Moderates Round Up

Over 50 players took part in a doubles tournament for non-county players held at Easton College Sports Centre using the new rally points scoring system, which produced a very entertaining and exciting days badminton for players and spectators alike.

The mixed doubles was played in two groups with the winners and runners-up moving on to the semi-finals. The first group resulted in a three way tie for first place, with each pair having lost one game. Mark Bennett and Suzanne Benton ended as winners on points from Steve Sharp and Stephanie Buttle. The other group was won by Kevin Stangoe and Liz Cubitt, from Eddie Simmons and Bev Sharman.

The first semi-final was an all YMCA affair, which Simmons and Sharman edged 21-19 from Bennett and Benton. In the other semi-final Stangoe and Cubitt used their experience to beat Sharp and Buttle 21-10 and they then moved on to win the title 21-14 in a highly tactical match.

The ladies event produced some very good, close fought games, with half of them ending in a 21-20 scoreline. The eventual winners were Liz Cubitt, taking her second title of the day, and Jane Sheldrake, with second place going on points in a three way tie to the younger pairing of Lucy Curran and Charlotte Crosby.

The mens doubles, also played in two groups, attracted twelve pairs ranging from county veterans, through league players to casual players entering their first event. The first group was won by former county juniors Will Wiseman and Andrew Piff, from the current junior pairing of Daniel Leers and Lee Robinson. The other group was won by veterans Mark Bennett and Eddie Simmons from a mixture of youth and experience in the pairing of Chris Piff nd Robin Cooper.

In the first semi-final, Bennett and Simmons used their experience to beat Leers and Robinson 21-12, while, in the other semi, Wiseman and Piff beat Cooper and the younger Piff 21-15. The final was a very tense and close affair, with neither side having much of a lead throughout the match, but experience again prevailed with Bennett and Simmons holding on to win the title 21-19.

* The county Under 15 A team finished a very successful Shires League season on a high note, beating an under strength Cambridgeshire side 19-1. The team achieved third place overall in a league dominated by Nottinghamshire and narrowly missed out on a place in the national finals to second placed Leicestershire by just two games. The end result was particularly creditworthy as no match was played throughout the season by the full nominated team. Playing against Cambs were Kurtis Lefevre, Craig Thomas, Adam Stubbing, Daniel Farrow, Charlotte Crosby, Rebecca Heeles, Annie Giles and Serena Verney.