Cambs Restricted Results

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Players at the Cambs 2013 Restricted

At the Cambridgeshire Badminton Association Players Tournament Min Dabasinskas retained his Mens Singles title.  In the final he was pushed all the way by Joe Pickering before running out winner by 21-18, 21-17. 

Olga Bryant regained her singles title which she lost last year, with a 21-18, 21-13 victory over Alison Meijers. 

James Wilson and Simon Woodhouse took the Mens Doubles title.  They defeated Abu Kaher and Sam Scharf 21-13, 21-16. 

Previously, Kaher and Scharf had endured a difficult semi-final against Robert Couch and Damien Dugmore before winning 21-11, 16-21, 21-16. 

Wilson and Woodhouse has a close fight in their quarter-final against Kevin Barron and Sunny Kong, winning 21-10, 18-21, 21-16. 

Olga Bryant teamed up with Alison Meijers in the Ladies Doubles, but in the final fell to Sara Cunnington and Natalie Taylor 21-11, 21-17. 

There was some consolation for Olga in the Mixed Doubles.  In partnership with Min they defeated Simon and Natalie 21-18, 21-19. 

For full results including the plate competitions, please see the Tournaments page.  A gallery of the winners is also available. 

Match report by Ken Verney. 

Cambs' John Tibbutt Celebrates Quad Success at World Transplant Games

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John Tibbutt powers home the smash at the World Transplant Games 2013.

Inspiring Cambs Badminton player John Tibbutt, who has overcome ill health through a successful organ transplant has returned victorious from competing in this year’s World Transplant Games in Durban, South Africa.

John took part in the Games nearly 4 years after having a life-saving kidney transplant. 

The 36-year-old, who is currently the Cambs senior IIIrd team captain, competed as a member of Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the Games, from 28 July to 4 August 2013, competing in badminton and squash.  He secured an incredible four-medal haul, securing gold medals in badminton in singles, doubles and mixed, and a bronze in squash.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland took home 243 medals in total, 114 gold, 74 silver and 55 bronze. The team was also presented with the ‘Best Team Award’. Lynne Holt, Team Manager and Trustee at Transplant Sport said:

“The World Transplant Games is a fantastic opportunity for athletes such as John to share their story and inspire people to sign up to the NHS Organ Donor Register.

Not only were these athletes ambassadors for our country, but they also represented the charity, Transplant Sport, and helped to raise more awareness here in the UK and globally, of the need for more people to sign on to the Organ Donor Register and express their wishes with family and friends.”

John said:

“The world games is a fantastic opportunity to help raise awareness for organ donation and the donor register and to show how transplants really change people’s lives.

Four years ago I couldn’t mow the lawn, never mind do any sort of sport.  Now I can train and play as before.  It gave me my life back."

More than 135 Transplant Sport athletes, including 15 juniors, and many more supporters descended on the Rainbow Nation.

The World Transplant Games, supported by the International Olympic Committee, represents the largest organ donor awareness event in the world, featured a week of 13 sporting events. Team GB and NI joined over 1000 other transplant athletes from 55 countries across the globe.

More than 10,000 people in the UK are currently waiting for a transplant and sadly, three people die waiting every day. But with only 31 per cent of the UK population actually registered as organ donors, more work needs to be done to raise awareness of donation and to urge those on to the donor register to share their wishes with loved ones.

To add your name to the NHS Organ Donor Register call 0300 1232323, text SAVE to 84118 or visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk

Some photographs from the Games are available in the photo gallery. 

Cambs IIIrds Enjoy Norfolk Romp

Cambs IIIrds hosted the youthful Norfolk III at the weekend and were keen to get revenge for their 6-9 loss before Christmas.  With the Ist team opponents Staffs cancelling due to the inclement weather, the teams could use all four courts for the match and the games flowed thick and fast.  Alison Greenhill got the match off to a perfect start by bringing along a delicious pumpkin cake (like carrot cake, but with pumpkin...) and also won quickly at first singles.  Sharon Chandler took one for the team in her least favourite event and despite coming close in the second set, lost in straight sets at second singles.  Several days later Geoff Green and Graham Barr eventually won in 3 sets at first and second singles respectively against sprightly opposition.  3-1 to Cambs.

Geoff teamed up with Paul Martell at first mens and continued his theme of getting his money's worth by beating the Norfolk first pair in 3 sets.  They settled down against the second pair and won quickly in straight sets.  Graham and Tom Zhang (J) at second mens obviously wanted to get to the cake quickly and won both their mens games in straight sets.

Alison and Sharon at first ladies suffered a slight hiccup by losing the second set against the second Norfolk pair, but were otherwise untroubled winning both ladies.  Dan Tan (Tanny) and Liz Salmon (who had answered the call to play late the night before) at second ladies followed suit, winning both in straight sets.

With the win, full points and revenge in the bag, the only thing left to play for was the race to get to the cake first.  Or rather second, since jet lagged captain Tibbutt had very considerately decided to 'test' the cake and make sure it was ok for the team to eat.  It was.  I can't actually remember who won the race to the cake as all 3 mixed pairs won in straight sets, but the match ended with a fantastic 14-1 winning score and slighty runny icing everywhere.

The team:  Geoff Green, Sharon Chandler: Comberton; Graham Barr, Alison Greenhill, Tom Zhang: Ramblers; Liz Salmon, Dan Tan: St Ives; Paul Martell: Hurst

Match report by John Tibbutt.

More information about results of the Cambs III team is available on the Team Page.

Cambridgeshire U19 Junior Restricted Tournament 2013

This years U19 restricted tournament was held at Burwell Sports Centre on 17th March.

All competition was initially played in a round robin format with winners and runners up going through to a knock out format for the final rounds.

Girls Competition

Singles winner - Lily Matthews

Runner up - Gemma McGuire

Doubles Winners - Lily Matthews and Gemma McGuire 

Runners up - Angela Huang and Hannah Divall 

Lily Matthews having lost to Gemma Mcguire in the round robin section of the tournament dug deep and changed her game to win the final 21-18.

In the Girls Doubles final Lily and Gemma put aside their rivalry from the singles and had a convincing win, beating Angela Huang and Hannah Divall 21-9, 21-12.

Boys Competition

Singles Winner - Tom Li

Runner Up - Kaylan Sutton-Ziaian

Doubles Winners - Tom Li and Josh Males

Runners up - Sunny Kong and Tom Zhang 

The Boys Singles Final saw Kaylan Sutton-Ziaian, defender of the title, up against Tom Li. Kaylan had fought through a tough semi against Josh Males (25-23) and this may have taken it’s toll, Tom Li winning 21-19 in a hard fought and entertaining game.

In the Boys Doubles, the round robin format in the early stages of the competition saw some close games, particularly a win for Sunny Kong and Tom Zhang over the defending champions Aidan Foo and Kaylan Sutton-Ziaien of 21-20 (no setting in the round robin). 

This result meant  Aidan and Kaylan met the winners of the other group in the semifinals - Josh Males and Tom Li. The title holders lost this semi (8-21) Tom and Josh proceeding into the final. 

The second semi-final was between Ashley James playing with Ximian Quah, and Sunny with Tom. This was good game but Sunny and Tom were the stronger winning 21-16. 

The final saw Tom and Josh showing their experience and strength winning 21-14 to take the title. 

Cambs IInds 'Flipped' in Northants

It was in arctic conditions that the Cambs IInd team arrived for their second match against Northants Ist team in a week.  There had been a number of squad rotations, and a special season's appearance by Sam Pickup, 'fresh' from his University BUCS weekend.

​Northants were keen to avenge their previous week's defeat, and it was immediately apparent that this was going to be a long and gruelling day - the temperature in the hall was hitting debilitating lows and with only two courts and many games going to three ends, it was very late into the afternoon before a result was reached.

The singles was neck and neck, with Stephen Pickering experiencing a very similar game against Matt Asbrey as Paul Heads had the week before - with the Northants player starting strongly, but Stephen gaining ground to win in three.  Sam Pickup also overcame his exhaustion and nausea to win, while Katie Morton and Laurel Bennet found the Northants ladies too strong and both lost in straight sets.

In the doubles the balance started to tip slightly in Northants' favour, with both Stephen and Sam, and Daniel Bates and James Wilson failing to secure their first games.  Katie and Louise were also defeated, while Laurel and Jessica Sharman ground out a three set win after losing the first end in sets 22-20.  Things improved for the men in the second round, with both pairs turning the form book on its head by winning, while the ladies again found Northants too tough.  Katie and Louise agonisingly lost the third end of their game 23-21.

That left Cambridgeshire trailing 7-5 going into the mixed round.​  However, as muscles continued to stiffen in the ever-freezing conditions, it was too much of a task to overturn the lead.  Although Stephen and Louise won comfortably, James and Katie were dispatched in two ends, meaning the match was lost.  Perennial mixed back runners Daniel and Jessica also lost their nerve and despite winning the first end comfortably, eventually succumbed and lost in three, leaving the result a mirror-image 9-6 of the previous week.

Although this was a reasonable result, and the consolation point secured, there was still an edge of glumness to the team.  The cold had dulled everyone's mood, and also there was a sadness that a better result in the match had not been that far away.​

Congratulations also go to Stephen, who pipped Sam Pickup to the coveted Player of the Match position.​

The team: Daniel Bates (c), Katie Morton: Hurst Badminton Club /  James Wilson, Louise Tarbit: Ely Victoria Badminton Club / Jessica Sharman: Court Badminton Club / Sam Pickup: University / Laurel Bennet, Stephen Pickering.

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.​

Cambs IInd Pip Northants Ist

After a long break, including a snow postponement, the Cambs senior IInd team returned to action in the first of a double-header against Northants Ist team at CRC on 24th February. Spirits were high, as Skipper Daniel Bates was celebrating a 'significant Birthday', and sporting Birthday Boy badge, he insisted that the team deliver him the present of a win.

Northants had been doing well in the division so far, so it was pleasing that Cambs started well. Despite some extremely spirited resistance, and losing the first end in a thunderous 23-25 clash, Paul Heads took his singles by dominating the second set 21-9 and then edged out opponent Matt Asbrey 21-18 in the third.

In the other men's singles, debutante Abu Kaher fought well in a discipline in which he does not particularly specialise, but was beaten in two tight sets - 20-22, 18-21.

The girls singles also saw Cambridgeshire success.  Molly Carter showed true grit to ground out a three-end result against an athletic Marain Formenko 18-21, 21-18, 21-18, while another debutante, antipodean Alison Greenhill, raced to a 21-11, 21-10 victory.

In the mens doubles, the regular partnership of Paul and James Wilson worked well together, and secured both of their games in straight sets with confident play. The new pairing of Daniel Bates and Abu hit the ground running with a 21-6, 21-4 win, but then ran out of steam in the closing points of their second game, losing by the finest margin 21-14, 13-21, 21-23.

In the ladies doubles Northants staged something of a comeback. The new pairing of Molly and Alison beat their first opponents in a tight three-ender, but then unexpectedly struggled against the second pair and were hunted down in the third end 22-20, 19-21, 15-21. The regular pairing of Katie Morton and Jessica Sharman also struggled to impose themselves on their games, and lost both in straight sets -always getting high scores, but unable to convert pressure into wins.

That left the match still in the balance going into the mixed, with Cambs 7-5 up.  Things got even closer when Paul and Katie lost to a strong pair, despite winning the first end 21-17, followed by 12-21, 16-21.  On the third court though, the new pairing of James and Alison had romped home quickly, and triumphed 21-6, 21-12. In the middle match, Jess initially carried over her disappointment from the ladies games, and she and Daniel were beaten 13-21 with Matt dictating the everything. However, the Cambs pair asserted themselves on the game, and eventually held their nerve and completed the final two ends by winning 21-17, 21-19.

That left Cambs 9-6 winners - satisfied, but having missed out on the bonus point by a single game. The end of the match saw the distribution on a stupendous *quadruple* chocolate Birthday cake in celebration.  We must only hope that the team will have worked off the calorific overload before travelling back to Northants to repeat the match next week!

Congratulations also go to Alison, who was voted Player of the Match by the team, with 67% of the vote - pipping Daniel and Abu to the award.​

The team: Daniel Bates (c), Abu Kaher, Katie Morton: Hurst Badminton Club /  Paul Heads, James Wilson: Ely Victoria Badminton Club / Jessica Sharman: Court Badminton Club / Alison Greenhill: Ramblers Badminton Club ​/ Molly Carter: St Ives Badminton Club.

More information about results of the Cambs II team is available on the Team Page.

CRC Overcomes Moisture for Silver Success

The Cambridgeshire Senior Silver Badminton Open Tournament was held at Cambridge Regional College (CRC) on Friday and Saturday.  Over the two days, over one hundred top badminton players from all over the country competed for the honours.

Friday night saw the early rounds of the men's singles competition, which largely followed the seeding.  Cambridgeshire's Kaylan Sutton-Ziaian was beaten in the 1st round by James White (Leicestershire) and Thomas Li was overcome in the 2nd round by 1st seed Richard Wrigley (Worcestershire), while Mindaugas Dabasinskas fell in the quarter finals to a powerful performance by Scott Sankey (Buckinghamshire).

Proceedings began on Saturday morning with the men's singles semi-finals and the women's singles.  in the men's, Wrigley continued his imperious performance to retain his title, beating Basil Tallah (Essex) 21-14, 21-19.  This victory meant he had impressively won the competition having won every game in straight sets.

In the women's singles, there was sadly no Cambridgeshire representation this year.  Unseeded Singaporean Tanapat Pisitpong (Essex) upset the expected order by dominating the draw, and defeating the holder Toni Blake (Buckinghamshire) comfortably - 21-7, 21-13 in the final.

In the mixed doubles, a number of Cambridgeshire pairs were in action.  Sam Scharf and Louise Tarbit, and Mindaugas Dabasinskas and Olga Bryant fell in the first round.  A scratch pairing of Thomas Li and Katie Morton won through to the quarter finals before being edged out in three ends.  Elsewhere in the draw saw clashes between Cambridgeshire players: Neil Place and Hannah Sharman winning a place in the quarter finals by defeating team-mate Sara Mason and partner Peter Frobisher (Oxfordshire).  The surprise of the discipline saw Daniel Bates and Jessica Sharman knocking out the 2nd seeds Nick and Rachel Hodgson (Lancashire), which set up an all-Cambs Quarter final with Simon Woodhouse and Natalie Taylor, who had fought hard for their place, having played two three-end games already.  Woodhouse and Taylor's experience and strength proved too much, and they were the only Cambridgeshire pair to emerge into the semi finals, where they were beaten by the 4th seed pairing of Dean George (Sussex) and Claire Millward (Warwickshire).  George and Millward then went on to secure a comfortable 21-9, 21-12 victory in the final against Lee Clapham (Derbyshire) and Lynne Swan (Essex).

The mens doubles was an extremely full draw.  Cambridgeshire's Neil Place and Simon Woodhouse were beaten 21-17, 21-14 in the first round by Lee Clapham and Andrew Frye (Essex), while Daniel Bates and Sam Scharf reached the second round before being defeated by Daniel Capon (Kent) and Lawrence Nemesothy (Kent).  The competition eventually reached an unfortunate end, with Dean George and Daniel Woodhouse (Middlesex) winning the final at 10-3 in the first game, when Nick Hodgson and Scott Sankey were forced to retire due to injury.

Finally, in the women's doubles Cambs' Olga Bryant playing with Jenny Crump (Hampshire) lost a hard-fought quarter final game against 1st seeds Claire Millward and Caroline Westley, 14-21, 21-19, 18-21.  Natalie Taylor and Hannah Sharman were also beaten in a nail-biting first round three-ender, losing in the end 19-21.  Other Cambs' representatives Jenifer Hewit and Louise Tarbit, and Katie Morton playing with Gayle Lloyd (Guernsey) were also beaten in the 1st round,  However, Sara Mason playing with Mary Le Druillenec (Warwickshire) fought all the way through to the final against Millward and Westley.  However, they were drained from a three-end semi final, and the 1st seeds proved too strong and won 21-12, 21-10.

The tournament was nearly blighted by difficulties with the venue.  The day's play had been progressing well, but a combination of high moisture levels and low ambient temperatures had caused the courts to become slippery.  Tournament officials fought tirelessly to move games between courts as they became unplayable, and the competition eventually spilled over into the second - older - sports hall.  In the end, it was to the great credit of all involved that all events were successfully completed and no-one was injured as a result of the conditions.

The full results and draws can be found at Tournament Software.