With the start of the season rapidly approaching, a newsletter from the new County Committee was sent to the secretary of each affiliated club, asking them to pass it on to all of their members playing badminton in the County.
The message contained important information about major changes to the County Committee, and information about junior, senior and masters badminton in the County. If you didn't get the letter then feel free to nudge your secretary to pass such information along! In the mean time, the message is below:
Dear Club Secretary,
Please see below some updates about Cambridgeshire Badminton Association for the upcoming season. I would be grateful if you could circulate this to your members so that they can keep up-to-date about badminton in the County.
AGM
Apologies for the delay in you receiving this information, but ahead of the new season I wanted to let you know that following the Cambridgeshire AGM this year it was agreed to raise the county affiliation fees as follows:
Senior: £2.80
Junior: £0.75
Associated Seniors: £2.00
At the AGM, the majority of the long-standing committee members stood down, after dedicating a very significant period of service. The leaving members had served on the committee for a breathtaking combined 111+ years of work supporting the sport, and club members!
The County Committee is therefore now as follows:
Chairman/Publicity Officer: Daniel Bates
Secretary: Louise Place
Treasurer: Graham Barr
Registration Secretary: Campbell Wilson
Match Secretary/ South Cambs League Rep: Simon Parker
Tournament Secretary: Neil Place
Coaching Coordinator: James Wilson
Masters Coordinator: Nick Pratt
General Committee Members: Sahan Gamage, Ruth LeFevre, Geoff McCall, Damian Saunders.
Please remember the Association is run by volunteers and we need your support to keep Badminton going in the County. If you can help out with anything or have constructive comments please let us know.
COUNTY RESTRICTED
For those that are interested the annual County Restricted Tournament will be held on the weekend of 1st and 2nd October at Swavesey Village College:
Singles: Saturday 1st October 9am-3pm
Level and Mixed Doubles: Sunday 2nd October 9am-6pm
Anyone wishing to be considered for a County team should certainly make the effort to enter, as this is the best chance to pit your abilities against the most players from around the County. Entries will open within the next couple of weeks (announced on the website and Facebook) and will be via Tournament Software as per last year.
We are also looking for volunteers to help with running the tournament, even if it's just for an hour or two. Please speak to myself or Neil (neilplace101@gmail.com) if you can help.
Please pass these details on to any of your club members who may be interested.
MASTERS TEAMS
The county is also running Over 45s and Over 50s teams this year and are hoping to have an Over 40s team next year. If you are in either of these age groups (or approaching soon) and would like to get involved please contact Nick Pratt (nick.pratt68@gmail.com).
JUNIORS
We are also very excited that the County is fielding two junior teams this season, for the first time in several years. Cambridgeshire will have an U18 and U16 team, and the teams will participate in regular squad practice sessions. If you have juniors who you think are strong enough to try out for a team, please send in their details so that they can be invited.
COACHING
The Association has a long-standing commitment to coaching and development within the County. If you are interested in taking your coaching badges, the County offers bursaries to help with the cost for anyone who can demonstrate they will be coaching in the area. Please contact me for more information.
To keep up-to-date with other badminton news in the County, please do check the website at www.cambridgeshirebadminton.org and ‘like’ the Facebook page (search for “Cambs Badminton”).
Wishing you all an enjoyable and successful season!
Any comments or queries, please let me know.
Kind Regards,
Louise Place
Hon. Secretary
Cambridgeshire County Badminton