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U16 Wimbledon Team Invitation
6th - 7th May 2006

Wimbledon and racket sports go hand-in-hand, but pass Mr Federer a shuttlecock and chances are he won’t know what to do with it. The money may not be the same in badminton, but the passion for the game is certainly the same, as Lancashire showed in their brilliant performance at the Wimbledon Racquets & Fitness Club’s U16 Badminton Team Invitation event. Even against the likes of the Netherlands, Ireland and our old enemy, Yorkshire, the team - especially the boys - competed well and ended up taking a final placing of 5th (and it could easily have been 3rd).

The tournament was played over the weekend of 6-7 May and saw Lancashire turn out a handy team of Michael Mellor, Ross Little, Gary Fox, Steph James, Emily Miller, Holly Richards and Steph Hall. The format was a short format, with one event in each discipline, played to the best of three.

The first round saw the 12 teams split into 4 groups of 3, with Lancashire drawing Ireland and Hampshire. The match against Ireland set the tone for the two days, as the boys doubles went to Lancs, Ross & Gary winning comfortably, 15-2, 15-3, then the girls doubles going to the opposition, Steph Hall & Holly losing 9-15, 5-15. Michael then won the boys singles to 2 & 11, before Steph James went down in a tough match 4 & 1. The result went to the last event, with Gary & Emily battling out an epic mixed. Emily was very nervous, having not played with Gary before and keen to secure the win, but the pair came through in style, setting twice for 17-14, 17-14 and a 3-2 match win.

We juggled the pairs for the second match and it proved to be our undoing, as Hampshire snuck a very tight match 3-2. Gary & Holly never quite gelled, just losing out in the mixed 14-17, 12-15. Ross beat Ben Tier in 3, whilst Steph James got the short straw against a very impressive Panuga Riou, losing 0 & 0. Michael & Gary had a very impressive win against the two Marks (Cappleman & Newbury) leaving Steph Hall & Emily to battle it out with the match at 2-2. They won a very good second game, but could not take the upper hand in the match, going down 10-15, 17-14, 8-15.

The team thus went into the group playing for 5^th to 8^th place, with Sussex, Notts and Kent in the same group. The pattern, of the boys winning some brilliant matches and the girls finding the very high standard of the event a real challenge, prevailed. Michael won his singles to 7 & 13, then Gary & Ross made short change of their opponents in the levels, winning 4 & 6. With the girls singles and levels getting away, it fell to Gary & Emily in the last match to go for the result, which they managed again, winning in two, 8 & 12. A 3-2 match win.

Notts looked tough on paper, but again the boys produced the goods, with Michael taking the singles 9 & 13, and Ross & Gary winning the doubles 7 & 13. Steph James got the tough game once again and, though starting well against Jess Tandy, could not match the precision and footwork, losing to 3 & 3. Steph Hall & Holly then showed some real fight as they lost a really good levels against Jess Tandy & Kate Fenton, losing a long battle 15-13, 5-15, 9-15. So to Gary & Emily who, with their growing understanding as a pair, managed a good win under pressure, 15-13, 10-15, 15-10, providing Lancs with another 3-2 win.

The final match against Kent was going to be another close affair. Ross got into a tough match with Jonny Gatusch, before managing to get his focus and a comfortable last game, winning 15-10, 12-15, 15-4. Steph James showed that she has what it takes in singles, playing her best game though going down 7 & 3. Steph knows that once a week coaching would put her right up the singles scale, but she is a dedicated runner and it is difficult to give enough to both sports. Ross & Michael played well in the levels, winning 11 & 9, and Steph Hall & Holly showed much improvement from the day before, going down 13 & 5. Once more the last event fell to Gary & Emily in the deciding mixed and they showed how good they are in a pressure situation, coming through 15-13, 15-11 and sealing a fourth 3-2 match win out of 5.

Well done to the team on a terrific 5^th place out of 12. The boys were awesome and the girls showed their fighting spirit in the latter stages of the event, as their performances improved visibly. Thank you to the spectators for your support … and I must remember to take my ear-plugs next time I spend ten hours driving a car load of teenage girls to London and back! They managed to get the mobile number and exchange messages with two boys in a passing car on the M6 on the way home … but that is another story!!

U16 Team - names in order of centre picture Back: Gary Fox, Michael Mellor, Ross Little Front: Emily Miller, Steph James, Holly Richards, Steph Hall

Footnote:

It would be great if Lancashire could pull the standard of the girls closer to that of the boys on court - what we need is the girls getting regular, quality coaching from now on, and for each to play high grade, competitive matches. But we also need the next tier of girls to challenge them, so that no places in Lancashire teams are achieved without hard work and good play. The lack of high standard girls is not just an issue at the older age groups - it is happening at all ages in the county at present. We risk being left out in the cold for some time to come unless we can manage to buck the trend and soon.

Dave Miller

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U14 Yorkshire Team Tournament
7th May 2006

The Yorkshire U14 Team Tournament consisted of eight counties, split into two groups of four for the first round.  Lancashire were drawn with Leicestershire, Yorkshire 2 and Lothian.  The first match was against Leicestershire.  Philip started the ball rolling winning his singles against Peter Briggs.  Danya came very close to taking the girls singles, but, after a slow start, could not quite secure the game, losing 21-16.  Becky & Lizzie and Abigail & Sarah won both girls doubles with ease.  In the mixed doubles, Nikkita Cowburn, playing in her first county match, played with Michael Johnston, securing a 21-17 win making the match result 6-1.

In the second match we played Yorkshire 2.  Lancashire had a clean sweep winning 7-0.  The third and final match in round one was against Lothian.  Both singles went to Lothian, but in the boys doubles Philip & Michael and Kristian & Tom managed to pull off the only wins in the match, making Lothian 5-2 winners.

The top two teams from both boxes went into the final round to contest 1st to 4th places.  The qualifying teams were Lothian, Lancashire, Yorkshire 1 and Cheshire.  With the result from the first round carried forwards, we had two matches left.  First up was Yorkshire 1.  Kristian won the singles in convincing style.  Robbie & Tom played the most outstanding doubles that must have been the performance of the day to take the second boys doubles 21-18.  With Lancashire also winning the first boys doubles we couldn’t match their girls and ended with a 4-3 defeat.

The final match was against Cheshire ... a win here would secure a 3rd place finish.  The team selection was discussed at length to try to second guess Cheshire’s tactics.  We decided that Cheshire would throw the singles by not playing Matt Nottingham or Richard Bergh.  So we decided to also leave Philip & Kristian out of the singles and play Tom who we hoped would take the singles.  We were not disappointed.  Tom took a superb victory over Robert Herriott.  In the girls singles, Danya played her best game of the day to win 21-12.  The boys doubles were next and with Philip & Michael and Kristian & Robbie taking both games 21-18 & 21-17, the match had been secured.  But we weren’t satisfied with that!  Becky & Lizzie played 1st doubles and pulled off a great win over Cheshire’s strongest pair 21-15.  John-Gareth & Sarah Kenny also got on the winning list by taking a fantastic mixed doubles 21-12 over the very competent Richard Bergh & partner.  Final result was 6-1 to Lancashire.

The day ended with the presentation of medals to the top three teams.  In my view this was the best performance of the season from the Lancashire players and was extremely pleasing to see every singles player giving 100 percent.  Many thanks to all the parents for their support.

Steve Aspinall

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U15 Shires League Finals
23rd April 2006

The Shires League Finals were held at Babington College in Leicester on 23rd April, where eight qualifying teams played off for positions.  The first round match was crucial as this determined a top or bottom half finish.  The first round was drawn at random and Lancashire was to play Avon.  On paper, it looked as if we had a good chance.  First game on was singles where Philip got the team off to a good start by beating Chris Coles 21-12.  The next five games all went in Avon’s favour, who looked to be a much improved side from 12 months ago.  Kristian & Philip took the first boys doubles, Becky & Lizzie won the second girls doubles which meant the final result ended 7-3 to Avon.

In the second round we needed to secure a win to guarantee a 5th or 6th place finish.  In this round we were drawn against Nottinghamshire.  After a much needed motivational talk by Dave Miller, the team looked much more up for the challenge.  The match started with the mixed doubles, again both games going in favour of Notts.  Next on were the boy’s singles where both Philip and Danny took well deserved wins.  In the girls singles Nicola had to play Jess Tandy and Lizzie had to play Jess Martin.  Despite putting up a good fight both games went to Nottinghamshire.  Jack McKay & Michael Johnston played superbly to take the second boys doubles and with Lancs also winning the first boys, the match score now stood at 4-4.  With just the two girl’s doubles to play, Emily & Steph couldn’t quite match Notts, so it was all down to the last game.  After a quick check on points, Becky & Lizzie had the almost impossible task of taking the last game to 21-3 to guarantee a win.  As the game got under way, the girls edged ever closer to victory, and with the score on 20-3 the team were on the edge of their seats.  At the last attempt, Notts got the serve back and pinched two more points giving a two point victory to Nottinghamshire.

The third and final match was to contest 7th & 8th place, against Essex.  Again the match started with both mixed doubles going in the opposition’s favour.  In the singles Nicola battled hard to take the first girls singles and with both boys also winning the singles we were back level at 3 games all.  Despite some close games we only managed to take one more game making the final result 6-4 to Essex.

Despite a disappointing 8th place finish, the team can be proud with the fact that they qualified for the finals and in reality were 8th out of  30+ counties who started in the competition.  Well done to all the players and thanks to Dave and the rest of the parents.

Steve Aspinall (U15 Team Manager)

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Inter Counties Tournament 2006
16th April 2006

 Thirty eight teams entered the U17 Inter Counties Tournament (ICT) this year at Nottingham University, from 10^th - 13^th April 2006.  Teams play ten or eleven matches of ten games each (two games in each discipline) with counties progressing through three groups to determine their overall position at the end of the four days.

In their first group Lancashire drew Avon, Suffolk, Glamorgan and Shropshire, needing two wins to guarantee progression into the top half for their second round of matches.

Avon was a tough opener: Chris Coles is a talented young singles player and the girls strong enough.  In the event it was first girls doubles that swung the tie, as Kirstin & Emily beat Jennifer Cross & Emily White 21-18, keeping their cool after a debated line call at 18-all.  That took the match to 4-3 in Lancs’ favour, leaving Gary & Ross and “secret weapons” Chris & Tom to sweep up the last two games required for a 6-4 win.

Suffolk came next, a match which looked on paper to be well within our reach.  And so it proved, as Gary & Kirstin won at first mixed and the four singles players, Ross, Michael, Nicola and Steph, all had convincing singles wins.  The match was already won at 6-1 before we let the last three games slip away, leaving Lancs on top 6-4.

Glamorgan looked a tough proposition, with players of the class of Phil Godfrey, Oliver Hartery, Kelly Blake and Nicole Walkley.  Gary & Kirstin put up a great fight against Oliver & Nicole, holding them at 15-all before the game got away 15-21.  Second mixed went against us, before Ross went into a titanic battle with Phil and Michael likewise with Craig Walkley.  Both matches were on court for a long time, being played like games of chess on legs, before Michael pulled up with cramp with the score 16-12 in favour.  He got up to take the next two points before having to retire injured.  Ross then completed his epic with a 21-17 score in his favour.  Match score 3-1 down ... the team needed something from the girls.  Nicola played a blinder, coming from 0-7 down to win 21-8; Steph then followed suit, saving two game points before winning the closest match of the day 21-20.  With the boys winning their doubles well the score sat at 5-3.  Kirstin & Emily played terrific badminton to hold Kelly & Nicole at 15-all before losing out, but Nicola & Holly wrapped up the match with a solid 21-6 win at second levels.  Match score 6-4.

The team ended day 1 on a real high and, after refuelling at the chippy, arrived back at their accommodation after 11pm, before dutifully heading off to bed (!!) ready for their first match on Tuesday at 9am.  This match saw the team wrap up their group with 4 wins from 4, as they beat a Shropshire team looking for their first win by 8-2.  It might have been more but for the strange ranking of the two Shropshire girls levels pairs, leaving what appeared to be their best two girls at second levels.

So onto round two, with Lancashire placed in the top half of the draw with two group winners, Staffordshire and Yorkshire, and two runners-up, Leicestershire and Leinster.

Michael was still a bit jaded from his epic singles and resulting cramp on the first day, so Chris and Tom followed up their Shropshire singles with a further test.  Gary & Kirstin got the team off to a flyer with a stunning 21-13 win against Joe Mathers & Emma Woolley, though Ross & Emily could not quite get the better of Ryan Bloor & Joanne White.  With Staff’s strength in depth in the girls and no joy in the boys singles, the team found themselves 1-5 down with the levels to play.  Gary & Michael then played one of the team’s best levels of the week as they notched up a great 21-20 win over Darren Chesworth & Joe Mathers.  Despite a good 21-10 win at second levels by Kirstin & Holly the match was just beyond the team, losing by a close 4-6.

The team then went into back-to-back matches on Tuesday evening against Leicestershire and Yorkshire.  Hopes were high against Leicestershire, though were dented when both mixed got away to 14 and 16.  The boys took their singles but Vinita Bhakta and a much-improved Chelsey White took both girls singles with a bit to spare.  Nayan Patel & Avinash Chandarana offered a very strong second string to the Leicestershire boys and, with this and the two girls doubles going to the Leicestershire pairs, the match was lost 3-7.

Having seemed a bit flat in the first match of the evening the team were in need of a boost, but with Yorkshire to come (who were yet to drop a single game) the signs were not good.  But cometh the hour for players to stand up and be counted!  Ross had given some hope when he came off after the Leicestershire match to inform his colleagues “I was awesome, put me in the singles against Yorkshire.”  And he made his racket do the talking.  He played Richard Morris and Michael was pitted against Ian Mercer.  Both games drew out into games of cat and mouse, with scores edging up towards the critical stages.  Michael was in trouble at 19-11 when Ian showed signs of cramp.  Ian is a talented player and most opponents could not have exploited what seemed like a minimal change in his movement on court, but Michael edged his way back point by point, saving several services from Ian before wrapping up a very tight game 21-19.  Ross had an equally tight finish but finally edged Richard out 21-17 with a string of “awesome” points.  Ross’ high lasted some time and it was certainly well deserved.  Ian had to pull out of his levels, giving a final score of 3-7 to Yorkshire and a good finish to a tough day.

So into Wednesday and the last match in round 2 with an encounter against Leinster.  The team was very positive from the start and Gary & Kirstin once again showed how accomplished their partnership has become, as they beat a very strong pair of Mark Donnelly & Joanne Flanagan 21-10.  Nicola played really well against Joanne at first singles but she just lost 16-21.  Ross continued his top form against Mark (21-11) and Chris & Tom gained a solid win at second levels.  The match just escaped the team 4-6.  Four good matches and 14 games won wasn’t enough to avoid last spot in the group, leaving the players to battle out 17^th - 20^th spot in their final group, with matches against the Isle of Man, Glamorgan (again) and Avon (again)!

In the first match against Glamorgan, Steph had a classic 21-20 win against Kiri Evans but, having played herself back to true form, she had little trouble second time round with a 21-10 win on this occasion.  This followed another excellent win at first for Gary & Kirstin 21-3 and a narrow 20-21 loss for Ross & Emily at second.  Glamorgan were unlucky in the boys as Phil Godfrey had picked up an arm injury and was not playing.  This left the door open for Michael to take first boys 21-13 and Chris to bank second 21-14.  Nicola again beat Helen Sanders, then when Gary & Ross won comfortably at first levels and Glamorgan had another injury leaving Chris & Tom with their second walk-over of the week, the tie could not be lost.  Final match result 8-2.

Against Avon the team wanted a strong win in the mixed, knowing that some of the later games in the first encounter had been very close in our favour.  Gary & Kirstin were showing signs of tiredness and slipped behind, whilst Ross & Emily produced perhaps our best second mixed of the week winning 21-3.  Gary & Kirstin worked hard to regain the initiative and took a really close game 21-18.  Ross was back in the singles, winning to 8, whilst Michael was showing his best form, winning his rematch with Chris Coles 21-9.  The Avon girls were too strong in the singles, leaving the match at 4-2 before the level doubles.  Some Avon tactical changes had tightened up their levels and when Gary & Michael went 0-9 down the tie suddenly looked very close and points might be crucial in the event of a 5-5 draw.  The boys battled their way back to a 21-17 win, whilst Nicola & Holly grabbed crucial points at second girls going down to 9.  As Chris & Tom and Kirstin & Emily went behind early on the team knew they needed 27 points from these two games to win in a 5-5 draw.  Every point was received with deafening cheers and both pairs gave their all to secure every point.  As Chris & Tom finished with a late flurry of points, losing 18-21, Kirstin & Emily changed ends 5-11 down, being told they needed 6 more points (actually only 4!).  Point by point they pulled the game back and finally grabbed the last points needed for a nail biting 13-21 loss, but match win 5 (165 points) to 5 (160).  Next time any of our players play in a local league and the opposition ask for silence off court, they will wonder why badminton has to be played in a library-like atmosphere!

So to the disco!  The great finish to the badminton day, no injuries and a great team spirit, left the team ready to unwind in the evening.  Hair straighteners, trendy outfits and Michael dancing on he tables (we hear)!  The Lancashire players deserved their evening’s entertainment, whilst at the same time making life easy for their manager, Dave, and assistants Belinda and Amanda.

It might have been hard to raise their game for the final match on Thursday morning after the gruelling schedule of the first three days, but when Gary & Kirstin got warmed up and wiped out an early deficit, they led the team from the front in their final mixed as an ICT pair, winning 21-14, followed by Chris & Holly with a convincing 21-11 win.  Wins in three of the four singles took the team’s games tally to 5, then Gary & Ross rushed to victory 21-4, followed by Chris & Tom in their last ICT game with a faultless 21-0 win.  Shared games in the girls doubles gave Lancashire an 8-2 win, victory in their group and an overall ICT placing of 17^th.

The result was the same as 2005, but the important factor at ICT is not the result but the manner of its achievement.  The team was a pleasure to work with, their attitude on and off court exemplary.  Gary and Kirstin captained the team, ensuring the county’s reputation for sportsmanship with words of thanks to the opposing teams after each match.  The atmosphere was electric, the support from players, parents and our friendly neighbours Cheshire very welcome.  Lancashire were as noisy as any county!  Thank you to Belinda for arranging and driving the team mini-bus, and thank you to Amanda Barrett for sharing her experience from prior ICTs and supporting the team through their eleven matches.  Yorkshire won the event 6-4 over Hertfordshire, but the real winners were all the players who shared the fun and excitement that make the ICT the best badminton junior team event on the calendar.  Lancashire has seven of its ten players available for selection next year and there are others coming through the system who will challenge for places, but the celebration right now is with the ten players that made Lancashire’s 2006 ICT a week to remember.

U17 ICT Team - names in order of 1st picture Back: Amanda Barrett (Assistant Manager), Michael Mellor, Ross Little, Tom Dickinson, Chris Brown, Gary Fox, Dave Miller (Manager) Front: Holly Richards, Nicola Poole, Emily Miller, Kirstin Miller, Stephanie James

Click here to view an amazing clip showing the cat-like reflexes of one of our players!

Results summary:

Dave Miller

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U15 Team Challenge Final
2nd April 2006

How close to the top, but 7^th on the day was a great achievement for Lancashire’s under 15s in the national Team Challenge finals, played in Luton on 2^nd April 2006.

The teams split into two groups of six for the first part of the day, with the top two qualifying for a 1-4 play-off, the next two in each group playing for 5-8 and the fifth and sixth competing for places 9-12.  In the first match the team played Bucks and recorded a 4-3 win.  They followed this with a desperately close match against Essex.  After the two singles and two levels the team trailed 1-3: Nicola had an excellent win in the singles and the boys levels slipped away 14-15.  The three mixed games then got away, as Essex recorded the narrowest 3-4 win.

The team then required good wins in their matches against Kent and Notts, as Essex had lost to Notts and a tied league position could send a team through on a games count back.  They first beat Kent by a resounding 6-1, then everyone played an outstanding match against Notts as they again notched up a 6-1 win.  Emily and Steph had a resounding 15-5 win against the top Notts pair.

In the final group match the team knew they needed games against group favourites Hampshire and had to hope Kent took games off Essex.  Though Danny and Emily and Philip and Nicola had good wins at 2^nd and 3^rd mixed, the final 2-5 defeat did not reflect the effort and ability shown on court.  Essex beat Kent 6-1, leaving our players 2 games shy (for the second year in succession) of a top four finish.

The margins are always tight in these matches: had Lancs reversed the 3-4 result against Essex the team could have contested for places 1-4 instead of 5-7.  The miss knocked a bit out of the players and the final two matches went a bit flat, with losses to Cheshire and Avon.  But their performances in the matches against Kent, Notts and Hampshire showed how very talented the group is and how, in the next three years, the players will grace many a junior tournament to come.

Thanks to all the supporters and a big thank you to Steve Aspinall, who not only looked after the team on the day, but who put in many hours over the season for the team.

The event was won by Yorkshire, with Herts second, Leicestershire third and Essex 4^th.  Next stop the Shires final, after their comfortable 15-5 win over Staffs the day before: Lizzy Balmforth and Michael Johnston played in this match.

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Under 14 North Midway Success
5th March 2006

The Lancashire team in the second leg of the North Midway tournament at Rotherham proved that they were by far the best team there, winning a total of 42 games from a total of 50 played.  In the morning session they defeated Durham 9-1, Yorkshire "B" 9-1 and our friendly rivals from Cheshire 7-3.  The players took turns in playing the singles matches and they swapped around as doubles partners to make this a real team effort.  In the afternoon session they took on an unbeaten Yorkshire "A" and beat them soundly 7-3.  A final 10-0 win against Warwickshire rounded off an excellent experience for all of the squad.

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U17 'RIO'
21st & 22nd January 2006

It’s been all change in the U17s this year for Lancashire, with 9 of the 10 players at last year’s ICT tournament too old for U17 consideration this time round.  So there are a number of new faces in the age group and, looking at the RIO team, a young squad that will be competitive this year and, for many, in years to come.

The two day event started abruptly when a phone call at 7.10 a.m. said that Ross Little had been taken ill and could not play.  The benefit of selecting a reserve showed, as a phone call to the Byrne household at 7.15 a.m. was not too much of a shock.  Alex was up and on the road with us soon after 8 and the team duly assembled for their 10 a.m. start.

RIO stands for Railway Institute Octagonal, giving away that this is an 8 team even!  On Saturday two groups of four play each other, with the top and bottom two splitting to meet on Sunday.  Lancashire got a tough draw, first facing Lothian, one of Scotland’s strongest teams, followed by Yorkshire, England’s best.  But it gave the players a chance to acclimatise and for us to test a couple of pairs.

Alex Byrne and Abigail were up for the challenge, as they won 21-18 against the Lothian 3rd mixed.  Others came close but couldn’t quite get over the finishing line.  Chris went down 16-21 in a good 2nd singles; Steph lost 18-21 at 3rd singles; Alex & Alex lost an epic 3rd levels 20-21; and Kirstin and Steph lost a very good game 19-21 at 2nd levels.  Final score 14-1 to Lothian.

Yorkshire was a tough follow up match and the fact that only 3 of our players got into double figures showed how dominant they are at this level.  One game of real note, though, was Alex DuNoyer’s game against Mark Middleton.  No one told Alex that Mark was ranked 2 nationally at singles (U15) and Alex ran the game close, going down 16-21.

The third and final match on the Saturday against Surrey gave the team the opportunity to set up a winning start for the second group, as the result carried forward.  The two teams were evenly matched, as the final scores to each team would show – 269 to 268 to Lancs.  The difference was in the ability to win close games!  Six times the losing player or pair scored 18, 19 or 20 points – five times the losing player or pair was from Surrey.  After 3 excellent wins in the mixed, Michael then played probably the best game of singles he has played for the county to date, beating highly ranked James Buffham 21-20.  Chris almost did the same to Sam Phillips, but the game went the other way 20-21.  The next 3 games went against us, leaving the match at 4-4.  Steph then gave her all and showed that, despite not loving singles, she is good at it, beating Rachel Daw 21-18.  The doubles then saw the players produce their best badminton, with Gary & Michael convincingly winning at 1st, Tom & Chris finishing strongly to win 21-18, and Alex & Alex striding confidently in 21-16.  The new pair of Kirstin & Nicola didn’t get off the ground, but the tried and trusted pair of Emily & Steph won a tough game 21-19, before Holly and Abigail wrapped the match up with a 21-18 win.  A 10-5 win to Lancashire.

The evening had the potential to be a bit hit and miss this year, as the regular hotel was unavailable, leaving the players at The Racecourse Centre (a sort of Youth Hostel with catering) and an evening disco a mile and a half away at a working men’s club.  But the opposite was true (as the photos show) with the players coming together as a very sociable group, with the highlight being nearly every player sitting on the dance floor rowing to the ‘rowing song’ (anyone know the name?!).

If we thought the players would be tired on Sunday it didn’t show on court, as the players beat Leicestershire comfortably 14-1.  Gary & Kirstin had an excellent 1st mixed, winning 21-17, which Kirstin then followed up well at 1st levels with sister Emily, taking a tight game 21-19.  Nicola made up for an unsuccessful and very tough Saturday, with a crushing 21-0 win in the singles, followed by a win at 2nd levels with Steph 21-15.  Tom played a very accomplished game of singles at 2nd, winning 21-15.

The final match against Warwickshire was, on paper, going to be close, and with the score at 1-1 after the first two mixed a close encounter looked likely.  Alex Byrne & Abi then took 3rd mixed, before the six singles players demolished the Warwicks line-up, giving away only 36 points (an average of 6 a game) to take the match score to a winning 8-1.  In the levels Chris & Tom summed up the team’s overall performance as they changed ends 4-11 down, then playing superb badminton to rush to a 21-13 win against a decent pair of Matthew De Jesus & Thomas Love.  Nicola & Emily then did similar, on the edge of defeat at 8-19 against Fontaine Chapman and Kiera Mason at 1st levels, before staging a great comeback to win 21-20.  Final score 13-2 to Lancs.

U17 RIO Team - names in order of 4th picture (Back) Alex DuNoyer, Chris Brown, Tom Dickinson, Alex Byrne, Michael Mellor, Gary Fox (Front) Nicola Poole, Holly Richards, Abigail South, Emily Miller, Kirstin Miller, Steph Hall

This was a very entertaining event, with players and parents contributing to a successful weekend for Lancashire.  The team came 5th overall in a high grade tournament, but as importantly they gelled together as a team.  Thank you to Gillian Mellor for helping to look after the team, including staying at The Racecourse Centre to assist with care and management, and thanks to Yorkshire who, year after year, put on a very successful RIO for huge numbers of players.  Thanks and well done to everyone.

Dave Miller
U17 Team Manager

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U17 Shires Latest
27th November 2005

The Under 17s Shires campaign is well under way, with 4 of the 7 matches played.  And the team's hopes of qualifying, as one of the top two in the league, are still on, with only one match lost, to favourites Yorkshire 1.

After their win against Derbyshire (see below) the team travelled to Yorkshire on 6th November, where they were dispatched 0-20 by an excellent opposition.  Yorkshire are full of top players, but it is nice to note that there is little evidence of arrogance amongst their players.  Well played Raychel Dawes on a very tough introduction to Shires matches!  The Lancs team was: Michael Mellor, Ross Little, Chris Brown, Gary Fox, Holly Richards, Kirstin Miller, Abigail South and Raychel Dawes.

On 20th November Lancs played at Tarleton against Staffordshire, always one of our closest matches in any age group.  And so it proved this time, with the result hanging in the balance until the final game.  Playing the singles first, the boys finished 2-2 with Ross Little and Gary Fox notching up wins, whilst the girls fought out some real epics, with Nicola Poole taking Joanne White to 3 before losing, Emily Miller missing out 10-13 (with a pause for a debate on ladies singles setting - to 12 or 13?), 9-11 to Faye Inskip, and Kirstin Miller testing her fitness against a younger Emma Jackson, finally winning 3-11, 11-3, 11-8.  3-5 down after the singles.  The mixed swung the match back to Lancs, with Gary Fox & Kirstin Miller, Michael Mellor & Steph James, and Ross Little & Nicola Poole all winning.  Score 6-6.

The level doubles produced some really close encounters, with our boys pairs both beating the Staffs second pair but losing to the first pair.  In the girls Kirstin & Emily Miller came from match point down to clinch a win against White & Inskip 8-15, 17-16, 15-13.  Meanwhile Nicola Poole & Steph James narrowly lost in 3 to the Jackson sisters, April and Emma.  In the cross over the Millers won comfortably against the Jacksons, whilst Nicola & Steph put up a terrific battle against the Staffs first pair, eventually going down in 3 games.  Final result, 10-10.  One league point each and all to play for in the rest of the Shires season.  The team was: Michael Mellor, Ross Little, Chris Brown, Gary Fox, Nicola Poole, Steph James, Emily Miller, Kirstin Miller.

On 27th November the team entertained Shropshire at Hope University, Liverpool.  Debut Shires player Jack Mitchell played an outstanding match, winning all 4 of his events in straight games, including a terrific 15-5, 15-6 win with Tom Dickinson against the first Shropshire pair of Tom Lees & Stuart Preston.  Emily Miller played well in her singles, beating Sarah Turner 13-10, 11-5.  Abigail South looks better each match she plays.  Amanda Rawlings, top Shropshire girl, took 3 of her 4 events, though these were to be her team's only successes, as Lancashire recorded a solid 17-3 win.  The team was: Chris Brown, Gary Fox, Tom Dickinson, Jack Mitchell, Steph James, Emily Miller, Kirstin Miller and Abigail South.

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U13 & U15 Team Challenge
26th November 2005

Lancashire had mixed success in the Team Challenge Qualifiers at Macclesfield Leisure Centre.  The U15s were favourites in their event and proved the point with wins against Derbyshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cumbria and Cheshire.  Only Cheshire took more than one game off the team, with Lancs winning 5-2.  Well done to the team of Philip Aspinall, Daniel Wolfenden, Kristian Byrne, Jack McKay, Nicola Poole, Emily Miller, Stephanie Hall and Becky Hurst.  They go to the national final on 2nd April 2006.

The Under 13s did not fair quite so well, with the team missing out with losses against a very strong Cheshire team and Staffordshire.  There were some good performances by the team, led by Tom Wolfenden and Danya Lewis, with players like Sam Moss, Sam Clucas and Emma Karsten gaining valuable experience.  A number of key players were not available on the day.

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U14 North Midway League
16th October 2005

The Lancashire U14 team played the first round of the North Midway League in Rotherham and proved that they were as good as any other team there, including Yorkshire.  In the morning session they ended at the top of their group of 3 teams, defeating Northumberland 10-0 and Lincolnshire 9-1.  In the afternoon session, they took on Durham first and proved too strong for them, winning 6-4, before meeting unbeaten Yorkshire in the final game.  It was tough and it was tight, but after a mighty scrap Lancashire came away with a narrow 6-4 victory.

The whole team played well, including Richard Walker in his first match for the county.

	Lancashire U14 Team Back: Lizzie Balmforth, Abigail Kay, Becky Hurst, Sarah Kenny Front: Richard Walker, James Abdous, Johnny Phillips, Tom Wolfenden

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U15 Shires Vs Derbyshire
9th October 2005

Lancashire’s U15 Shires team kicked off the season with a convincing win over Derbyshire.  The match started with easy wins in all four mixed doubles, none of the pairs letting Derbyshire reach double figures.  A similar story was seen in the boy’s singles with only 14 points dropped over the eight games, Jack McKay winning both his games 15-0.

The girl’s singles, however, was a different story.  Despite working hard, Lizzie Balmforth found it tough going against a very good Leah Kellogg.  Emily Miller battled through her first game taking it 12-11 and then went on to win the second 11-5.  Steph Hall and Becky Hurst both had convincing wins.

All the level doubles were relatively easy with all matches won in two games.  An excellent start to the season but beware, it can only get harder!! Next up Yorkshire 1 & 2.

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U13 Shires Match v Derbyshire
25th September 2005

The Lancashire Under 13 team played the first of 5 Shires League group matches away v Derbyshire.  Tom Wolfenden and Annabel Leather were both unavailable and therefore none of the 8 Lancashire players selected had played in the Shires League before this match.

Nevertheless, Lancashire got off to a flying start by winning all 4 of the Mixed Doubles, although our top pairing of Matthew Wright & Danya Lewis had to fight back from losing the first game against a strong Derbyshire pair.  In the Boys Singles, all 4 Lancashire boys crushed their opponents, with Robbie McDonald (No.1), Matthew Wright (2), Peter Athans (3) and Sam Clucas (4) all winning in straight games.  In the Girls Singles, Caroline Dawid-Paluch (No.2) and Emma Karsten (4), who was making her Lancashire debut, both won comfortably.  Danya (1) had to cope with a broken racquet and was beaten by a strong opponent.  Rebecca Mayers (3) had to cope with a prolonged nose-bleed during the middle of her match and fought bravely but in vain.  Each county won 2 matches.

The match score was 10-2 to Lancashire as the Level Doubles matches began and it was not long before Matthew & Peter secured the winning point.  Robbie & Sam came from 4-14 down to steal their first game 17-14 against the top Derbyshire pairing.  Our boys went on to win all 4 matches, with the Lancashire boys therefore unbeaten throughout the day.  Honours were again even in the Girls Doubles, although Danya & Caroline squeezed through the closest match of the day, winning 13-15, 15-11, 15-7.

Final match score 16-4 to Lancashire.  Well done to all who played and we can look forward with confidence to our next Shires League match at home (in Liverpool) v Staffordshire on Sunday 11^th December.

Match report by Steve Athans (Lancashire U13 Team Manager)

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U17 Shires Match v Derbyshire
25th September 2005

In the U17s first match of the season Lancashire secured a very creditable 15-5 win.  This is the start of the Shires League, in which the team will meet tougher opponents, but this was a solid start indeed.  Gary Fox & Kirstin Miller were very convincing at first Mixed, giving away only 5 points.  Michael Mellor & Emily Miller lost a close match 13-15 in the third, providing a reminder perhaps that we can take no opponents for granted, as less strong counties see a match against Lancashire as their chance to shine.  Tom Dickinson & Holly Richards gave only one point away at third, whilst Chris Brown & Nicola Poole also had a convincing win at 4, leaving the team 3-1 up after the mixed.

In the Singles the boys took all the spoils, though Tom was stretched at third before taking the deciding game to 8.  Holly (3) and Kirstin (4) won good singles games, whilst Nicola (1) and Emily (2) lost against two decent opponents - Emily meeting a rapidly improving Leah Kellogg.

The boys showed their strength again, winning all 4 Level Doubles, whilst the girls shared results in their games, with Kirstin & Emily and Nicola & Holly beating the Derbyshire second pair but losing out to the first pair of Leah Kellogg & Janine Hichie.

This was a very solid start to the season, with all the players showing that they can (and want to) perform for the county - leaving U17 selection as a tricky proposition with so many players in the frame for team places.  Well played everyone.

Match report by Dave Miller (Lancashire U17 Team Manager)

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Lancashire Restricted Tournaments
20th September 2005

Thank you to the huge numbers that played in the Lancashire Restricted events on Sunday 18th September, at the eleventh hour venue change of the Kirkby Ball Hall, Liverpool.  Players and spectators were very patient with activities running for nearly 9 hours and the U17 Mixed Doubles still at the semi-final stage, to be played on 2nd October when the U15 event is played.

U17

A thrilling boys singles saw Michael Mellor edge out Ross Little 21-16 in the final, after no fewer than 8 groups had battled things out for several hours.  Danny Wolfenden ran Tom Dickinson close in the quarters, before going down 17-21; Philip Aspinall played well to beat Chris Brown 21-17 also in the quarters; whilst Richard Dundas played well against Michael losing out 15-21.  Of the non-qualifiers from the groups notable performances came from Adam Pickles, Jonathan Bradley and Lee Clayton.

The girls singles went to Stephanie James as she used her speed and never-say-die attitude to grab her semi-final from Nicola Poole, 21-19, and then overcame Holly Richards in the final 21-11.  Stephanie is playing at her best again, an encouraging sign for Lancashire in the coming season.  Other performances to note were Becky Hurst, just losing 16-21 to Nicola; Abigail South, beating Becky Hurst 21-18; Kirstin Miller, beating Stephanie Hall and Lucinda Wing to win her group; and Holly Richards in getting to the final.  Gemma Wilkinson and Raychel Dawes also impressed.

The level doubles went to Kirstin & Emily Miller in the girls, playing well as a pair to win the final 21-7 against Stephanie James & Nicola Poole.  Raychel Dawes & Abigail South again impressed.  In the boys, Gary Fox & Philip Aspinall were a cut above the rest as they kept their opponents at 11 points or less all day, winning the final 21-11 against Alex Byrne & Daniel Wolfenden.  Alex and Daniel played a superb semi-final (and possibly the game of the day) as they completed a semi-final win 21-20 over Tom Dickinson & Chris Brown.  Other impressive performances came from Adam Pickles & Alex DuNoyer; Kye Dorricott & Oliver Gyte; and Lee Clayton & Adam Sharples.

The mixed doubles semi-finals and final were carried over to 2nd October, which saw Chris Brown & Holly Richards beat Gary Fox & Kirstin Miller in the final.

All U17 results can be viewed by clicking here.

U15

The U15s played on 2nd October and the favourites in the singles events produced the goods on the day.  Philip Aspinall didn't drop a point in his qualifying group and went on to beat Danny Wolfenden in the final 21-11.  Kristian Byrne and Jack McKay lost at the semi final stage.  In the girls, Nicola Poole continued to dominate as she gave no more than 6 points a game away until the final, when she beat Lizzie Balmforth 21-12.  Lizzie played extremely well in the semi-final, coming from behind to beat Emily Miller 21-20.  Steph Hall also made the semi.

In the boys doubles Philip Aspinall & Kristian Byrne were never troubled, conceding no more than 4 points in any game.  They won the final 15-4 against Michael Johnston and Jack McKay.  Losing semi-finalists were James Abdous & Robbie McDonald and Danny & Tom Wolfenden.  Luke Ormerod & John-Gareth Phillips played well on the day, just losing to the Wolfenden brothers in their group match 17-21, then narrowly losing their quarter-final to James & Robbie 16-21.

The girls doubles had just four pairs, but the match of the event was the final event between Emily Miller & Steph Hall and Nicola Poole & Lizzie Balmforth, with Emily & Steph taking it by the narrowest margin 21-20.  Becky Hurst & Rachel Wallbank came third.

To the mixed and  Philip Aspinall completed a clean sweep of event wins, as he and partner, Becky Hurst, beat Kristian Byrne & Steph Hall 15-11 in the semi-final and then took the final 15-12 against Jack McKay & Nicola Poole.  Jack & Nicola produced some of the best results of the event, with a 15-13 win in their quarter-final against Michael Johnston & Lizzie Balmforth, followed by a 15-10 win in the semi against Danny Wolfenden & Emily Miller.  Andrew Owen & Rachel Wallbank impressed from the other pairs in the event.

Finally, the Sports Person awards for the day went to Luke Ormerod and Rachel Wallbank.

U13

In the U13s the boys singles was the showpiece event, with all the top players competing.  The group stages produced some good games, with Tom Vinden having the nearest miss in his box, going down 19-21 to Matthew Tolman.  Peter Athans and Matthew lost respectively in the semi finals to Robbie McDonald and Tom Wolfenden, leaving Robbie to play the game of the day against Tom, winning the final 21-11.  The Boys Doubles started in two groups, with Peter Athans & Matthem Tolman, and Sam Clucas & Sam Moss impressing.  The awards went to Robbie McDonald & Tom Wolfenden who looked unbeatable, leaving Tom Vinden & Matthew Wright to take a well deserved runners-up spot.

The girls were low in numbers, but that didn't stop Danya Lewis from taking the undisputed number one spot in the singles as she gave only 8 points away in winning her 4 games.  Emma Karsten took second place, recording a 15-10 win over Hannah Buckingham, so edging Hannah into 3rd place.  In the doubles, Danya Lewis & Sophie Ann Sharples were too strong on the day, beating Hannah Buckingham & Emma Karsten 21-3, and Rachel Choong & Amy Shovelton 21-5.  Rachel & Amy played well but just missed out to Hannah & Emma, who came runners-up.

The mixed doubles was won by Matthew Wright & Danya Lewis, showing their dominance by conceding no more than 2 points per game, thus giving Danya the clean sweep of winning all three events - well done.  Tom Wolfenden & Hannah Buckingham came runners-up, with Sam Clucas & Emma Karsten 3rd.  Well done to all the players.

All U13 results can be viewed by clicking here - scroll below the U17 results.

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Lancashire Take Share In Grand Finals
4th July 2005

The U13 & U15 2005 "Grand Finals" were held at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes on 28th May 2005.  The top six singles players and top four doubles and mixed doubles pairs were invited from each age group.  Lancashire featured strongly in the winning places:

In the Under 15’s Gary Fox won the Mixed Doubles title with Gabbi White of Yorkshire.

Philip Aspinall won the U13 singles title, he also finished runner up in the mixed doubles with partner Jessica Fletcher from Yorkshire.

Kristian Byrne won the U13 doubles title with partner Peter Briggs of Leicestershire.

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U13 Shires League Final
8th May 2005

The culmination of a successful season in the Shires League was the Shires League Finals in Leicester on the 8^th May 2005.  The finals were made up of eight teams, two from each of the four regions.  Despite being in the same regional area, Yorkshire and Lancashire were seeded 1 & 2.

The match format for the finals was 10 games (2 of each discipline).  The first match was against the number six seeds Middlesex.  The two mixed doubles were split - James & Sarah pulled off a great win 21-16.  Philip & Kristian took both the boys singles with Steph winning first girls singles.  Both the boys and girls doubles were split giving Lancashire a 6-4 victory in what proved to be a very close match.

Having won the first match we were playing for one of the top four places.  The second match was against Nottinghamshire.  Tom & Becky had a convincing win at first mixed.  Philip & Kristian again took both the singles with ease and Lizzie had a crucial win in her singles 21-18.  In the level doubles Philip & Kristian were the only winning pair which meant the match was level on games at 5-5.  Fortunately due to a 19 point advantage, Lancashire came out the winners.

The last match was against Yorkshire where we were playing for 1^st & 2^nd place.  Yorkshires strength in the girls meant we had to change the team in order to strengthen the mixed doubles.  Our most optimistic result was a 5-5 score on games which would mean a points win for one of the teams.  First games on were the mixed.  Philip & Becky had a terrific win 21-7 over Sarah Milne & Sam Wilson.  James and Steph had a tough game against Tom Mills & Laura Mercer.  In the boys singles Kristian had a convincing 21-5 win.  Tom played out of his skin to pull off an essential win 21-18 against Joe Cowling. Match score was now 3-1, all games going as expected!!

The two girls singles were always going to be difficult, both games went to Yorkshire making the match score 3-3.  Next on were the boys doubles, both games going easily in Lancashire’s favour - match score now 5-3 with a 6 points lead.  The last two games on were the girls doubles - with the strength of the Yorkshire girls we were in need something extra special to not drop more than 6 points in two games.  As expected Yorkshire won the doubles and gained a greater points advantage making Yorkshire U13 champions and Lancashire runners-up.

It was a terrific effort from all the team as usual.  Thanks to all the players and parents for a great day out.

Steve Aspinall

Lancashire U13 Team Back row: Sarah Kenny, Becky Hurst, Lizzie Balmforth, Stephanie Hall Front row: Kristian Byrne, Tom Wolfenden, Philip Aspinall, James Abdous

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U12 & Primary Schools Update
21st April 2005

North Midway Primary School Age Team Event - 30th January 2005

In the opening boys singles Peter improved on his previous result against George Li by beating him convincingly 15-3.  Overall Cheshire proved too strong for our very inexperienced team repeating November's 8-2 result.  Nevertheless Matthew & Serena, in their debuts, won a very exciting mixed doubles 15-14.

The Leicestershire team was different from our previous encounter, with the result going against us 3-7.  However our match against Yorkshire 1 was nerve racking.  With the two mixed doubles left to play the score was 4 all.  Tom & Caroline were narrowly beaten 13-15, so it was left to Andrew & Rachel to salvage a draw (no pressure!!).  They played like seasoned campaigners, beating the Yorkshire pair 15-5 to secure a draw and joint fourth place with both Yorkshire 1 and Leicestershire.  The top three placings were Nottinghamshire (winners), Warwickshire (2nd) and Cheshire (3rd).

Thanks to the parents for bringing their young players and for all their support.  Special thanks to Peter who was drafted in at the last minute.

North Midway U12 Team Event - 20th February 2005

Lancashire's first game against Nottinghamshire (the eventual overall winner) was not as one sided as the scores would indicate.  Matthew & Peter won our only game of the match, whilst the rest of the games provided a sequence of exciting games and rallies.  Following that disappointment the team showed their resiliance in the remaining matches in the group.

Yorkshire 1 were the unfortunate team to receive the backlash from the first match, beating them 8-2.  Durham also had no answer to our determination, losing out to us 9-1.  The final match in the group was against Cheshire.  It turned out to be a nail biting match.  With the score at 5-4 in our favour, in the final game Sam Moss & Rachel fought back from 2-9 down to 9-9, but exhaustion took its toll and the pair finally lost 9-15.  However the fight back helped to win the match on aces (points) 106-105.  Consequently the team were runners-up in the group.  The players then went on to beat Warwickshire to take third place on the day and third place overall for the two days combined.

Yorkshire 2 won on the day, with Nottinghamshire second.  Overall the winners were Nottinghamshire, with Yorkshire 2 coming second.

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U15 Shires Match v Derbyshire - 10th April 2005
11th April 2005

The U15s finished their regional qualifying group in the Shires League with a resounding 20-0 win against Derbyshire.  Lancashire rarely looked like dropping a game and were only taken to setting once in a clean sweep of 2-0 wins.  Richard Dundas at first singles, Guy Mullarkey at fourth singles, and Holly Richards & Steph James in the cross-over doubles, were given the toughest games, but all played well to come through unscathed.

Lancashire finish runners-up in their regional group (to Yorkshire) and head off to the final in Leicester on 15th May. 

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Inter Counties Tournament
4th April 2005

Lancashire U17s competed in the annual Inter Counties Tournament (ICT) at Nottingham University on 31st March - 3rd April, finishing a creditable 17th.  This is the biggest team event on the junior calendar run over four days, with each county playing 10 matches.

7 a.m. on Thursday 31st and I was already in the mini-bus heading down the M55 to pick up Tom Huggon - the first of the stops.  Luckily the journey was uneventful and we reached Nottingham at 10.30, checked into our rooms, had the team photo, the team talk, some lunch and then off to the first venue.

Our group contained Hampshire, Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Northumberland.  We knew that our first match against Gloucestershire was going to be a crucial one.  Darren and Paul had tough singles and Amanda and Laura won theirs to level us at 2-2.  The girls doubles were close but did not go our way, but Dave and Jamie won their boys doubles in convincing style with good attacking play.  The score was 5-3 against us with the 2 mixed to play.  Dave and Amanda won 21-14 and Paul and Charlotte fought hard but were just pipped at the post 21-20 giving Gloucs the win 6-4.

Leicestershire were next and Amanda and Laura got us off to a good start in the singles, followed by Darren.  Tom and Darren had a tremendous doubles, pulling it back from 11-0 down to win 21-19, and Dave and Jamie followed with a close 21-19 win.  The mixed doubles were both won by Lancs which gave us a 7-3 win overall.  Paul and Charlotte were settling down well as a pair with Charlotte’s tight net play complementing Paul’s control of the mid and rear court. Hampshire was a tough match and everyone rose to the challenge - but despite superb play from Tom and Darren and Dave and Amanda (who were playing the England No 1 U17 boy and No 3 U17 girl) both games were lost 21-20 and the match 10-0.

Saturday we were up bright and early to play our last group match against Northumberland which we won 9-1.  Leicestershire beat Gloucestershire, Hampshire won all their matches, Nothumberland lost all their matches.  This meant that Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Lancashire were all tied on 2 matches won and were fighting for places 2-4.  It was down to games.  Leics and Gloucs had 21 games each and Lancs had 20 - Leics won on points and were second in the group which meant they went into the top half of the draw.  We were pushed into 4th place - to fight for places 17-32. 

Our next group had Oxfordshire, Flintshire and Berkshire.  The Oxfordshire match was won 8-2 and it was time to face Flintshire.  Having won our Shires match against Flintshire 18-2 with 3 of our players missing I did not think we would have too much of a problem.  Wrong!  With the two girls doubles remaining the score was level at 4-4 in games and level in points.  Laura and Steph raced off into the lead and at the turn were 11-2 up.  Charlotte and Kirstin turned at 11-1 down.  Once everyone knew the situation whistles were blowing, hooters were sounding and every winning point got resounding cheers.  Scores went up and down.  Laura and Steph were winning 18-9 and looking set to finish the game off - Kirstin and Charlotte were 20-15 down but if they lost we would win on points.  Then the games started to change and the Flintshire 1st girls started to pull back - but so did Charlotte and Kirstin at 2nd girls with good attacking play.  Soon Charlotte and Kirstin were at 20-20 and won the match, closely followed by Laura and Steph with a 21-18 win.  Overall a 6-4 win.

Our last game in the group against Berkshire started well with wins from Dave and Amanda, Paul and Charlotte in the mixed, followed by convincing wins from Paul, Laura and Amanda in the singles.  Laura and Steph, Kirstin and Charlotte were going from strength to strength in the girls doubles and both won 21-6.  Dave and Jamie also won convincingly giving us a match score of 8-2.  Having won all our matches we won the group.

Saturday we started our final group with Lincolnshire, Shropshire and Gloucestershire (again!!).  We knew that the Lincolnshire girls were very strong but we hoped to pick up the 2 mixed and at least 3 of the boys events.  Dave and Amanda and Paul and Charlotte started off the match positively both winning well.  Laura fought a very hard game and, although she lost, gained us 13 valuable points as did Amanda with 17 points.  Paul wore his opponent down and had a good win to 14.   The boys doubles (Tom and Darren, Dave and Jamie) played tactical games and won well only giving the opposition 12 and 3 points respectively.  The girls doubles were tough but Laura and Steph gained 16 points and Charlotte and Kirstin 12.  The final score 5-5 but we won on points.

Shropshire boys were strong but we hoped to pick up the mixed and all the girls events - which we did giving us 6 games.  In addition Paul won an excellent singles 21-13.  In the boys doubles Darren and Tom started off aggressively against Tom Priestley and Simon Clifford and, after a very tight and exciting game, won 21-20.  A good win 8-2.  So on Sunday we had our final game - the rematch against Gloucs - for 17/18th place.  Unfortunately Darren was ill and unable to play so we had to change our team.  Jamie and Tom would play the singles.  Dave and Jamie would move to 1st boys doubles and Paul and Tom would play 2nd.  The girls would remain unchanged.  Dave and Amanda, Paul and Charlotte started the match well with positive wins.  Jamie had a tough game but managed to get us valuable points.  Tom totally destroyed his opposition with his casual style of play and accurate placement winning 21-7.  Laura replayed Emily Witham and won convincingly.  Amanda had a difficult match against Becky Jones but gained 19 valuable points.  After the boys doubles the score was 4-4 with just the girls doubles to play.  As in the Flintshire match we thought if we could win just 1 game we would win on points.  Charlotte and Kirstin attacked from the start and won convincingly 21-11.  Laura and Steph played exceptional badminton with few mistakes and finally won 21-20 in an exciting finish giving us a 6-4 win overall - giving us 17th place.

Of the 3 counties who tied in the first group, Leicestershire came 14th, Lancashire 17th and Gloucestershire 18th.  Well done everyone - there were outstanding performances from every member of the team.  You played well as a team and gave each other wonderful support.  Yorkshire won the event for the 7th year in succession, with Hertfordshire runners-up, Nottinghamshire 3rd and Buckinghamshire 4th.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

My thanks go to Tony Mordaunt for preparing the team so well, to Dave Miller for his continual support over the past 4 months, to the parents for all their support and encouragement and to all the talented and commited players without whom we would not have a county team.

Dorothy Barrett
Team Manager

	Lancashire ICT Team Laura Walsh, Tom Huggon, Steph Taylor, Darren Hosegood, Kirstin Miller, Paul Maguire, Charlotte Hall, Jaime Fairclough, Dave Kenny, Amanda Barrett
	Team captains Laura Walsh and Amanda Barrett present a thank you gift to Dorothy Barrett, Team Manager
	Back: Paul Maguire, Dave Kenny, Steph Taylor, Kirstin Miller, Amanda Barrett, Dave Miller (Assistant Team Manager), Charlotte Hall Front: Jaime Fairclough, Tom Huggon, Laura Walsh, Dorothy Barrett (Team Manager), Darren Hosegood

Click on the names in this sentence to read further ICT reports by Kirstin Miller (written for her sponsors) and Daniel Wright (Publicity Officer and prior Lancashire ICT player).  These are Microsoft Word files.

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Team Challenge 2005
20th March 2005

Under 15

Lancashire's under 15s played their biggest team event of the year on Sunday 13th March in Luton.  The Team Challenge Finals brought together the best 12 counties in the country after qualifying rounds in December (see story below, dated 20th December 2004).

Everyone had travelled down the night before, and it was worth having local knowledge as the Pizza Express in Harpenden was a great place to eat.  So, refreshed from a good night's sleep, we went straight into the action, first up against a Sussex side with some handy players.  In a format of 7 games there can be no draws, so getting to the magical 4 games is the objective.  Luke Thomson & Bronwyn Powell proved too strong for us at first mixed, but Ross & Emily pulled off a gritty 15-13 win at second.  Danny & Holly worked hard at third, but a really close game got away 12-15.  Ross then played Luke in the singles and could not find his form as Luke recorded a win that was untypical of Ross's normal high quality singles.  With Holly pitted against Bronwyn the games were lost, though we finished on a high with terrific wins in both level doubles.  Result: 4-3 to Sussex.

The team then showed their real talent against Essex, a group winner from the qualifiers.  Michael & Emily recorded a great win against a quality first mixed of Andrew Brunning and Rosie Hutton, winning 15-8.  With the other two mixed slipping away the singles and levels needed to redeem 3 games.  Danny played a valiant singles but went down 9-15 to Andrew.  Steph then played really well, taking her singles to 6.  Our formidable pair of Gary & Michael dispatched their levels pair to 7, then Emily & Nicola battled all the way and took their levels 15-12.  Result: 4-3 to Lancs.  With all teams in the group bar Yorkshire looking evenly matched, the battle was on for qualification to the top group.

Without Alyssa Lim, Bucks were not the team they threatened to be on paper, and the Lancs players were now in full flight, chalking up a deserved 6-1 win.  Michael enjoyed his best display as he notched up a 15-9 singles win against Xavier Bramley, then teamed up with Emily to grab first mixed 15-14 against Xavier and Munn-Tzin Bong.

Yorkshire, with a superb array of talent on court, recorded a 7-0 win against us, though Gary & Ross played one of the games of the day, losing 14-15 to Richard Morris & Chris Allen - a real epic!  Needing as many games as possible, given that Essex had done us a favour by beating Sussex 4-3, our final match in the group saw us notch up a 7-0 win against Dorset.  Steph had a titanic struggle in her singles, with intervention needed from the referee over the score and calming from the team manager, before coming out on top 15-11.  Our game chase was not quite enough, however, as Sussex recorded enough games against Bucks to give them second place in the group by virtue of two more games scored (tied on 3 matches each).  Lancs did, though, beat Essex by one game, Essex also tied on 3 matches.

This put us in the second group (for 5th-8th place) and, rather than tiring, the players showed their fitness and pushed Herts all the way.  All three mixed went to the same 15-13 score, with Lancs grabbing second through Ross & Holly, and third through Gary & Nicola.  Emily lost her only match of the day, playing at first with Michael.  Ross played James Reynolds in the singles and so nearly grabbed a great win, just missing out 13-15.  With Herts taking two of the other three games the match went their way 4-3.

The final match, against Kent, and a battle for 6th place, might have lacked meaning for some, but the players kept their best for last, recording an excellent 5-2 win.  Danny lost an epic singles to Toby Sweet 14-15, having been dead and buried at the turn.  And Steph played as if her life depended on it in the girls singles, grabbing a 15-13 win after trailing all the way.  So sixth result overall - not a bad achievement given the 30 other counties that started out at the qualifying stage.  There was no real difference between 3rd place and 8th place, as Sussex, whom Lancs had lost to so narrowly at the start of the day, finished 3rd overall to Yorkshire and Notts.  Well played team, and thanks to the parents for your support at all stages.

	Lancashire U15 Team Back: Ross Little, Michael Mellor, Gary Fox, Daniel Wolfenden Front:  Holly Richards, Emily Miller, Nicola Poole, Stephanie James
	Parents Back: Derek Wolfenden, Karen Wolfenden, Eileen Little, Tom Richards Front: Alistair Poole, Ernie Mellor, Dave Miller, Clive James (Anne Fox was camera shy so took the photo!)
	Winners Yorkshire Representatives Gabbi White and Daniel Shiels

Dave Miller
Team Manager

Under 13

In the U13 Team Challenge final on 12th March Lancashire recorded a phenomenal second place overall, just missing out to Yorkshire in the final group by 6 points in a tied match 3-3.

	Lancashire U13 Team Back: Philip Aspinall, Kristian Byrne, Tom Wolfenden, Michael Johnston Front:  Lizzy Balmforth, Steph Hall, Becky Hurst, Sarah Kenny

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U14s Third In North Midway
16th March 2005

Lancashire's U14s played the second leg of the North Midway League on Sunday 6th March.  The team did very well over the whole day with good performances throughout earning third place out of the eight competing counties.

The players had clear and comfortable victories against Durham, Warwickshire and Northumberland, losing only to strong Yorkshire and Leicestershire squads in the final stage.  Jack McKay, Johnny Phillips, Becky Hurst and Sarah Kenny were particularly successful in their singles encounters whilst Abigail Kay, Rosie Sweeney, Jonathan Simpson and Andrew Owen showed just how much progress they had each made since October and gave us real strength in depth in the doubles matches.  There were plenty of excellent individual performances, but it was a team working together and supporting each other that really caught the eye. Well done to all!

	Lancashire U14 Team Back: Rosie Sweeney, Abigail Kay, Sarah Kenny, Becky Hurst Front:  Jonathan Simpson, Andrew Owen, Johnny Phillips, Jack McKay

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Lancashire Win U14 Anglo-Scottish - 19th/20th February 2005
25th February 2005

Twelve counties from across England and Scotland met in Gateshead to compete for the 19th U14 Anglo-Scottish Team Tournament.  It was a weekend of top quality badminton, which Lancashire was entering for the first time.  And what a debut it was, with Lancashire winning the competition!!

The competition started on Saturday at 11:30am.  The twelve counties were split into four boxes of three teams.  Each box had a seeded county, Lancashire being one of the seeds.  Each match consisted of ten games played to 21 points.  Our first match was against Cumbria which proved to be a gentle introduction to the competition, winning the match 10 games to 0.  One notable victory was by Nicola Poole, who totally outplayed World Class Start player Lauren Smith, beating her 21-5.  Second match was against Lanarkshire which again was a relatively easy match with Lancashire coming out on top by 9 games to 1.

With the first round boxes finished, the next rounds were a different ball game altogether.  Each of the winning teams from all four boxes were grouped together to play off for the top four places: these were Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lothian and Ayrshire.  The Anglo-Scottish contest was still very much alive!!  Last match for us on Saturday was against Ayrshire.  Philip Aspinall & Kristian Byrne won both boys singles, whilst Danny Wolfenden & Emily Miller and Michael Johnston & Sarah Kenny won their mixed doubles.  The remaining six games were split, giving Lancashire a 7 games to 3 win.

With the day’s play over, all that remained was to find the hotels.  Like lambs to the slaughter most of us followed Derek Wolfenden who said “follow me I know the way”.  I can honestly say that I have never seen the same stretch of the A1 as many times in such a short space of time.  Thanks Derek!!

First match on Sunday was against Leicestershire, who had beaten Lothian in their last match the day before.  First games on were the boys singles.  The way Philip & Kristian had been playing on Saturday, we decided to take a gamble by playing them in the singles again.  The gamble paid off: Philip beat Nayan Patel 21-18 and Kristian beat Avinash Chandarana 21-14.  The excellent results didn’t stop there: Danny & Emily and Michael & Sarah took both mixed doubles.  Nicola was on form again to take the 1st girls singles against Vinita Bhakta.  Steph Hall played an epic singles against Chelsea White winning 21-20.  Danny & Jack McKay took the 2nd boys doubles and Nicola & Becky Hurst took the second girls doubles.  The match result ended 8 games to 2, a score that was beyond all expectations.

Due to the other match results in the group, we were already champions without playing the final match (a fact we omitted to tell the players!!).  Last match was against Lothian which proved to be the toughest match of the weekend.  The final score was 5 games all but we took the victory by a slender 4 points which meant we were unbeaten all weekend.  Thanks to all the players for 100% effort and also thanks to all the parents for their support.  Particular thanks to Dave Miller for helping with the tactical team selections over the weekend.

Steve Aspinall
Team Manager

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U17 Shires Match v Flintshire - 20th February 2005
21st February 2005

When we arrived at the venue it was to find that Flintshire were without a 4th girl which meant that Holly Richards, who had agreed to stand in, would only play one girls doubles and we would start the match with three games.  Flintshire were rather an unknown quantity although they had beaten Cheshire and Derbyshire.  The match went well in a rather cold hall with a slippery floor.  Five of the matches went to three sets with three going in our favour.  Tom Huggon and Paul Maguire had a tight 3-setter but came out on top 15-12 in the 3rd.  Charlotte Hall seemed to be struggling when she lost her first game 11-2 but she figured out her opponent in the 2nd and won 11-0 in the 3rd.  The final score - an 18-2 win.

Lancashire's U17 Team v Flintshire Back: Dave Kenny, Paul Maguire, Jamie Fairclough, Tom Huggon, Darren Hosegood Front: Holly Richards, Amanda Barrett, Charlotte Hall, Kirstin Miller

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Yorkshire Still The County To Beat
16th February 2005

None of Lancashire's 3 Shires teams could muster wins in their Shires matches against Yorkshire recently, but there were some excellent individual performances.  Both counties had top players involved elsewhere for each match, but this gave opportunities for others to play.

The U15s, after a recent 17-3 win against Shropshire, went down 18-2 to a decent Yorkshire team.  The team of Alex DuNoyer, Mark McKay, Lee Clayton, Guy Mullarkey, Nicola Poole, Steph James, Emily Miller and Holly Richards played some superb games and could easily have taken more away.  Guy and Nicola took 4th mixed 17-16, 15-9 at the start of the match, with the only other win coming right at the end when Alex and Lee won their cross-over mens 15-12, 15-13 - a fitting way to finish the match.  Other notable performances came from Lee and Holly (going down at 3rd mixed 13-15, 10-15), Alex in a really close 1st singles (losing 8-15, 16-17) and Guy at 4th (losing 15-12, 8-15, 12-15).  Nicola, at 1st singles, got as close to Chloe Chambers as any Lancs player for some time (going down 9-11, 11-13) whilst Steph lost in 3 at 2nd singles (8-11, 11-7, 3-11).

The U13s were well beaten in their Yorkshire encounter, hindered by only having 7 players on the day due to a mix up.  However, they have already qualified for the Shires final, beating Cheshire 15-5 three weeks earlier - thanks to Derek & Karen Wolfenden for organising the team on the day.  Well done.

In the U17 Yorkshire match at Rotherham, Lancashire started off the day without Laura Walsh and Dave Kenny and faced a strong Yorkshire team who had 4 of their U17 players playing elsewhere.  Paul Maguire and Amanda Barrett had a very tight mixed which they finally lost 14-17, 15-17, whilst Jamie Fairclough and Kirstin Miller had a long 3 setter which they won 15-11 in the 3rd.  Tom Huggon and Charlotte Hall had a comfortable 15-6, 15-11 win.  The singles did not go our way although Darren Hosegood had an excellent and well deserved 15-2, 15-10 win against Daniel Adams.  Jamie fought hard against Ian Mercer but lost in 3.  The Yorkshire pairings were strong and it was only Darren and Tom who managed a win of 15-5, 16-17, 15-13 against the 2nd pair.

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U17 RIO
31st January 2005

The 2005 U17 Railway Institute Octagonal (RIO) event in York got underway just after 10 a.m. on Saturday 22nd January.  The prior coaching arranged by team manager, Dorothy Barrett, seemed to have paid off, with players pulling together both on and off court.  The first match against eventual runners-up, Herts, was a tough call, but playing them first warmed everyone up for the matches against Lothian and Surrey.  Herts got away 3-12, but 8-7 and 9-6 wins put the team in the top group for Sunday.  The Lothian match was the crucial match with several tight games.  Laura was well down in her singles against Megan Barbour but managed to fight back to win 21-20, whilst Amanda and Emily played a good 2nd girls doubles.

The evening back at the hotel was a good time for everyone to relax, setting us up nicely for our encounter with Yorkshire ... the 3-12 result didn't reflect the team's performance against the eventual winners.  Amanda and Dave won a nail biting mixed doubles 21-20, Paul won an amazing 1st boys singles against Ian Mercer 21-15 and Tom and Michael won at 3rd boys doubles 21-14.  Our final match against Notts was tough but Dave and Emily started off well winning 1st mixed 21-11, closely followed by a win from Michael and Charlotte.  Darren won his singles against Will Simpson 21-14 and we were 3-1 up.  Kirstin and Emily played an excellent girls doubles, Tom and Michael won at 3rd boys doubles, but unfortunately Notts were too strong and their 10-5 win gave the team overall 4th place and just out of the medals, a creditable performance indeed.

The standard of play at RIO is some of the best junior badminton in the country and Lancashire showed that they can perform well.  This will carry the team forward to the ICT in March with some confidence.  Well done everyone.

Lancashire's U17 RIO Team Back: Dave Kenny, Paul Maguire, Michael Dorans, Jamie Fairclough, Tom Huggon, Darren Hosegood Front: Charlotte Hall, Steph Taylor, Laura Walsh, Emily Miller, Amanda Barrett, Kirstin Miller

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Rotherham Success For U16s
24th January 2005

The U16s played the second leg of the North Midway League at Rotherham on Sunday 16th January (see report below dated 9th November 2004 for report on first day).  It was a great success for Lancashire, with the 1st team winning on the day and also winning the two-day league after a countback with Yorkshire 1 of total games won, whilst the 2nd team played their way into 6th place with some outstanding performances.

Chris Brown went through both days of the competition without dropping a game - 20 games of badminton - whilst Tom Dickinson dropped only one to a very strong Cheshire first singles.  Chris & Tom were run very close in the final game of the day, against the Yorkshire first pair, coming back from 7-14 down to clinch the game 15-14 and a 6-4 win for the team.  The 1st team dominated their round-robin group, recording two 10-0 and two 9-1 wins to set up the return clash with Yorkshire in the final.  Lee Clayton played some particularly good games, showing a marked improvement in his game.

While Lancs 1 were steamrolling all who had the misfortune to stand in their way, the county was showing what great strength in depth it now has with the terriffic performance of Lancs 2.  A final finish of 6th really didn't tell the full story of how well the team played.

The performance against Yorkshire 1 epitomised their fighting spirit where Alex DuNoyer and Mark McKay stunned the home team by both winning their singles matches and Alex Byrne & Abigail South stormed to victory in a fantastic mixed doubles (did the Yorkies not like that!!!)

Tough matches against IOM, Notts, Northumberland and particularly the "decider" against Cheshire brought the best out of all the team.  Stephanie James won all but one of her singles matches - an amazing days work for the team's number one girl.  Laura Barker strolled through her singles against Notts - likewise did Rob Sykes and Alex DuNoyer in their doubles against IOM.

The amazing spirit of this team was probably best displayed when Gemma Wilkinson was eventually persuaded to throw herself into the singles arena and gave an excellent Cheshire girl the fright of her life by pushing her all the way.  The play-off match against Cheshire ended even with Lancs 2 falling to 6th only on a points count-back.

Lancs 1 were probably very pleased that they didn't have to play their "understudies"!!

Well done to all the players, and thank you to the parents and other supporters for making the Lancs camp a pleasure to be part of.

	Lancashire's Two Teams Back: Robert Sykes, Mark McKay, Tom Dickinson, Richard Dundas, Lee Clayton, Chris Brown, Alex DuNoyer (Alex Byrne not on photo) Front: Abigail South, Laura Barker, Emily Miller, Nicola Poole, Holly Richards, Kirstin Miller, Gemma Wilkinson, Steph James
	1st Team - North Midway U16 League Winners Back: Tom Dickinson, Richard Dundas, Lee Clayton, Chris Brown Front: Kirstin Miller, Emily Miller, Holly Richards, Nicola Poole

By Dave Miller and Terry McKay

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Lancs U11 & U12 Update
23rd January 2005

Leicester Invitation U12 Doubles - 16th October 2004

In the initial round-robin group our girls, Elizabeth Balmford & Annabel Leather, lost only one out of six games, losing to the Herts pair E Westwood & A Bursack, consequently coming runners-up in their group.  Unfortunately in the first knock-out round they were beaten by e