simon White.  And Natalie & Sara showed they were back to top form with a straight-sets victory over Leicestershire's second ladies pair.

Cambridgeshire were trailing 10-2 going in to the mixed, with a league point out of reach, but needing just one of the three mixed matches to reach the more realistic goal of matching the scoreline achieved by the division's other teams.

Min & Olga faced the arduous task at top mixed of facing Tom Armstrong & Sarita Patel, and were unable to produce an upset despite a strong start, falling 21-16, 21-10.

At third mixed Paul & Sara came flying out of the blocks in the first set, and showed their battling qualities in a tight second set, as they toppled Mark King & Jenny Scarlett 21-8, 23-21; moving Cambridgeshire's tally to 3.

Sadly, the opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the league, and take more games from Leicestershire than any other opponent this season, fell short in unfortunate circumstances.

At second mixed Simon & Natalie appeared to be in control as they lead the opening set 14-9, showing excellent attacking pace.  However, an untimely & unwelcomed recurrence of an old back injury cut Simon's afternoon short.  Despite bravely attempting to play through the first set, given their considerable lead, they were unable to stagger over the finish line, losing 21-19.  Sadly, a second set never made it to court.

So, despite a 12-3 loss, there were plenty of positives to take forward in the campaign.  And realistically, the fate of Cambridgeshire's season was never going to be determined on this result.  Much more crucial is the visit of Norfolk in two weeks time, where a victory will be essential in the battle to avoid the dreaded threat of relegation.

Congratulations to Natalie Taylor on being voted player of the match.

The team: Mindaugas Dabasinskas, Paul Heads, Simon Woodhouse, Abu Kaher, Natalie Taylor, Olga Bryant, Sara Cunnington (c), Adele Woodhams.

Match report by Simon Woodhouse.

More information about results of the Cambs I team is available on the Team Page.

IInd Team Enjoy Home Success (and Chocolate Orange)

On Sunday 8th December, the Cambs Senior IInd team faced Leics IIIrds at CRC.  Having exchanged the honours 8/7 and 7/8 with the same team last season, a close match was expected.

Cambs' players however were out of the blocks swiftly, with Stephen Pickering, Neil Place and Adele Woodhams all enjoying success in their singles, and Vicky Norris also putting up a brave battle, beaten only 20-22 in the second game.

It was a similar story in the level doubles.  Stephen and Abu Kaher, and Neil and Daniel Bates all tore viciously through their Leics opponents in straight games.  Adele and Louise Tarbit also won their games, albeit with a mid-match wobble against the Leics second pair.  Vicky teamed with Kate Marshall, but they were edged out of both matches, although by a fine margin against the Leics first pair losing 20-22, 18-21.

With a 9-3 lead under their belts, and the full points within their grasp, it was a determined squad which returned to the courts for the mixed round. Neil and Adele enjoyed a topsy-turvy ride, only winning their first end 22-20 before really slotting into gear and taking the second 21-4!  Stephen and Louise and Abu and Kate followed them home with similar straight-sets victories.

So the final result was a super 12-3 outcome, and the IInd team go joint top of the Division 5 East table for the time being.

The team celebrated their result by devouring the chocolate orange brownie which had been baked especially for the occasion, and contained *LINDT orange intense dark chocolate*!!  It was a confectionery experience which will be tough to top...

The team: Stephen Pickering, Neil Place, Abu Kaher, Daniel Bates (c), Katie Morton, Adele Woodhams, Kate Marshall, Vicky Norris, Louise Tarbit.

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.