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TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Pictured Above Right: Connor (Boys Singles Runner Up and Doubles Runner Up), Ryan (Boys Singles Winner and Doubles Winner), Keiran (Boys Doubles Winner). Missing from photo: Zak (Doubles Runner Up)

Cameron (boys singles winner) and Scott (runner up) pictured above right

It was tough at the top for this years senior boys winners. A few weeks earlier, Craig (left) and Jack (right) partnered each other to win the level doubles tournament and now faced each other in a play-off for the singles title.

Back court rallies were the hallmark of the final with both players hitting powerful clears forcing each other to cover all areas of the court. Jack's serving was a bit erratic and Craig didn't capitalise on his short serves. Some tremendous rallies took place in a very evenly matched game. Jack forged ahead by 5 points but Craig eroded his lead to within 1 point. Jack had to dig deep and smashed the shuttle down to the floor at every opportunity to win the final (21-18).

The last mixed doubles tournament for the year and what a cracker it turned out to be. The TSB knockout tournament has been running since 1979 and other than the restriction that seeded players can't be drawn together, it's the only club tournament where players are not handicapped. The draw was completed and with several strong teams pulled out of the hat, competition would be fierce.

No1 seeds Neil Haig and Violet Livingston strode through to the first semi final (21-13) and despatched the unseeded Gregor Simpson and Myra Younger who knocked out the No. 4 seeds earlier in the second round. In the other semi final, No.2 seeds John Peters and Julie Sudlow booked their place in the showdown with an easy win over Charlie Allison and Sarah Glendinning (21-12).

In the first game of the final, Peters and Sudlow built up a commanding lead only to see Haig and Livingston slowly destroy it and win the game (21-16). In the second game, the lead changed hands several times in one of the toughest games of the tournament. With both teams manoeuvring each other around court and probing for weaknesses, Peters and Sudlow showed gritty determination to grab the second game (25-23). Haig and Livingston stole an early lead in the final game and kept the pressure on to win the TSB cup for 2008 (21-16, 23-25, 21-15).

From the left: (Winners) Violet Livingston, Steve Lynch,   (Runners up).Gareth McRae, Sarah Glendinning

CATHERINE FINKLE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

 Teams competed in a round robin event to decide the final which turned out to be one of the closest and hard fought matches of the year. Steve Lynch and Violet Livingston were playing off -12 against Gareth McRae and Sarah Glendinning playing off -10. With only two points of an advantage for each game, McRae and Glendinning had to play their best against Lynch and Livingston who have proved to be a difficult combination to beat in mixed doubles.  

With never more than a few points separating the lead, the first game was a desperate affair with neither side giving any quarter. Lynch and Livingston secured the first game but with a gutsy performance, McRae and Glendinning clawed their way back into the match to take the second game and it was one apiece.  

With Lynch querying the score line at one point, tensions were high as both teams moved each other about the court probing for weaknesses. The final game was a high energy tussle with Lynch’s delicate shots counteracting McRae’s smashes and fast drives. Lynch and Livingston played the classic mixed formation and forced McRae and Glendinning into more of a defensive role which was just enough to give the former pair victory in this year’s memorial tournament (27-25, 15-21, 21-19).

Left to Right:- J Peters, B Leslie (Gents winners), M Hewitt, K Hall (runners up ladies), T Kirkpatrick, V Livingston (Ladies winners)

 The level doubles tournament consists of two tournaments, ladies, and gents. This is the only tournament at Jedburgh Badminton Club where members can select their playing partner. Seeded players cannot partner each other and of course handicapping is applied.

 The round robin matches were hotly contested with all teams focussed on winning. In the ladies tournament, three of the four teams were level in games and after a count up on points, last years beaten finalists Tracey Kirkpatrick and Violet Livingston squeezed through to meet Kerry Hall and Margaret Hewitt who had battled against the odds for a place in the final. Hall and Hewitt worked well together and took the first game with Hewitt covering the net and Hall controlling the game from the rear court. Kirkpatrick and Livingston were fired up as they entered the second game and had to fight all the way as they took the next two games in succession to win the Ladies Level Doubles (17-21, 21-14, 21-15).

 Meanwhile in the gents section, two pools of players mustered for battle to decide the semi finals. Top seeds and last years winners John Peters and junior member Ben Leslie just pulled through (21-19) in a tit for tat semi-final against the ex-Denholm club duo of Tony Lockey and Phil Halstead. Second seeds Steve Lynch and Richard Holmes, both from Coldstream, lost out to third seeds Tom Waters and Dave Reed in the other semi with Waters and Reed (21-18) marching through to the final against Peters and Leslie. The first game was a nail biting affair with Peters and Leslie just edging ahead (24-22). Having found their stride and working as a team to control the next game, Peters and Leslie dominated to win the Gents Level Doubles for the second year running (24-22, 21-14).

SUDLOW AND LYNCH TURN THE TABLES

At the spritely age of 40 years, you are eligible to compete in Jedburgh Badminton Club’s Veterans Tournament and this years match certainly lived up to its name. At one point in the early rounds, there was talk of phoning the emergency services for oxygen and a set of crutches. Andrew Haddon was gasping for breath like a donkey with asthma and his playing partner John Peters looked better suited to a one legged race, not a badminton court.

Nine pairs were drawn in two pools of players to compete in this round-robin tournament with handicapping applied to each team. A shortage of women meant two gents had to team up and Haddon, who first donated the trophy for the tournament in 2002 was pulled out of the hat with Peters, and both promptly received an additional team handicap of -7 to level the odds against the other mixed pairs.

The pool results were very even and everyone had to play their best to stand a chance of going through to the play-offs. Pool ‘A’ winners were Neil Haig and Violet Livingstone who lifted the trophy in the 2005-6 season.  They would compete with Pool ‘B’ runners up Haddon and three times winner Peters. Dave Reed and Joyce Lightbody headed up Pool ‘B’ to play off against Pool ‘A’ runners up Steve Lynch and Julie Sudlow, beaten finalists in 2005-6.

Hard fought semi’s produced worthy finalists with Lynch and Sudlow versus the strong pairing of Haig and Livingstone. Best of three games to twenty-one would decide the winner in this repeat of the 2005-6 season veterans final. The tables were turned this year however as Sudlow shone with good serving and clever positioning on court to take the sting out of Haigs bombs that were fired over the net with regular precision. A reduced error rate from Lynch also helped their cause as they won consecutive games and the match (21-14, 21-15).