Emily Miller, Tara Priestley, Nicola Poole, Daniel Wolfenden
December 1999 to June 2003 - Merseyside
Merseyside and Greater Manchester junior county badminton associations merged with Lancashire for the start of the 2003-2004 season
Merseyside Annual Report -
2002/2003
12th June 2003
Secretary’s Forward:
The end of an era and the beginning of a new one and
fittingly MSBA have had one of their most successful ever seasons. Thanks must
go to our army of helpers, coaches team managers and most of all players for
giving me a truly memorable season to report on.
My life has also been made considerably easier by our web site Guru, Dave Miller, as his compiled documentary of the season shows. This gives most of the team results and a wonderful flavour of the season’s tournaments, including the ICT which was a magnificent event and a wonderful tribute to our ICT team.
Individually we have had some amazing performances this
season and the results are not only a reflection of the players efforts and
dedication but also a tribute to their long suffering parents who travel the
length and breadth of the country, go through emotional turmoil in either
freezing cold or tropical sports halls and arrive home exhausted late at night,
throw away the uneaten food, clean out the freezer box, collapse into bed and
then mentally prepare for the next one.
HELEN DAVIES
Liverpool Open U17 Premier Girls Singles & Doubles -
Winner
Yorkshire Open U17 Premier Girls Doubles - Finalist
ESBA NW Open U17 Premier Girls Singles - Winner & Doubles Finalist
ESBA Midlands Open U17 Premier Girls Singles - Winner & Doubles Finalist
J. Challenge U17 National Circuit Singles & Doubles - Finalist
Cheshire Restricted Ladies - Finalist
Cheshire Restricted U17 - Triple Champion
U18 National Circuit Ladies Singles & Doubles - Finalist
U18 National Circuit Finals, Ladies Doubles - Winner
Invited to BA of E WCP training days at Nottingham & Sheffield
Represented Cheshire Seniors at County Level
BECKY HOWELL
Liverpool Open U17 Premier Girls Doubles - Winner
Yorkshire Open U17 Premier Girls Doubles - Finalist
ESBA North East Open U17 Premier Girls Singles SF/Doubles - Winner
ESBA North West Open U17 Premier Girls Doubles - Finalist
Durham Open U17 Premier Girls Doubles - Winner
Durham Open U17 Premier Mixed - Winner
ESBA Midlands Open U17 Premier Girls Doubles & Mixed - Finalist
JC U17 National Circuit Girls Doubles & Mixed - Finalist
U18 National Circuit Ladies Doubles - Finalist
U18 National Circuit Finals Ladies Doubles - Winner
Invited to BA Of E WCP training days at Nottingham & Sheffield
Represented Lancashire Senior at County Level
GRAHAM PRIESTLEY
Liverpool Open U17 Standard Doubles - Finalist
ESBA NW U17 Standard Doubles - Finalist - Singles - S/Finalist
Cheshire Restricted U17 Singles - Winner
GILL DABEK
Liverpool Open U15 Premier Singles & Doubles - Finalist
Cheshire Restricted U17 Girls Doubles - Winner
Cheshire Restricted Girls Singles - Finalist
Cheshire Open U15 Singles & Mixed - Winner
U15 Singles Standard Challenge - Winner
Represented Cheshire Seniors at County Level
TARA PREISTLEY
ESBA Midlands U13 Standard Singles - Semi Finalists
ESBA East Midlands U13 Standard Doubles - Winner
ESBA NW U13 Standard Singles - Finalist
Standard Doubles - Winner
ESBA East U13 Standard Singles - Winner
Standard Doubles - Semi Finalist
ESBA Standard Challenge U13 Singles - Winner
Doubles - Semi Finalist
Yorkshire U12 Singles - Semi Finalist
Doubles Finalist
Rising Stars U12 A Singles - Quarter Finalist
Doubles - Finalist
Selected onto the World Class Start Programme
DANIEL WOLFENDEN
Rising Stars U12 B Singles - Winner
David Lloyd U12 NW Open Singles - Finalist
David Lloyd U12 NW Open Doubles - Finalist
KRISTIAN BYRNE
David Lloyd NW Open U12 Doubles - Winner
U11 Singles Challenge National - 5th Place
RICHARD BERGH ESBA NW U11 Singles - Semi Finalist
MATTHEW BERGH Cheshire U15 Doubles - Semi Finalist
TOM MAGUIRE Cheshire U15 Doubles - Semi Finalist
NICOLA POOLE Rising Stars U12 B Singles - Winner
EMILY MILLER Rising Stars U12 B Singles - Finalist
LUCY FOSTER Lancashire U15 Standard Girls Doubles - Winner
CHARLOTTE HALL Lancashire U15 Standard Girls Doubles - Winner
SOPHIE RICHARDS Lancashire U15 Standard Girls Doubles - Finalist
KIRSTIN MILLER Lancashire U15 Standard Girls Doubles - Finalist
MICHAEL MELLOR – SELECTED FOR ENGLAND U13
Congratulations to you all !!!
Please accept my apologies for the results I am bound to
have missed. I will be pleased to include them as an amendment in the published
minutes of the AGM.
It has been a great honour to act as the MSBA Secretary this season, especially following the magnificent job Nigel did. I am sure this is the springboard for the new integrated counties to bring even greater success to our young players.
John Howell
MSBA Secretery
Warwick Winners
25th May 2003
Local players had a great day at the "Rising Stars" U12 tournament in Warwick on Saturday 24th May.
Tara Priestley won her round-robin group in the girls singles 'A' event, to go out in the quarter-finals to seed Anna Wilson of Lincs. She teamed up with Hayley Rogers (Cheshire) in the doubles and progressed to the semi-final where they lost 15-9 to Anna Wilson and Emma Woolley (Staffs) ... well done on a bronze medal (for a semi-final place).
Daniel Wolfenden played in the 'B' grade singles and showed how much he has improved this season as he first got out of his group, conceding only 9 points in his 3 games. He then won his quarter and semi-finals before playing Paul Scott of Yorkshire in the final - Danny went 6-1 up, slipped to 6-12 down then battled his way back to a superb 15-12 win. Well done on collecting a hard won gold medal.
Nicola Poole took the gold medal in the girls 'B' singles, looking very convincing throughout the day, beating Sophie Sankey (daughter of Sarah) in the semi-final and another local player Emily Miller in the final. Nicola only dropped 16 points in her 5 games - a terrific achievement. Emily had her best display in the semi-final where she beat Vinita Bhakta of Leicestershire 15-9. Emily and Stephanie Hall had a very good win in the doubles round-robin stage against Alex Langley and Amy Smith (15-12) but missed out on a group win.
Merseyside had 10 representative players on the day, with Richard Bergh, Tom Wolfenden, Matthew Slater, Kristian Byrne and Becky Hurst all playing. Everyone recorded at least one win - Becky was unlucky to meet Vinita Bhakta in her round-robin group and Kristian lost to finalist Paul Scott at the same stage.
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U12 Rising Stars Emily Miller, Tara Priestley, Nicola Poole, Daniel Wolfenden |
Merseyside Finish on Top
20th May 2003
Merseyside's last deed as a junior badminton county will perhaps fittingly be carried out by their youngest, most talented stars when 3 of the team from the regional qualifier of the 2003 National U11 Singles Challenge will take to the court in the final at Milton Keynes on 7th June. But this only tells part of the story from the Rotherham event, as the 8 players beat all opposition to come out as overall best county. Coming first when "premier" players are not allowed to play is good (as with the U12s and U14s this season) but with all players eligible that is a great achievement.
Superbly done by Kristian Byrne, Becky Hurst and Steph Hall on getting to the final - even more so for Kristian who, it turns out, played the event with a broken bone in his hand! And real hard luck to Richard Bergh and Tom Wolfenden who both missed out by a whisker. Hard luck also to Michael Johnson, who would have finished 2nd in his first group (not 5th) had an 8-11 loss gone the other way ... by such fine margins are fortunes changed.
Well done to newcomers Lizzy Balmforth and Joselyn Robinson for being brave enough to play and for not being outclassed in any way, winning a number of their games. It took a TEAM of 8 to win the event - everyone's results were crucial and decisive.
Merseyside won the event by 7 points over Yorkshire, with points given for final player placings. Lincolnshire came 3rd a further 34 points behind. Cheshire, Durham, Greater Manchester and Lancashire were also represented.
Thank you to Derek Wolfenden for managing the team on the day and thank you to all the other parents and spectators for your encouragement and support. Good luck to our finalists next month.
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Merseyside U11 Team Back: Derek Wolfenden (Team Manager), Jocelyn Robinson, Lizzy Balmforth, Michael Johnston, Richard Bergh Front: Tom Wolfenden, Steph Hall, Becky Hurst, Kristian Byrne |
The team and final placings were as follows:
| Boys | |
| Kristian Byrne | 4th |
| Richard Bergh | 7th |
| Tom Wolfenden | 8th |
| Michael Johnston | 19th |
| Girls | |
| Becky Hurst | 4th |
| Steph Hall | 5th |
| Lizzy Balmforth | 9th |
| Jocelyn Robinson | 11th |
The top 6 boys and 6 girls out of 25 boys and 20 girls qualified for Milton Keynes.
U17 Inter Counties Tournament 2003
19th May 2003
Merseyside finished mid-way in the 2003 ICT, coming 18th out of 37 counties. The U17 Inter Counties Tournament is played at Nottingham University over four days, with teams of five girls and five boys enjoying the end of their junior playing days.
Merseyside/Lancs (Nick Hodgson played no. 1) reached the top 20, beating Worcestershire and Essex, but unfortunately lost to the seeds, Hampshire, by 8 points in a thrilling 5-5 draw. Graham Priestley and Matthew Case-Upton lost to two premier players in first boys doubles 21-19. What could have been! Helen Davies, Becky Howell and Gill Dabek were all outstanding, taking most of their games.
While last year Merseyside topped their group and somehow earned the right to play top seeds Yorkshire, this year the players finished second and somehow earned the right ... you guessed it! Needing to win at least two of the following matches to get into the top twelve U17 counties in the country, all the games got away, putting the team in the 17-20 positions. Wins over Norfolk and Northumberland but a 4-6 loss against Derbyshire (well it was after the disco!) left the team in a creditable 18th place.
Everyone gave tons of effort but the standard for the non-ESBA players was very tough, putting pressure on the experienced ESBA players. So many close matches that went the other way this year, but, as always, the players were a credit to their county.
| The Team | |
| Boys | Girls |
| Nick Hodgson | Helen Davies |
| Graham Priestley | Becky Howell |
| Andrew Watson | Gillian Dabek |
| Matthew Case-Upton | Rachelle Alty |
| Ben Proctor | Laura Temple |
| Team Managers | |
| John Howell | |
| Liz Davies | |
| Lynsey Ashton (otherwise known as 'Foghorn') |
John Howell files this report ...
"A 7.30 a.m. start from our meeting point, I did explain to Laura that there were ‘two’ 7.30s in the same day! Our first match was scheduled for 12 o’clock against Worcestershire, this gave us just enough time to have breakfast at our traditional venue ‘McDonalds’ on the A500, the journey also gave us time to teach Nick how to talk scouse.
On arrival we deposited our bags in Derby Hall, had a quick team talk (i.e. don’t lose your keys) and went for our photo shoot, it was worth £5.50 a copy to make sure they were all out of circulation.
It has to be understood that every match is a tactical equation of strengths and weaknesses and every point vital no matter what the overall score, your final placing is dictated by each individual group placing. This year however I had decided to use every player in every game and my main objective was to try and finish in the top twenty, which, looking at our first group (Hampshire Essex and Worcestershire) was going to be difficult. I need not have worried a 10-0 win in our opening game followed by a 6-4 win over Essex guaranteed a top twenty position.
Hampshire, the seeds in our group, and our final match of the day - Hooters and Lynsey at the ready, we managed to take a 5–3 lead only to be pegged back to 5-5 and unfortunately lose by 7 points. ‘If only’ ... where have I heard that before, but whatever, a tremendous performance.
A nice early night, hot chocolate and bed time story’s ( if you believe that you’ll believe anything!).
‘Where’s me shirt’ Watson had everybody up for breakfast (well apart from Laura) she doesn’t do 7.30 a.m. This was going to be a difficult day ... Yorkshire, Surrey, Bucks and Berks. A team talk got them fired up - apart from Andrew who wasn’t quite sure which shirt to wear - at least the three racquets he had brought with broken strings had now been repaired. Days that don’t go quite your way still have their moments: Helen's win over Jenny Wallwork; Gill’s 20 – 21 loss in the Bucks match (don’t bad line calls stick in your throat); Graham's 21 – 20 win against Surrey; being reprimanded for making too much noise (not me personally) at Chilwell; Rachelle and Laura’s win against Bucks; Nick with Becky’s spare shirt A bit more luck and we could have won two of the four games, but that’s what the ICT is about ... tomorrow is another day. In this case it was very early morning ‘whilst dreaming of the day’s tactics’ (ha ha) I was rudely awoken, not by Andrew (can I play singles today) but by the Fire Alarm! We all trouped out - not a pretty sight in the hallway at 6.30 a.m., apart from Laura who slept through it all and again missed breakfast. I had a feeling it was going to be a good day, the team had obviously had a good nights sleep in Ben’s room (!!!!) and Northumberland and Norfolk were our opponents - not easy as Norfolk had drawn 5-5 with Manchester but I did promise them a trip out in the afternoon before the Disco, they couldn’t wait.
We despatched Northumberland 8-2 with Laura being our ‘Lambsey’ against Naomi Bailey! Norfolk were going to be much tougher and with Helen having what could be described as a blow out against Charity it was probably our best team performance that saw us through with wins for Matthew & Gill and Andrew & Ben clinching a noisy 6-4 victory.
A jubilant squad climbed back in the bus for a well earned free afternoon. A vote was taken - Liz decided to have a well earned sleep whilst I took the rest into downtown Beeston. Following a hearty McDonalds and a bit of sunbathing, it was time to get ready for the Panda Pops and Crisps Disco, or "bonding with the rest of the teams" as I had heard it described the following morning.
Liz and I duly went to the Managers meeting and, to the sound of the disco, spent the next hour trying to hear what was being said - one of the main topics being noise! It has to be said at this point that the committee had done a fantastic job, the only point of real contention was one of the counties (I am not sure which one) wanted to book superior separate accommodation for their team - that went down well and got one vote!
The final day - Merseyside’s last at the ICT - we had achieved our goal to remain in the top twenty. Derbyshire were our final opponents - ‘hair done in gold sparkle this year’ - photo’s taken - waves to the crowd - a great match - unfortunately we lost 6-4 ... we won easily on points! But that’s the way it goes --- another fantastic ICT.
Mini bus packed - did we really bring all this stuff - straight to McDonalds for our debriefing and back to Liverpool to the cheering crowds. Dream again!
The end of an era ... I do have to say the team were brilliant in all aspects and a joy to be with. Lets hope the integrated alliance can go even part of the way to what ‘Merseyside’ has achieved as a county."
Daniel Wright posts this report ...
Although
my journey to Nottingham was relatively swift it seemed to be dominated by
frustration at the hands of roadworks. It even appeared that they had closed a
lane on the A52 so that they could cut the grass on the central reservation!
Nevertheless, I arrived in good time, as did most of the teams.
The
first problem was Ulster. The bus they were supposed to catch from the airport
never arrived. After many text and voicemail messages were exchanged with Josie
Smith, they finally arrived at the hall. It appeared that they got taxis to the
Queen’s Medical Centre before ringing to be picked up by car from somewhere on
campus. Malcolm Smith and Eric Brown were entrusted with the job of going out to
look for them. They must have found them as they managed to transport them to
their halls.
The
experience had clearly been stressful for the pair of them and the beers were
duly on the Control Desk by half past two!
I’m
not sure whether the drink had gone to Malcolm’s head but after thinking the
Gent’s toilets had been done up since last year he suddenly realised, when he
saw no urinals, that he had just used the Ladies’ toilets! We don’t think
anyone saw him…at least; no one is pressing charges, which is the main thing!
And
so to the first days play…
The
top seeds all won their groups. However, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire and
Surrey managed to upset other fancied teams when they beat Greater Manchester,
Staffordshire and Lincolnshire respectively to win their groups.
By the second day, Merseyside’s Helen Davies had already lost her trainers as I found out when I passed her walking to breakfast in just her socks! She recovered from this setback though to record an impressive win against Yorkshire’s Jenny Wallwork. This turned out to be one of only five games that Yorkshire conceded throughout the day.
After
being in Chillwell on Monday evening, Avon hadn’t spotted the change to the
schedule and so weren’t at the university for their nine o’clock start.
Fortunately for them, it appears that their opponents, Worcestershire were in
exactly the same situation. After much running round both teams were eventually
rounded up and sent on to play. It didn’t prove too problematic though and by
the end of the match we were almost back on schedule!
Nottinghamshire,
Sussex and Gloucestershire all joined the holders, Yorkshire in the top group.
Gloucestershire managed it despite losing their last match of the day to
Hampshire, courtesy of winning more games than Lincolnshire. Elsewhere in the
top half, Buckinghamshire and Durham were proving the surprise packages
finishing second and third in their respective groups
In the bottom half, Suffolk, Shropshire and Glamorgan, who were making their first appearance at the ICT, all secured good wins to ensure they weren’t in the bottom group for the final two days!
Several
players’ sleep was interrupted, and more worryingly some were undisturbed,
when the fire alarm sounded out in every room in my block, at seven o’clock on
the Wednesday morning! After quickly washing off my shaving foam I made my way
to the fire exit where we all congregated for ten minutes before it mysteriously
turned itself off. With no sign of a fire and no university staff investigating
it, the players made their way back to their beds and I went back to finish
shaving!
It
became apparent early in the day that Nottingham still hadn’t managed to
locate the second placed shield they won last year. This unfortunate scenario
resulted in them buying a temporary plate, just in time, in the hope that they
would eventually find the original.
In
the top group, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire won both of their matches, setting
up a repeat of the previous year’s final. The Sussex v Nottinghamshire game,
although 8-2 to the local team, contained many close games, which had they gone
the other way, could have resulted in a 6-4 win for Sussex! Hertfordshire were
beginning to dominate the second group with the other three teams all looking of
equal standard. Further down, Surrey, Staffordshire, Hampshire, Merseyside and
Derbyshire all remained undefeated in their respective final groups.
Ulster
were looking good to come top of the bottom half whilst the group playing for
places 27-32 seemed to be very close between Devon, Wiltshire and Glamorgan.
Meanwhile, Oxfordshire were busy dominating the group playing for places 33-38.
By
the evening, some areas were running late. One county had managed to lose a
player whilst another, although they had all their players, one of them had lost
a shoe. Despite all this, everyone finished in good time to eat, shower and get
ready for the disco…or the team managers meeting!
Everyone
seemed to enjoy the disco and the managers enjoyed the break in the bar. Chris
Wright of Bucks’ list of conquests is too long too print here which is
probably for the best as I don’t think he’d be too popular with the girls in
question! A late night for most but no damage was done, not to my knowledge
anyway!
So
to the final day…
There
were several English Badminton Awards to be given out before the finals got
underway. Tony Clarke of Hertfordshire, Rhona Robbins from Warwickshire and
Yorkshire’s John Foster all received awards. Apologies to John Foster as the
batteries in my camera ran out before I could take a photo. However, I did
manage to take one of him during the final; with his now trademark trouser leg
rolled up (it’s to relieve stress apparently!).
It proved to be the closest final I have seen with Nottinghamshire taking the two mixed and the second boys singles in very close games that could have gone either way. Yorkshire clawed their way back though with good wins in the first boys and girls singles. They then won both girls doubles and Ed Foster and Andrew Ellis played superbly to comfortably win their doubles.
The
holders were 5-4 up but their margins of victory compared to those of
Nottinghamshire meant they had won, no matter what the result of the last game
was. In the end, the Nottingham pair made it 5-5 with a 21-3 victory but it was
no more than a consolation. Yorkshire had won again and with victory, broke yet
another victory with five consecutive wins. Who would bet against them next
year?
Meanwhile, Sussex comfortably beat Gloucestershire to take third place, their best result since 1991. For Gloucester, they achieved fourth place for the first time in 11 years. The young Bucks team continued their fine form to take 6th place and equal their best ever placing at the ICT!
Special
mention should also go to Lincolnshire who achieved their best placing ever of
eighth, Durham with a 12th place finish for the first time since
1973, although they didn’t enter every year, and Glamorgan who finished a
creditable 29th in their first ever ICT appearance. Finally, well
done to all the teams who didn’t win so many games but battled hard throughout
the four days to achieve their individual goals. You were all winners!
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Merseyside's 2003 ICT Team |
Lights Go Out But Stars Don't Stop Shining
10th April 2003
Sunday 6th April saw the running of the U12 York Invitation Team Event, played between Isle of Man, Manchester/Cheshire, Leicestershire, Lothian, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire 1 & 2 and Merseyside. The venue, the York Railway Institute, is one of the best playing venues in the country, with its 9 courts in a row marked solely for badminton, with space behind to move freely around. This was Merseyside's last U12 match ever and the players were out to enjoy the occasion --- we could hardly fail with cheer leaders like Steph, Emily, Becky and Tom, pom-poms and all! The noise was immense - an amazing change from my first visit 3 years ago when we thought quiet was courteous and defeat half expected!
This 6x6 match gave debuts to Michael Johnston, John-Gareth Phillips and Sarah Kenny, three players with bags of potential for the future. It should also be noted that 8 of the 12 players are eligible at this age again next year. What a pity, then, that the two best teams were drawn in Merseyside's group in the morning, with 2 out of 4 going on to challenge for the medals in the afternoon. The girls won their singles and two levels first up against Lothian and, with the boys losing their 3 to strong opposition, Daniel Wolfenden and Sarah Kenny were not quite in full gear in the mixed, going down 15-5 and with it the match 4-3. Michael Johnston and Steph Hall recorded a terrific 15-14 win against Yorkshire, but there were no other successes in that match and the team had to be satisfied with a shot at 5th place at best in the afternoon.
The next match saw Tykes (Yorkshire 2) tonked 6-1! The team was shuffled for Lincs and the players got battered (sorry Tom and Steph) in the singles, but won 4 out of the 5 doubles to take the match. The team came together well as a unit for the final match against Manchester/Cheshire, where Daniel Wolfenden played the game of the day, beating Philip Aspinall 15-11 with a display of controlled badminton that was a joy to watch ... this was Danny's first win over Philip. The game set the scene for the rest of the match, as Nicola Poole ran Hayley Rogers close, going down 15-11, before the rest of the team swept through the remaining games, including the last game of the day on court - a well earned 15-13 win for John-Gareth Phillips and Tom Wolfenden in 2nd boys doubles. Sarah Kenny won 4 out of her 6 games, gaining confidence as the day progressed. Well played everyone ... keep up the good work!
Yorkshire won the event with Lothian runners-up, followed by Leicester and Notts. Merseyside would have liked a shot at 3rd place on the day, but the players won the matches in the afternoon that were presented to them and displaying a quite superb team spirit, support for each other and high quality of play. The team was Tara Priestley, Daniel Wolfenden, Nicola Poole, Kristian Byrne, Emily Miller, Richard Bergh, Becky Hurst, Michael Johnston, Stephanie Hall, Tom Wolfenden, Sarah Kenny and John-Gareth Phillips. Many thanks also to Yorkshire, who billet the Isle of Man players for this event and are fantastic hosts.
On a final note: it's a pity two of the most successful components of badminton in the north are being lost to the beaurocrats and planners - Merseyside Schools Badminton and the York Railway Institute. Fortunate for us, then, that the stars don't stop shining when the lights go out!
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Merseyside U12
Back: Kristian Byrne, Richard Bergh, Daniel
Wolfenden, Tom Wolfenden, Michael Johnston, John-Gareth Phillips |
 |
Dave Miller, Team Manager
Tara Priestley
9th April 2003
Tara Priestley and Hayley Rogers (Cheshire) came runners up in the girls doubles in the U12 York Invitation on 5th April. They were beaten 21-10 by Emma Woolley and Anna Wilson in the final. Tara reached the semi-final of the girls singles losing 21-19 to Emma Woolley, the overall winner. Tara was 19-12 up at one stage but had nothing left in the tanks and Emma's brilliant racquet skills took her through in a nailbiting contest.
Tara also won the ESBA U13 Standard Challenge Singles in Kettering on Sunday 23rd March. There were 32 entries, with Tara beating Jessica Fletcher 15-7 in the final, turning the tables on the ESBA North final result. Tara and Hayley reached the semi-final of the doubles but went down 15-1 in a convincing defeat by the eventual winners Jenna Walker and Jessica Fletcher from Yorkshire.
U13s Ranked 8th in Country
16th March 2003
Merseyside's U13 team came 8th in the national Team Challenge Finals, winning two matches and drawing two in a great day of badminton. The event, played in Luton on 15th March, brings the top 12 teams in the country together, reduced from 36 counties that started out in the qualifying events last November (see report below dated 1st December 2002). Eight of the ten players, with families, met at the Luton Travelodge the night before and enjoyed a meal and drink, with the team travelling in convoy the last few miles to the venue on the Saturday morning.
The event sees teams split into two groups for a round-robin phase, with the top two in each group playing off for positions 1-4, the next two playing for positions 5-8 and the last two playing for positions 9-12. Group A consisted of Dorset, Essex, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Sussex and Yorkshire, with Group B bringing together Devon, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Merseyside.
Merseyside played the top two sides in their group in the first two matches, winning one game in each - Nicola Poole in 2nd girls singles against Herts and Michael Mellor in 1st boys singles against Hants. The format - two boys singles, two girls singles and one each of girls doubles and boys doubles - means that a 3-3 draw can be achieved, with the team gaining more points declared the winner. That happened in the third match against Lincs, with Michael winning top boys singles and the two doubles going Merseyside's way courtesy of Richard Dundas / Jonathan Davies and Tara Priestley / Emily Miller - the team were unlucky to go down 81-89 on points.
The team were now looking for wins in their last two group matches to give themselves a shot at positions 5-8 (a real achievement in such illustrious company). First came Devon and everyone performed brilliantly, taking the match 4-2. Richard Dundas played an outstanding game at 2nd boys singles, winning 21-17. A few team positions were shuffled for the Leicestershire match, where Jonathan Davies, playing 2nd boys singles, recorded a memorable 21-18 win, despite taking a heavy fall at 15-all. Everyone played superbly in the match and what looked like being a really tough match turned into a near whitewash as the team won 5-1 (just losing the girls doubles 18-21).
The 5th to 8th play-off games saw matches against Sussex and Nottinghamshire. In the first Michael Mellor played one of the games of the day against Luke Thomson, a top ranked junior, only losing out in the final couple of points 19-21. The Sussex match got away 2-4. So to the final match against Notts and, despite a valiant effort, this was perhaps one match too far for some of our players who had given everything. The 3-3 draw was a fair reflection of the match, but the 88-95 points tally against us would have been reversed with fresher legs. But the job was done superbly on the day - the players played as a team and enjoyed the moment. The supporters, to whom sincere thanks go for their loyalty and energy, took as much, if not more, away from the day than the players.
Jack Foster was the team's most improved player, reaping rewards from his recent hard work at the game. Daniel Wolfenden, Stephanie James and Stephanie Hall played well all day in some really tough matches. Well done everyone!
On a final note, it can't go without mention that Michael Mellor has been selected to play for England against Belgium over Easter. We are delighted for Michael, who works tirelessly at his game and thoroughly deserves his selection.
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"Come on Dave, play Steph at centre half!!" Vee Hall, Karen Wolfenden and Jean Wedgewood discuss tactics. |
 |
Merseyside U13 Team
Back: Jack Foster, Richard Dundas, Daniel
Wolfenden, Michael Mellor, Jonathan Davies |
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Dave Miller, Team Manager
U11 Boys Square Up
9th March 2003
Seven of the top U11 boys in Merseyside played a trial competition at Holly Lodge Girls School on Sunday 9th March, to determine selection for the U11 County Singles Challenge (to be played at Rotherham on Sunday 11th May). Kristian Byrne, John-Gareth Phillips, Robert Avery, Michael Johnston, Robbie McDonald, Tom Wolfenden and Richard Bergh played each other in games to 15, with the top four invited to play in Rotherham.
This will probably be the toughest event many play all season, with all 7 players close in standard and worthy of a county place. Kristian celebrated his birthday in style, winning all his games and taking his place at Rotherham. The games were so close amongst the others that nobody was sure of a top four place until the penultimate round. Richard lost his first two games, but redeemed himself with four straight wins thereafter to secure his place. Michael had close games throughout, showing his fighting qualities with four wins and a spot at Rotherham ... he was nearly on his knees in his last game but still managed to control the shuttle well enough to win - well done. Tom got out of the blocks like a steam train, winning his first three games, but his shuttle placement deserted him thereafter ... he had done enough, however, to get to Rotherham. John-Gareth won one game, but shows a very good style and, as he reduces his unforced errors, will be dangerous. Robert won one game (and also had a walk-over) showing enough commitment to suggest he will be a useful player in the coming seasons - he takes the reserve spot for Rotherham. And Robbie, who also managed one win, has another year at this age and will undoubtedly succeed if he keeps working at his game.
There is no trial for the girls as the county is short of girls in this age group. U11 girls interested in playing county badminton please contact badminton@f2s.com.
This is the only official (BAofE) U11 event on the calendar and is an opportunity for the younger players to get match experience. The top 6 boys and 6 girls from the Rotherham event qualify for the national finals in Milton Keynes on Saturday 7th June.
The standard of play was terrific and is a great pointer for the future. The players know they are all very capable, the hope is that they stay keen, appreciate the privilege of coaching and enjoy the game. Well done.
U13s & 15s on Way to Luton
8th March 2003
Merseyside's U13 and U15 teams are heading to Luton on 15th and 16th March to compete in the national Team Challenge Finals.
The U13s, playing on Saturday 15th, play in Group B along with Devon (1), Hampshire (1), Hertfordshire (1), Leicestershire (2) and Lincolnshire (2). Group A consists of Dorset (2), Essex (2), Nottinghamshire (1), Staffordshire (1), Sussex (2) and Yorkshire (1). Numbers in brackets show finishing positions in qualifier events.
The U15s, playing Sunday 16th, will join Nottinghamshire, Avon, Surrey, Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, Staffordshire (all winners in qualifying) along with Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Sussex, Lincolnshire and Buckinghamshire (all runners-up in qualifying). Merseyside field the same teams that won through to the finals.
More Success for Tara Priestley
20th February 2003
Tara Priestley, from Spital on the Wirral, came runner-up in the ESBA 'standard' singles under 13 tournament at Bradford on Saturday, losing 21-15 to Jessica Fletcher from Yorkshire. Tara and her partner, Hayley Rogers from Cheshire, also won their third 'alternate' girls doubles this season.
U14s Take Turn to Triumph
6th February 2003
Merseyside's U14s took their chance to show how good they are on Sunday 2nd February, running out winners on the day and runners-up overall in the North Midway League in Rotherham.
The event sees a number of counties meet in two one-day events, with counties ranked after each event and overall winners decided on the combination of the two meetings. With Manchester pulling out at the last minute the organisers had to change the format from two groups of 4 to one group of 7, giving teams the chance to play every other county present. Winning the day meant winning six straight matches. Set a challenge ... rise to the occasion!
Durham were dispatched first 8-2 - Alex Bryne recording excellent wins in his doubles, with Daniel Wolfenden 15-14 and with Emily Miller 15-10. Northumberland were a tough second opposition with strong girls, but the boys won their two singles and two doubles comfortably, together with Daniel Wolfenden and Kirstin Miller at 1st mixed, to take a 5-5 (123 points to 98) win.
A comfortable 8-2 win over Lincolnshire led to what looked like a tough match with Leicestershire. However, after Richard Dundas had gone down 14-15 in a very good 2nd boys singles, Tom Dickinson recorded the best win of the day against Gareth Roy at 1st boys, 15-12. This was followed by a terrific win at 2nd girls singles by Nicola Poole, 15-14, and a win by the same close margin at 1st girls doubles by Stephanie James and Kirstin Miller, giving the team an 8-2 win. The fifth match against Warwickshire looked close early on but in the end was a good 7-3 win.
By virtue of their 3rd place finish in the first meeting in November, the team played their final match against Yorkshire knowing that a win on the day would not be enough to take the overall prize (as Yorkshire had won the first event and would at worst come 2nd in this). But the team showed their true colours as they played, without doubt, their best badminton of the day. Both girls doubles had good wins and Alex Byrne and Emily Miller continued to play intelligent mixed, winning 15-10. It also showed how the team has learned to stay cool in close games, as Richard Dundas won 2nd boys singles 15-14, Nicola Poole won 2nd girls singles 15-13 and, finally, Daniel Wolfenden and Alex Byrne won 2nd boys doubles 15-14. This contributed massively to Merseyside's 7-3 win and shows how good the team is in depth, with 5 of the 7 wins coming from 2nd singles/pairs.
Well done to the team and thank you to parents and spectators ... a runners-up trophy well earned.
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Merseyside U14 Team
Back: Alex Byrne, Tom Dickinson, Richard
Dundas, Daniel Wolfenden |
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Dave Miller, Team Manager
U15s Try "The Circuit"
18th January 2003
Nine players from Merseyside's U15 squad entered the Lancashire "English Schools' Badminton Association" (ESBA) tournament at Ribby Hall on Saturday 18th January. Gill Dabek plays a number of ESBA tournaments and plays in the top tier of players - "premier". The rest went for the experience and, as "standard" ranked players, avoided the players in the "premier" and "intermediate" grades. This is an individual event (i.e. you play for yourself rather than the county) with the chance to play singles, level doubles and mixed (the first two of which are played in small qualifying groups to give every player several games). Gill got a tough draw in her events, including a singles match against seeded Nikoleta Cholakova of Northumberland.
In the boys standard event, Matthew Bergh and Tom Dickinson played superbly in their singles to win their groups, but found the going tougher after that. Jonathan Lunt and Paul Maguire missed out on qualification from their groups. In the girls singles Lucy Foster went very close to qualifying but lost closely to a player she has beaten before. In the girls standard level doubles both our pairs played really well to beat the other pairs in their respective groups, setting up an all Mersyside final. Lucy Foster & Charlotte Hall, ranked above Sophie Richards & Kirstin Miller, won the first game in the "best of three" final 15-3, but were made to work very hard in the second, being locked at 7-7 and 8-7 for around 20 points before Lucy and Charlotte eventually pulled away to win it 15-8.
What started out as a venture into the unknown for some of these players (with one or two extremely tough matches early on) turned into a good day out as the players realised that they are not far away in standard from other players "on the circuit". Thanks go to Merseyside for funding this venture for the players - it gave them good experience and may tempt them to try their hand again in further ESBA events.
U17
At the ESBA U17 Midland Open in Kettering, which attracted a huge entry from all over the country, Helen Davies won a gold medal in the girls premier singles and a silver medal with Becky Howell in the girls premier doubles. Becky also won a silver medal in the mixed doubles with Nick Hughes of Lancashire.
U12s Triumph in North Midway
13th January 2003
They say cream rises to the top! Well it did at Rotherham on Sunday 12th January as Merseyside U12s ran out victors on the day. And they were victors overall, having secured second place in October - see report dated 8th November 2002 for details of day 1 of the two-day league.
The quality of the play showed itself in the results, with 9-1 victories over Cheshire (139 points to 73) and Greater Manchester (146-51), plus a 10-0 win over Lincolnshire (150-53). Those results took the team to the final on the day against Yorkshire who, whilst the event prevents 'World Class Start' and all-bar-one 'Premier' players from entering, were still strong opposition. Kristian Byrne helped the cause by taking plenty of points in his 14-15 defeat in second singles, whilst Richard Bergh & Becky Hurst won well at second mixed (15-7) leaving the girls to sweep through their 4 games with ease (Tara Priestley 15-8, Nicola Poole 15-4, Tara & Nicola 15-5, then Emily Miller & Steph Hall 15-4) to secure a 5-5 draw and win on points (112-103). Daniel and Tom Wolfenden played well all day, with Daniel winning 5 out of 8 at no. 1 boy, and brother Tom, at 8 years old, winning 6 out of 8.
The win, combined with second place on the first visit, gave the team an unassailable lead and the first win at any age since I started crossing the Pennines three years ago (that I am aware of). The photos say it all in terms of the fabulous spirit in the camp, amongst players and supporters alike, something that makes the journey worthwhile.
Another report in the archive of this site describes the good team spirit when Merseyside finished last in this event only two years ago ... team spirit and talent are the strengths of the county at the moment. Thank you players and supporters alike. Keep the cream on court, semi-skimmed in the hot chocolate guys!
Dave Miller, Team Manager
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Merseyside U12 Team
Back: Kristian Byrne, Daniel Wolfenden,
Richard Bergh, Tom Wolfenden Parents: Karl Bergh, Paul Byrne, Derek Wolfenden, Alistair Poole, Nigel Priestley, Ann Byrne, Ken Hurst, Ann Hurst, Dave Miller |
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U13s Too Strong for Shropshire
8th January 2003
In their first outing of 2003 Merseyside's U13s demolished Shropshire. The match, played on Sunday 5th January, saw the 4x4 team win 15-1. They did it without 3 top ranked players, giving the chance for other squad players to get a slice of the action. Richard Dundas stepped up to the no.1 boys spot and, with regular no.1 girl Stephanie James, had one of the best games of the day first up, running out 15-4, 13-15, 15-9 winners to Tom Lees and Amanda Rawlings. Amanda was Shropshire's most talented player, managing to edge out Stephanie in their singles 11-8, 4-11, 11-4.
Kristian Byrne, the youngest Merseyside player on the day aged 10, had a titanic struggle against the Shropshire no.4, staying on court twice as long as most matches, but showing terrific stamina and real ability, winning 15-4, 14-17, 17-14. Daniel Wolfenden and Jack Foster both played well, not dropping a game between them.
Nicola Poole, Emily Miller and Kathleen Turner completed the line-up for the girls, all playing high quality badminton and, again, not dropping one game between them. This age group is lucky to have a strong squad, with some very good younger players knocking at the door. The players not currently ranked in the top 4 girls and boys have stayed keen and it is good to see them constantly pushing up the standard, challenging for places.
Everyone from Merseyside, including supporters, enjoyed the day and they were grateful to Shropshire, who, whilst not having the strongest squad at the moment, get involved, enjoy the game and are extremely good hosts. Thanks to them.
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Merseyside and
Shropshire U13 Teams Back: Kristian Byrne, Shrop, Shrop, Shrop, Shrop, Richard Dundas, Jack Foster, Daniel Wolfenden Front: Stephanie James, Emily Miller, Nicola Poole, Kathleen Turner, Shrop, Shrop, Shrop, Shrop |
Player News
2nd January 2003
Tara Priestley won the standard singles in the ESBA U13 East at Stevenage at the start of December. She was on form all day and won the final 15-1 against a strong under 13 player from Norfolk. Tara now has enough points from two of her best tournaments to go premier but will gather a bit more experience before taking the plunge. At the same tournament Tara and Hayley Rogers of Cheshire lost their first doubles match in the group and this effectively put them out of the running.
And the success story continues: Becky Howell won the Durham U17 open doubles in early December with Naomi Bailey and the mixed doubles with Nick Hodgson of Lancashire. Becky also got to the semi-finals in the singles.
Best Display in Years
1st December 2002
Merseyside U13 and U15 put on their best display in years at the Team Challenge area event on Saturday 30th November at Macclesfield. The event brings counties in the area together in a qualifying event for the National Finals in Luton, playing weekend of 15/16 March 2003. The U13s met Staffordshire, Shropshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, whilst the U15s played the same counties plus Cheshire. Two counties in each age group made it to the final, with Staffs and Manchester the key opposition.
The U13s played 6 games in a match: 2 boys singles, 2 girls singles, 1 boys level doubles and 1 girls level doubles. The first match against Staffs was close, but Mersey drifted to a 0-6 defeat - better to get it out of the way in one go mused the manager! The following matches against Shropshire and Derbyshire were professionally dealt with, both going 6-0 in our favour ... the points tally in the Derbyshire match (126-22) showing how big the gulf was between the teams.
So the anticipated showdown against Greater Manchester. It would either be bottled through nerves, or the team would rise to the occasion. The spirit of the team - the camaraderie, the unity and, lets be honest, their sheer ability - brought the best out of everyone. Michael Mellor (1st boys singles) and Richard Dundas (2nd boys singles) were inspired against rated opponents in the opening games. Michael beat Ross Little 21-10, a score line that would not have raised eyebrows had it gone the other way. Richard, playing Nick Shoreman, changed ends 11-3 up, carried on to 17-7, before holding on in a gruelling final few minutes to secure a 21-14 win. This opened the way for the girls, who seemed to take inspiration from the display. Stephanie James dispatched her opponent 21-3, then Nicola Poole ran out 21-5 to the good. Not to be outdone, Tara Priestley and Emily Miller made short change of their doubles opponents, winning 21-7. Finally, whilst Jonathan Davies and Daniel Wolfenden went down 12-21, they played superbly against Gary Fox and Matthew Nottingham, an extremely strong pair.
A 5-1 match win gave second place overall and qualification for Luton. Jack Foster and Stephanie Hall played in the earlier matches, completed the team and made important contributions to the results. Well done - the team spirit was great and the badminton ability a credit to the players' hard work at the game. A big thank you to the parents and other spectators too - this sort of standard in the county relies as much on you as the juniors - true.
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Merseyside U13 Team
Back: Daniel Wolfenden, Jonathan Davies, Jack
Foster, Michael Mellor, Richard Dundas |
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The U15s day was as tense and full of drama as on the other side of the hall. The different format (1 boys singles, 1 girls singles, 1 boys doubles, 1 girls doubles and 3 mixed in a team of 3 x 3) saw a close result against Staffs go the wrong way, 3-4, before victories against Cheshire and Derbyshire. The Manchester match was again the crucial tie, and the players excelled themselves to take a 3-1 lead after the singles and level doubles. One mixed needed ... first and second lost ... Tom Dickinson and Sophie Richards then showed a few nerves, but pulled off a terrific 15-14 win to take the match 4-3.
Mersey won their final match, but qualification remained in doubt with Staffs needing to beat Manchester in the final match to avoid a games count-back for the result. The tie brought the other teams and spectators to watch and cheer, and after a narrow win to Staffs it is reported that players and parents were jumping for joy and exchanging hugs. Fantastic!
The team: Paul Maguire, Jonathan Lunt, Matthew Bergh, Tom Dickinson, Gill Dabek, Lucy Foster, Charlotte Hall, Sophie Richards.
So through to the National Finals - an achievement not recorded too often by one age group, let alone two. Can it get any better? Stay tuned, keep playing badminton, pull on the shirt!
ESBA Successes for Younger Players
24th November 2002
Merseyside had an extremely good representation at the recent U11/U13 North West ESBA (English Schools Badminton Association) event in Macclesfield, with a number of our players making their ESBA tournament debut in the U11s. Richard Berg, Robert Avery, Tom Wolfenden, Michael Johnston, Robbie McDonald, Stephanie Hall and Becky Hurst all played.
Richard Berg won all of his group games in the singles, beating Cheshire's No.1 boy in that group. He went on to win the Bronze medal, only losing to Matthew Nottingham of Greater Manchester (a "World Class Start" player). This was only one of a number of excellent performances - well done to everyone. It gives us great hope for the future.
In the U13s Tara Priestley and Hayley Rogers (Cheshire) won the girls "standard" girls doubles. Tara also came runner up in the girls "standard" singles.
Graham Priestley and Andrew Brown (Cheshire) came runners-up in the North West U17 "standard" boys doubles in Kirkham. Graham also finished semi-finalist in the "standard" boys singles.
Helen Davies won the U17 singles and was runner up with Becky Howell in the doubles. Becky won the ESBA North East U17 doubles with Naomi Bailey (Northumberland). Both Becky and Helen have represented their senior counties.
Merseyside U13 Restricted
10th November 2002
The 2002 U13 Merseyside Restricted Tournament was a 'seeds' event at Holly Lodge on Sunday 10th November. It felt like Groundhog Day as all the winners and runners-up were the same as the U12 event in April. The top players have continued to improve their game ahead of the pack, with Richard Dundas showing the most marked improvement as he went down 15-21 to Michael Mellor in the boys singles final, making Michael work all the way for his win. The winners and runners-up deserve real credit for their performances and, particularly, for their great attitude in playing the game. Congratulations to all those named in the grid below.
The individual performance on the day came from Nicola Poole in the girls singles. She beat Kathleen Turner, Emily Miller and Lucy Flavin in the round-robin stage, then lost a close final group game 7-11 to Stephanie James. In the semi-final she ran Tara Priestley so close, going down 12-15 in the game of the day. Nicola has improved her singles game markedly in the last 3 months, setting new challenges for the players ahead and behind her in the rankings. The U13 "Sportsperson 2002" award, awarded for application to the game, went to Nicola: well done.
| Winner | Runner Up | |
| Boys Singles | Michael Mellor | Richard Dundas |
| Girls Singles | Stephanie James | Tara Priestley |
| Boys Doubles | Michael Mellor Richard Dundas |
Jonathan Davies Daniel Wolfenden |
| Girls Doubles | Stephanie James Tara Priestley |
Emily Miller Stephanie Hall |
| Sportsperson Award | Nicola Poole |
Other notable performances on the day (many of whom have years in hand at this age and are tomorrow's stars) came from Michael Johnston, Bill Pasterfield and Kristian Byrne: keep practicing and keep enjoying the game.
Click on the thumbnail image below to see winners and runners-up from the day.
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Back: Daniel Wolfenden, Michael
Mellor, Stephanie James, Tara Priestley, Richard Dundas Front: Nicola Poole, Jonathan Davies, Emily Miller, Stephanie Hall |
U12s & U14s Shine in Rotherham
8th November 2002
Merseyside's U12 Team (20th October) and U14 Team (3rd November) recorded fantastic results in the North Midway Badminton League in Rotherham recently. The League brings around 10 counties together from the north to compete in a mixture of singles, level and mixed doubles competition.
U12
The U12 team first made their mark, finishing 2nd overall, with superb wins against Yorkshire (8-2), Durham (9-1) and Notts (8-2), putting the team into the top place play-off with Leicestershire. They just lost that 4-6, two games getting away by the narrowest 14-15 margin. Becky Hurst went through the day undefeated - fantastic.
The individual achievement of the day must go to Nicola Poole, who beat Britanie White 15-11 in the Leicestershire match. This is a superb improvement from June when Britanie finished 10th in the U11 singles at Milton Keynes to Nicola's 21st. Tara Priestley (7th at MK) battered Chelsea White 15-4 (13th at MK) but these twins must talk badminton everyday over breakfast as their partnership is a tough one to beat and Nicola and Tara suffered a heavy defeat, 3-15, in the level doubles.
The team was: Daniel Wolfenden, Kristian Byrne, Richard Bergh, Robert Avery, Tara Priestley, Nicola Poole, Becky Hurst and Stephanie Hall.
U14
The U14s took a team with no players from south of the Mersey (due to another tournament) but achieved an amazing 3rd out of 9 counties. The team consisted of 5 players eligible for at least another year.
The day started well with a 7-3 win over Durham, followed by a 5-5 win on points (180-146) against Leicestershire. It looked as if luck was not on their side in the Leicestershire match, as 3 games slipped away 20-21, 18-21 and 19-21, before Stephanie James and Kirstin Miller secured the points with a 21-18 win in their level doubles. The third match against Greater Manchester was very close, though it went to GM 4-6, giving Merseyside 2nd place in their half of the draw and a shot at 3rd place overall.
The play-off match was well won against Lincolnshire, with the girls coming out on top in their two singles and two level doubles. Daniel Wolfenden helped complete the victory with his wins at 2nd boys with Paul Lewis, and 1st mixed with Emily Miller. Yorkshire beat Greater Manchester 8-2 to come out top on the day.
Well played to everyone, who gave 100% effort as is always the case when I watch a Merseyside team, and the usual (but important) thank you to the parents and other spectators who did the driving and supporting.
The team was: Tom Dickinson, Richard Dundas, Daniel Wolfenden, Paul Lewis, Stephanie James, Kirstin Miller, Emily Miller, Stephanie Hall.
Dave Miller
Player News
5th November 2002
Gill Dabek won the Intermediate U15 girls singles on 26/27 October in Stoke and we believe she is now a Premier player. Tara Priestley and her partner (Hayley Rogers from Cheshire) won the girls Standard U13 doubles in Nottingham (E. Midlands) on the same day. Tara lost 13-15 in the Midlands U13 singles semi-final in September at Kettering.
In nationally recognised events (for individuals as opposed to teams) players progress through 3 standards of competition (Standard, Intermediate and finally Premier) gaining points in events to progress them towards the next standard.
Merseyside U15
Tournament
29th September 2002
Competitors of all levels and ages entered the competition this year and an enjoyable day was had by all.
The boys were split into four groups for the singles competition: Michael Mellor, Paul Maguire, Tom Dickinson and Jonathan Lunt all won their groups setting up some mouth watering semi-finals. Young Michael Mellor came up against a strong Paul Maguire, Paul had already out-gunned one of the seeds, James Bridson, in the group stages. The game was a close affair with Michael winning 15/13.
The second semi-final saw Tom Dickinson and Jonathan Lunt drawn together. Jonathan had also out gunned one of the seeds in the group stages, Jonny Marchbank. Tom and Jonathan were well matched but Jonathan, who’s form is growing by the day, out fought Tom to win 15 /12.
The girls singles saw some hard fought games in the group stages but the two top seeds, Gill Dabek and Amanda Barrett, showed their true strength, winning their groups and advancing to the final with ease.
The boys doubles was also a close affair but went with the seeds. Michael Mellor and Tom Dickinson were just too strong for Jonanthan Lunt and Daniel Newman, winning a close semi-final 15/10. Not wanting the pressure that was growing in the hall to drop, the second semi-final went even closer. Matthew Bergh and James Bridson had a long, hard game against Tom Davies and Jonny Marchbank, managing to edge the game 15/12. This set up a final in the hall that we all wanted to see.
The girls doubles also went to form, the top seeds winning all their games with ease. I must mention the spirit in the games up to now was second to none, although the girls were trying hard they were having a good laugh, which shows there is fun in sport.
Finals
The girls doubles final brought four friends together. That would not hold back the players and with the skill on show we were in for a treat. Charlotte Hall and Lucy Foster entered an early lead but it was not long before Gill Dabek and Sophie Richards were showing true form. The game was one game to twenty-one and the lead swapped sides on a number of occasions which made the game very tense. The only problem with this game was there could only be one winner. Gill and Sophie were just too strong, but I can not wait for a rematch! The final ended 21/19. Well done girls, a great display of doubles badminton.
The next two finals were the singles. Amanda and Gill were to produce a final worth watching: both girls can move around the court with ease and their shots are sublime. In a "best of three games to 15" format, the first game saw Amanda lose 15/10, by now both players showing a bit of fatigue. This did not stop the girls giving us a true feast of badminton. Amanda took a further 13 points off Gill in the second game, losing 15/13.
The next final up was the boys singles - a young Michael Mellor and Jonathan Lunt. The game started well and soon had the spectators attention in the hall. The first game was as close as they come, Jonathan just edging Michael 15/14. During the short break the tension began to show, and by the time Michael was ready to return he had lost the will he needed and lost the next game 15/4. Congratulations to Jonathan who kept his composure at all times.
The last final of the day was the boys doubles ... could it be as close as the girls ... it looked that way on paper.
Michael Mellor needed to bounce back after the singles final. He and Tom Dickinson did just that winning the first game 15/12, but Matthew Bergh and James Bridson fought back and won the second 13/15. With just one game left - the decider - Michael and Tom took an early lead which they kept to the end, winning 15/12. Matthew and James made them work hard for this one, with a very strong late surge that put the wind up their opponents until the final point was won.
The final award of the day went to Daniel Newman, "Sportsperson 2002". Keep up the good work Daniel, your sportsmanship is admired by all.
Click on the images of the winners and runners-up below to see larger photos.
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Boys Singles: Winner Jonathan Lunt |
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Girls Singles: Winner Gill Dabek |
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Boys Doubles: Winners Michael Mellor & Tom Dickinson |
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Girls Doubles: Winners Sophie Richards & Gill Dabek |
I would like to thank all the players who played today and also the parents, some of whom stayed all day to cheer the players on. Without the support of the players and parents theses competitions will be lost. Special thanks and best wishes go to Mrs Barrett who made a long journey to bring Amanda to the competition - hope to see you soon.
Tom Richards & John DabekJunior County Status
23rd June 2002
After much debate it has now been determined that Merseyside, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire will compete in 2002/3 as separate junior counties.
During next season an infrastructure will be put in place that sees the North West move to a two-county junior structure for 2003/4: at this time the northern parts of Merseyside and Greater Manchester will merge with Lancashire, and the southern parts merge with Cheshire.
In 2002/3, however, the four counties will continue to have their own coaching and match infrastructure, allowing players to enjoy a last season together. If everyone gets behind their counties it could prove to be a great season from a playing and entertainment perspective.
A development group, made up of representatives from the four counties, will work together to agree how the four counties will form into two in time for the 2003/4 junior county badminton season. The aim of the group will be to establish badminton practice and match opportunities at a county standard for similar (and growing) numbers of players in all corners of the region. So, by 2003/4, Lancashire and Cheshire should have established a coaching and playing set-up allowing players to receive local coaching, whilst providing the right level of competitive matches for as many players as possible.
In the 2002/3 season, then, my best advice is that players compete for their home county. Players may practice and play for another county, but should give priority to their home county. Your county is determined by where you live and/or go to school ... you can only play official matches for this county.
As a parent of two juniors currently playing for Merseyside, the only real issue for me is that our juniors are allowed to get access to badminton at their level, whilst being able to aspire to the next level and having opportunity to try to break in to that next level. I believe the structure proposed here gives the best chance of achieving this.
I hope this clears some of the issues that may have been circulating over the past months and that you are somewhat clearer about the future. Remember, anyone is allowed (encouraged) to come to a county practice and see if they have the ability to join the county squad. If you have any issues whatsoever please will you raise it with myself or any other adult involved in junior badminton in the area, so that we can react to help you ... and hopefully gain/maintain your support. As a parent I know that parental support is just as important as the juniors doing the work on court!
Watch this space for news of next season. See you then.
Dave Miller
2001/2 Annual Report: Merseyside Schools Badminton Association
11th June 2002
Nigel Priestley, Secretary, gave a foreword to the report, stating: "I
would like to thank the committee for all their hard work throughout the season;
it has been a pleasure working with them for the benefit of the players and it
certainly has been a season with ups and downs and quite a number of challenges
along the way. The BA of E continues to bully us into non-existence but
thanks to Ken Linforth, our esteemed Chairman, they have not succeeded to grind
us to a halt just yet.
Yet
again we are one of the top ten counties in the country, which is no mean feat
and reflects upon the hard work by the players, coaches and parents. To
finish 8th, 4th and 10th in the ICT in
successive years is a record, of which many counties would be envious and I am
proud to be part of this organisation, one that our governing body steadfastly
refuses to recognise.
The
tough part now is to carry on the good work and aim for yet another top ten
place and in order to do this more players must enter open tournaments to gain
that valuable experience needed to compete at national level.
We did not qualify for the U13 and U15 Team Challenge finals again (three
times in a row for the U13’s).
Club
leaders need to spread their net wider in order to search for talented
youngsters (they’re out there and it’s a numbers game). I did not get
much feedback from club leaders this season, which tells me that we must be
doing OK (there is always room for improvement, of course).
Once
again there is Dave Miller’s brilliant Southport web site that has given us
fantastic reports and photographs which those of us with access have much
enjoyed.
Helen
Davies has been recognised by England (this was a long time coming) and was
selected to represent her country over in Ireland. Well done Helen!
I would like to thank John Howell, Alan Jones, Paul Jones, Ken Linforth, Sara Linforth and Rob Sowden for their help in coaching the players. I would especially like to thank Alan for all the work that he has done for the county for many years; he is stepping down from his position as U13 coach and MSBA will miss him very much."
Team Performances
U11
The U11's played in this year’s ESBA Singles Challenge in York in April. What a brilliant performance by the entire team! Not only did they finish 2nd out of 7 northern counties, but four players made it into the northern team to play against area teams from Leicester, Stroud and Slough in Milton Keynes on 8th June (see National Performances). In February there was also a practice match in Poynton at which the team came 1st out of four.
U12
The U12's again had two trips to Rotherham in the North Midway League and was superbly managed by Carole James. In the first match the team finished joint 5th out of 10 and the second match we were unlucky to finish 5th; as usual if 14-15 score lines had gone our way then we could have finished 3rd out of 8. Our third match was the Yorkshire U12 Team Invitation, which saw one of the best team spirits from a young county side for a long time, coming a superb 3rd out of 9 and each player being presented with a well deserved bronze medal. This team stands a good chance to qualify for next season’s Team Challenge. Thank you to Carole, Team Manager.
U13
Greater
Manchester (H) 23-12 win
Cheshire
(A) 13-4 win
Yorkshire
B (H) 22-13 win
Team
Challenge Qualifier 3rd/5 (did not qualify)
Shropshire
(A) 9-7 win
Yorkshire
(A) 9-44 loss
Staffordshire
(H) 28-14 win
The squad had 7 practices, one was run by Sara Sankey. The U13's just failed to qualify for the Team Challenge finals, but in friendly matches lost only once, to Yorkshire away. The U13's has been a strong age group this year, supported by increased player participation creating competition for places (and also cover if players were unavailable). It has been really refreshing to see that players (with the support of parents it has to be said) have been responding to selection invites for home and away games with no issues about distance to travel or whether someone might "get to play singles rather than doubles" etc. Further, the team spirit at matches has been nothing short of brilliant this year, which is a tribute to the players, the managers, the parents and other spectators, and the total organisation of Merseyside as a county. We are starting to feel like squads of players rather than groups of individuals. Long may it continue. Thanks to Dave Miller, Team Manager and Alan Jones, Squad Coach.
U14
The U14's came 9th out of 10 in the October meeting in
Rotherham. The matches were closer than the scores suggest and all the
players played their very best.
Merseyside 8 Derbyshire 2 (95/63)
Merseyside 5 Northumberland 5 (111/115)
Merseyside 4 Nottinghamshire 6 (98/120)
Merseyside 3 Lincolnshire 7 (97/127)
Merseyside 0 Warwickshire 10 (73/150)
Injuries and flu prevented any success in the second meeting and the team unfortunately finished bottom. Thanks to Barry Foster, Team Manager for organising these matches.
U15
Team
Challenge Qualifier 4th/5 (did not qualify)
Cheshire
(A) 4-12 loss
Greater Manchester (H) 10-9 win
Cheshire
(H)9-7 win
Thank you to John Dabek and Tom Richards, Team Managers.
U16
The team finished in second place in Rotherham, which is an outstanding achievement. Thank you to Ian Proctor for managing the team into our highest ever U16 finish in the North Midway League.
U17
The team was placed 10th in the ICT - see report below. Special thanks go to John and Andrea Howell for giving up four days to manage the team into yet another top ten place. Thanks also to John Howell for managing and coaching the squad.
Lancashire
(H) 18-6 win
Shropshire (A) 16-5 win
Shropshire
(H) 19-1 win
N.E.W.B.A.
(H) 20-4 win
Cheshire (H) win
Roll of Honour
Harry
Wright: North West Open (Blackpool) U17 Premier Singles & Doubles Winner
Harry Wright: ESBA Junior Challenge U17 Singles & Doubles Winner
Harry Wright: Nottinghamshire (Mansfield) U17 Premier Doubles Winner &
Singles Finalist
Lynsey
Aston: East U17 Premier Singles & Doubles Semi-finalist
Lynsey Aston: North West Open (Blackpool) U17 Premier Doubles Winner
Lynsey Aston: Midlands (Staffordshire) U17 Premier Singles Semi-finalist
Lynsey Aston: Midland Counties U17 Premier Singles Winner
Andrew
Cooper: Liverpool Open U17 Standard Doubles Semi-finalist
Andrew Cooper: Durham Open U19 Singles Plate Winner & Doubles Semi-finalist
Andrew
Hart: North East (Gateshead) U17 Standard Singles & Mixed Doubles
Semi-finalist
Keith
MacDonald: Liverpool Open U17 Standard Doubles Semi-finalist
Matthew
Case-Upton: Liverpool Open U17 Standard Doubles Semi-finalist
Helen
Davies: Liverpool Open U17 Premier Singles Winner
Helen Davies: Cheshire SENIOR Restricted Singles Finalist (not National but a
fantastic performance)
Helen Davies: Midland Counties U17 Premier Singles Finalist
Helen Davies: North East (Gateshead) U17 Premier Singles Semi-finalist
Helen Davies: North West Open (Blackpool) U17 Premier Singles Winner
Helen Davies: Represented Cheshire Senior Team
Helen Davies: Newtownabbey U17 INTERNATIONAL Doubles Quarter-finalist
Becky
Howell: Liverpool Open U17 Intermediate Doubles Champion
Becky
Howell: North East (Gateshead) U17 Standard Singles Winner & Mixed Doubles
Semi-finalist
Becky Howell: Midlands (Staffordshire) U17 Intermediate Singles Winner (thus
attaining Premier)
Graham
Priestley: Liverpool Open U15 Premier Mixed Doubles Finalist
Graham Priestley: ESBA Lancashire (Blackpool) U15 Premier Singles 3rd
Place
Graham Priestley: Cheshire Open U15 Doubles Winners, Mixed Finalists &
Singles Semi-finalist
Gill
Dabek: Liverpool Open U15 Premier Mixed Doubles Finalist
Gill Dabek: ESBA Lancashire (Blackpool) U15 Mixed Doubles Finalists
Gill Dabek: Cheshire Open U15 Mixed Doubles Finalists
Stephanie
James: Notts (Mansfield) U13 Mixed Doubles Plate Winners & Main Doubles
Semi-finalist
Stephanie James: Yorkshire U12 Doubles Finalists
Tara
Priestley: 7th - ESBA U11 Singles Challenge
Final (Milton Keynes)
Nicola
Poole: 21st - ESBA U11 Singles Challenge
Final (Milton Keynes)
Emily
Miller: 15th - ESBA U11 Singles Challenge Final (Milton Keynes)
Daniel Wolfenden: 17th - ESBA U11 Singles Challenge Final (Milton Keynes)
Michael Mellor: accepted for the World Class Start Programme
Merseyside "restricted" tournament results (U12, U13, U15) are shown below in separate articles. And finally, thank you to Jean Dean, Tom Richards, Daniel Wright and Sophie Richards for organising and managing a hugely successful tournament with around 50 entries. This is well up on last year and has raised some funds for Merseyside. Well done!
Merseyside Shine in National U11 Singles
8th June 2002
Following the U11 Singles Qualifier in York on 20th April (see article below) four Merseyside players travelled to the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes for the National Singles Challenge Final. Daniel Wolfenden, Tara Priestley, Emily Miller and Nicola Poole made up four of the 12 player team representing the North of England, joined by three from Yorkshire, two from Greater Manchester, one from Northumberland, one from Cheshire and one from Lancashire. Mark Middleton (Yorkshire) won the singles title (holding the trophy in photo below), whilst Alyssa Lim (Buckinghamshire) won the girls.
The players present represented the top players in the country at their age, and just qualifying was an achievement in itself. There were no poor players and certainly no easy games, so the results achieved by the Merseyside players were outstanding:
Tara Priestley - 7th
Emily Miller - 15th
Daniel Wolfenden - 17th
Nicola Poole - 21st
The team event saw the North (named the "New York Yankees" for the day) come 3rd out of the 4 regions, but the margin was so close that only 14 points separated the first three teams (where the winner gained 24 team points, down to the 24th player who claimed one point).
Merseyside should feature well again next year, with five players looking good enough to make the grade (given no bad luck in the qualifying draw).
Well done to all the players: it was enjoyable to watch and to see such competence, huge effort and good temper combined in the play.
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North of England U11 Team 3rd left: Emily Miller 4th left: Tara Priestley 5th left: Nicola Poole 2nd right: Daniel Wolfenden |
Team U12 - York
28th April 2002
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Back: Tom Wolfenden,
Jack Foster, Jonathan Davies, Michael Mellor, Daniel Wolfenden, Matthew
Aughton Front: Steph James, Emily Miller, Steph Hall, Tara Priestley, Nicola Poole, Kathleen Turner |
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|
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After receipt of their bronze medals |
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Yorkshire's annual U12 Invitation Team Event took place at the York Railway Institute on Sunday 28th April, with Merseyside recording their best finish in recent years. The 6x6 team produced a terrific performance, beating Nottinghamshire (consistently one of the strongest northern junior counties) on their way to 3rd place - and receipt of bronze medals.
The 9 teams were pooled into two groups in the morning, Merseyside first lost to the eventual winners, Yorkshire, 2-5, before recording 4-3 wins against Leicestershire and then Lincolnshire. The format (1 boys singles, 1 girls singles, 1 mixed doubles, 2 boys doubles and 2 girls doubles) suited Merseyside's team, with established doubles pairs and two exciting number 1 players, Michael Mellor and Stephanie James, playing some singles. The morning's success placed the team second in their group and thus matched them against the top teams from the other group in the afternoon.
We (sorry ... the parents) thought the team was about to get a lesson in quality badminton, but we must be underestimating how far the players have come as they set about Notts with no thought of capitulation. Team manager Carole James (to whom thanks go for her organisation) read the match perfectly, countering the Notts move to play their strength in the levels, instead using Jonathan Davies and Tara Priestley in the singles and Michael and Steph James in the mixed ... 3-0 to Merseyside. Kathleen Turner and Nicola Poole nearly produced the result of the day, narrowly losing 1st girls 11-15, but then Daniel and Tom Wolfenden took 2nd boys 15-14 (having been 6-13 down and saving several game points) and Emily Miller and Stephanie Hall won 2nd girls 15-10 (from 6-10 down). Match result 5-2.
As has been discussed on other occasions, every point and every game counts in a match. In this case it was the final match against Staffordshire, when the team went 1-4 down after the Wolfenden brothers lost a terrific game 14-15. Having thought the chance of a medal had gone, Emily and Steph Hall then took the final game of the day leaving the match result 2-5. The finishing positions were not clear until the presentations, when results were given in reverse order and Merseyside were not in 9th through to 4th spots! With Notts, Staffs and Mersey all recording 1 win in the top group, a games count back gave 2nd spot to Staffs (8 games), 3rd to Mersey (7 games) and 4th to Notts (6 games). One more game in the Mersey/Staffs match would have produced 2nd place ... one less game and the team might have dropped to 4th (and out of the medals).
Jack Foster had some tough matches during the day, but showed that his game is improving all the time. Matthew Aughton made his debut for the county and was neither overawed nor outclassed on the day, playing well throughout. The result and the day was a high spot for Merseyside's younger players.
Thanks as always to all parents and other spectators for supporting the players and the county. Sue Foster, Yorkshire organiser, team manager and tireless worker for Yorkshire junior badminton, spoke to all players and spectators during the medal presentations (see photos above) supporting Merseyside's call to be allowed by the Badminton Association of England to continue to run their junior county. She noted the county's background work and performance on court, suggesting junior badminton should be left to be run by those that know and understand this sector of the game. Coming from a Yorkshire junior representative, where more has been done for junior badminton than anywhere else in the north of England, the words are well received.&