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Masters County Final Winners 2019

On the Saturday we were drawn against Yorkshire in the Semi Final at a 9.30 am start.  

Our number one Mens pairing of Mike Haywood and Zuli Tejrar went on to play the number one Yorkshire pair and after a very hard 3 setter managed to win 21-13 19-21 21-11.  We had to play out of order as Yorkshire’s second men’s pair hadn’t arrived so we had to play our number one Ladies doubles pair Mandy Joiner and Linda Pearcy against the Yorkshire  number one pair. Gloucester went on to win in 2 straight 21-14 21-19.  Our number 2 Mens pair Mike Kennedy and Dave Evans then went on against their second pair and  won 21-18 21-19.  Our second ladies pair Rhonwen James and Jo Hammond went on to play the Yorkshire second pair and were very unlucky to lose in an exciting 3 setter 21-15 12-21 19-21.  Mike and Zuli played the second pair and won but in another tight 3 setter 24-26 21-16 21-11 and Mike K and Dave shocked us all winning against the first men’s pair in three 16-21 21-18 21-19.  Mandy and Linda beat the second pair 21-15 and 21-10 and Rhonwen and Jo beat the number one ladies pair 21-19 21-19. At this point we had already won the game before going into the mixed Doubles the score being 7-1.
Our number 1 mixed doubles Mike Haywood and Linda Pearcy went on to win their mixed in three 21-11 11-21 21-12 but unfortunately Zuli Tejrar and Mandy Joiner lost 14-21 20-22, Mike Kennedy and Jo Hammond lost 17-21 22-24 and Phil Richardson and Rachel McGill lost 13-21 16-21 but the match was already won so it didn’t matter!

The other semi final was between Nottingham and Surrey.  Surrey won 11-1 so we had to play them in the final on the Sunday at 12.30pm.

The match was a very nip and tuck all the way through.  Our first mens pair Mike H and Zuli Tejrar had a very challenging match, Zuli was suffering with a bad back which he woke up with on the Sunday morning but they managed to defeat their opponents in a fabulous 3 setter 13-21 21-13 21-15.   Unfortunately Mike K and Phil Richardson missed out the opposition just being a bit too strong 16-21 18-21.   Mandy and Linda had a very comfortable ladies doubles against their first pair 21-9 21-11 and against the second ladies pairs 21-9 21-12 and Rachel and Jo had a good win against the ladies 2 pair 21-15 21-15 but unfortunately lost out to Surrey’s First Ladies pair 15-21 21-23  On the men’s doubles swap Mike and Zuli again had yet another 3 setter which they won 13-21 21-9 21-11.  This put the score before going into the mixed at 5-3 to Glos.  We knew it was going to be tough from here on in as Mike and Zuli had had all 3 setters. Zuli’s back was very stiff and he was playing on adrenaline and we had to get 2 mixed doubles to win.  Mike and Linda started off losing the first end and were not very comfortable.  In the second game we were 11-8 down when Mike had to stop as he was in agony with cramp. Very sportingly the opposition gave him time to recover and after taking on fluids  and hopping about he managed to play on.  From then on they settled down winning the second game then going on victoriously winning the 3rd end 17-21 21-14 21-12 Phew!!  In the meantime Zuli and Mandy were still playing on the other court and beating their opponents in two straight 24-22 21-15.  Mike K and Jo lost in a tough 3 setter just missing out 19-21 21-14 19-21 and Dave and Rhonwen didn’t really get going so they lost in two 10-21 10-21.

We did what we needed to do and won the match eventually 7-5 to be crowned Over 45’s National County Champions.

Are you a badminton player over 60? Our Masters team needs you!

The Over 60 Gloucestershire team are looking for additional players to play in the county league. If you are interested please contact pennytrebilcock@btinternet.com

The County Masters competitions runs from the Over 35 age group all the way up to Over 70`s. Similarly you can get involved or find out more about any of the age group teams by contacting Penny. The more players the merrier!

Success in Spain

The 2018 European Senior Championships  saw each player from Gloucestershire pick up a medal of some colour over the weekend. The sole Gold medal came from Rebecca Panttaney partnering Yorkshire`s Alex Marritt in the Mixed Doubles Over 35 Category. They cam through their final on Sunday in straight games against the Number 1 seeds from Germany 21-17, 21-18 to take the gold. The other final with local interest on the last day of competition was the Mixed Doubles Over 45 category between Nick Ponting/Julie Bradbury and Carsten Loesch/Dorte Steenberg. In an extremely tight game the English pair had to settle for silver as they were just edged out 21-19 in the deciding set. 

Elsewhere the were plenty of Bronze Medalsshared amongst the team. Linda Pearcy and Mandy Joiner lost out in the Semi Finals of the Over 50 Women’s Doubles narrowly being beaten 21-18, 24-22 to the number one seeds and eventual winners. Phil Richardson picked up a Bronze with partner Jackie Hurst in the Over 60 Mixed Doubles also losing out to the eventual winners this time from Scotland. 

Pantaney added a couple of Bronze Medals in singles and doubles to add to her Gold whilst Nick Ponting also picked up a Bronze medal in the Over 35 Mens Doubles playing two age groups below his true age. 

A big congratulations to all of the Gloucestershire players and their partners on yet another successful medal haul from a European Senior Championships. 

 

Veterans go for Gold

Some of the counties best veterans have headed to the European Senior Championships in Guadalajara, Spain in the search for medals. 

There are plenty of medal hopes led by Nick Ponting seeded No.1 in the Over 45 Mixed Doubles category and 2nd seed in the Over 35 Mens Doubles category with Yorkshire based Alex Marritt. Marritt also partners Rebecca Pantaney who is seeded in each of the 3 events entered looking to add to her current European and World medal haul. 

Linda Pearcy and Mandy Joiner seeded 5/8 in the Over 50 Womens Doubles get their campaing under way on Tuesday looking to send out a message to their rivals that they are serious contenders for the title. Both are also in the mixed doubles where they partner James Elkin and Trevor Hampson. 

The Gloucestershire squad are completed by Phil Richardson who is seeded 3/4 in the Over 60 Mixed doubles and holds an outside chance of a medal in the Mens Doubles. 

You can keep a close eye on the results by clicking here!

The championships are also being streamed on the Badminton Europe YouTube channel.

MASTERS ANNUAL REPORT – SEASON 2017/2018

I am starting this report with yet another plea for more Masters players to come forward.  It looks as though there will only be one team in this competition next season, as both the 65s and 70s don’t wish to play again, leaving just the Over 45s Team.  Surely for such a large County we could do better ?  Speak to your peers, find someone who would be prepared to captain your team and contact me accordingly.  There are competitions in all age groups from Over 40s to Over 70s.  Teams consist of 4 women and 4 men, other than the Over 65s and 70s, where teams consist of 3 women and 3 men. The Captains have made some nice comments about me, but if we don’t find more interested players ………..

League Teams/Challenge Team

We entered three teams into the main leagues – an Over 45s, an Over 65s and an Over 70s.

The Over 45s did well again, and the Captain, Linda Pearcy, reports :

“The season was full of challenges not just the badminton but off the court too with injuries, operations, snow, cancellations, re-arrangements, people dropping out and so on, but it was still very enjoyable and we had some great performances from our players.   We did have a few positives as well, gaining new players in particular Jo Hammond and Nick Ponting. Most of the matches we won very comfortably, but after just beating Hampshire miraculously with a 6 6 winning draw in the first game of the season, especially having one of our key ladies out injured, we then went on to beat them 10 2 at home!  This we knew secured our place in the finals, which we think we will have a good chance of winning! I would like to thank Penny for all her hard work and support this difficult season, she has been marvellous!”

On a better note they had a very successful Yehlex County Challenge Weekend in Division 1 (as a new Over 45’s team). It was a great weekend which they ended up winning, and are now looking forward to next year back into the Premier.  Many thanks to all the team ….Mike, Zuli, Phil, Dave, Craig, Mandy, Linda, Rhonwen, Rachel and Kirsty.

After winning the south west area Over 45 regional division over the winter months, the Gloucestershire Over 45 badminton team travelled to Hatfield to play in the national finals.  They drew a strong SW Scotland team in the semi final and had some really tough games.  The ladies doubles and mens doubles were played first, with many events taking three ends.  The Gloucester team showed real tenacity to be 6-2 up after these games, meaning that the pressure was reduced for the mixed doubles.  A 9-3 win saw them through to the final where they met defending and 5 times consecutive champions Essex.  This time Gloucester won 2 of the ladies doubles and all 4 mens doubles putting them in command for the mixed doubles.  Three out of four mixed matches went our way to win the title 9-3 – an amazing achievement!  The team were Linda Pearcy (Gotherington), Mandy Joiner (Cheltenham), Jo Hammond (Cheltenham), Rachel McGill (Hereford), Rhonwen James (Gloucester), Mike Haywood (Chalford), Phil Richardson (Chalford), Nick Ponting (Woodmancote), Zuli Tejrar (Cheltenham), Julian Andrews (Lydney) and Dave Evans (Cheltenham).  This was a fantastic end to a season for the Over 45s.

The Over 65s had a reasonable season, and the Captain, Sue Aldridge, reports :

“We were unable to maintain our last season’s unbeaten record.  Two losses out of 7 fixtures means no play-offs for the Over 65s this season.  All team members were committed to every game, and I thank them all.  I also thank our co-ordinator, Penny, she has a tough job !  Sadly I will not be captaining the team next season, and we have no-one willing to take on the job.”

The Over 70s had a disappointing season after their moderate success last year, finishing 6th – but at least not propping up the league.  As always it was difficult to field players and the Captain, Sam Cook,  had to ‘borrow’ ladies from the Over 65s, or play a match with a member short.  Sam does not wish to captain the team next season, and again there is no-one who would like to take on  the job, mainly because of the lack of players willing to play and travel.

General

I should like to thank the Team Managers for all their help in organising their teams – and the snow we had really did cause major problems, particularly for the Over 45s – hopefully next Winter will be a better one !

Gloucestershire medals at BWF World Senior Championships 2017

GOLD – Nick Ponting (partnering Julie Bradbury) – Mixed Doubles Over 45

BRONZE – Rebecca Pantaney – Womens Singles Over 40

BRONZE – Rebecca Pantaney (partnering Lynne Swan) – Womens Doubles Over 40

 

Success for Gloucestershire at 23rd English National Masters Championships 2017

Mixed Doubles Over 40 Winners Nick Ponting (Partnering Jo Goode M B E)

Mens Singles Over 50 Runner Up – Zul Tejrar

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