Badminton Ireland 2018 AGM - President's Address
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Badminton Ireland 2018 AGM
President’s Address
© 2018 Badminton Ireland Ltd.
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018 PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS I would like to extend a very warm welcome to everyone who travelled from all over the country to attend the 2018 AGM. We remember at this AGM all of those in the badminton community who sadly passed away throughout the year, most especially Peadar, husband of our esteemed past President Breda Connolly. May they all rest in peace. I had the pleasure of attending the BWF Irish Para-Badminton Open Championships in the National Indoor Arena last June. I found it inspirational to see the camaraderie & sportsmanship between all of these players throughout the week. I attended numerous events throughout the season, the Irish Seniors, the U/13, 15 & 17s, the Graded tournaments from A - H, the Inter-County finals grade C to G, the Primary & Secondary schools, the Interprovincial (Premier, Grade A, Masters & Juvenile U 13,15 & 17s) Still to come at the time of writing this report are the Irish Masters Open, the All-Ireland Inter-League finals & the National Cups which was postponed since the start of March. It is heartening the see so many players competing at a National level in most of these events. Three-time Olympian Scott Evans has decided to retire after a very successful career, most of which he was based abroad. We wish Scott every success in his future career & I would like to express our sincere thanks to Scott for his wonderful commitment to Irish badminton over a long number of years. Just as our star singles player retires, along came Nhat Nguyen whose future looks very promising indeed. The Irish Senior team backboned by the Magee’s, Chloe, Sam & Josh performed very well to qualify for the European Championships early in the season. The annual Awards night once again proved very popular with people travelling from all over the country to attend. The awards on the night were well spread throughout the country. There are many people I would like to thank especially our sponsors, Forza, my fellow officers, the BI Board members, the BI staff, all the volunteers & players without whom our sport would not function. I will conclude by wishing everyone a restful summer & look forward to seeing you all again in the coming season. Betty Thompson President Badminton Ireland ©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 2
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018
Badminton Ireland 2018 AGM
Chairperson’s Report
©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 3
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018 CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT Firstly I want to say thank you to everyone who has worked with us and supported us to make 2017 a very successful year: our players, volunteers, clubs, leagues and branches; our staff; Sport Ireland for their continued support and funding that allows us to operate and develop badminton in Ireland, the Sport Ireland Institute who provide invaluable and professional support for our athletes competing at the highest levels, and of course our sponsors, especially Forza, our major sponsor. A LOOK BACK AT 2017 The annual report highlights the monthly activities and achievements of the member organisations, volunteers and staff across all four branches and our major programmes continue to deliver on their goals and objectives. From a financial standpoint we had another strong performance in 2017, and we are well positioned to take on the new legislative challenges and the goals set out in the strategic plan – more on both of these below. We saw a significant increase in participation levels for tournaments in 2017/18 which is very encouraging and, in 2017 we hosted the Badminton Europe Para-Badminton Conference, which took place in Lisburn Racquets club, and comprised of a Para-Badminton Education course and a training camp for elite players. Over 60 players from 20 different countries participated in the three-day event. During the Teicnic Summer Camps Badminton Ireland hosted over 50 Chinese nationals for an Ireland V China friendship match. The Chinese Ambassador to Ireland attended along with senior executives from Tesla and Panasonic. Former Chinese national team player Xiaojia Chen, who also attended, gave a coaching session for some of our younger players. Like all NGBs we need more volunteers - in general, and specifically to take up roles as court officials; lines-people, umpires and referees. Court officials bring so much value to the game, and our own officials continue to develop their skills with many officiating at European and World levels. Nhat Nguyen continued his meteoric rise as he reached the last 8 in the World Junior Championship. He also took the Singles Gold in the Welsh Open, while he and Paul Reynolds won Gold in the Men’s Doubles at the Polish Senior International. Nhat is currently 3rd in the World Junior Rankings and well positioned for 2018 when he targets the Junior World and European Championships, and the Youth Olympics – a very busy year for him. Sam and Chloe’s achievements continue to set new standards and in April last to a historic Bronze in the Mixed Doubles European Championships. Their good run continued, winning Gold in the Spanish International, reaching the last 16 in the World Championships and the final of the Irish Open in December. Sam partnered with Josh to reach the final of the Men’s Doubles in the same event. Ciaran and Sinead Chambers also struck Gold on the international circuit, winning the Mixed Doubles title at the Estonia Open. Niall McVeigh also continued to shine on the big stage, taking Bronze in the Men’s Doubles at the Para Worlds Championships in Korea where Emma Farnham showed her class, taking Silver in the Women’s Doubles. In Masters, Sian Williams and Pam Peard took Gold in the Ladies’ Doubles in the Kent Masters Gold tournament, and at the World Championships, Mark Topping and Graham Henderson took Silver in ©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 4
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018
the Men's doubles with Mark adding a second Silver in the Mixed Doubles with his partner Debbie
Miller.
The Irish U13 team won they're first ever team event medals at the U13 Glasgow Youth International
in May, and Sophia Noble and Matthew Cheung went on to win silver medals in the Mixed Doubles
event, with Sophia picking up a second silver medal in Woman’s Singles.
Although he announced his retirement in 2018, it would be remiss of me not to highlight the
contribution that Scott Evans has made to Irish badminton over many years. In a career that has been
populated with many memorable highlights, including numerous Irish Caps, an Irish Open Title, several
International Open Titles, multiple Irish National Titles, a world ranking of 23, and three Olympic
Games – reaching the last 16 in Rio, which culminated in the now famous Full Evans! – As an
ambassador for Irish badminton, Scott has ploughed a sometimes-lonely furrow across the globe,
inspiring others to follow in his footsteps. He has done himself, his family and his country proud,
brought much enjoyment and excitement to those of us back home, and set a very high bar for the
aspiring stars of tomorrow to follow.
STRATEGIC PLAN 2018-2020
The board prepared a draft Strategic Plan for 2018-2021 that set out the major focus areas under the
following categories:
1. New – new objectives to improve Irish Badminton for all stakeholders:
a. Strengthening Communications with Members, Clubs, Counties and Branches
b. Establishing an effective Volunteer Programme
c. Retaining existing Members, Regaining Members who are not currently
affiliating and Attracting new Members
d. Modernising the ICT Platform to support the changed operating environment
2. Ongoing – goals for our core activities and include:
a. Enhancing the Quality and Reach of our Education and Training Programmes
b. Enhancing the Tournament Experience for Players, Volunteers and Supporters
c. Expanding and Improving the High-Performance Programme
3. Essential – required by law, mandated by our funders, or necessary to support the
legislative changes or mandates. These include:
a. Achieving compliance with Governance Code requirements
b. Meeting the legal requirements for Safeguarding and Data Protection
c. Managing our finances in line with best practices
The draft plan was made available to all member organisations and individual members to get input
on its objectives and focus. Over a period of three weeks we received feedback from 120-member
organisations and members: more than 95% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed with the
plan’s aims above.
©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 5
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018
GOING FORWARD IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
The environment that we operate in is currently undergoing significant change. Specifically, we have
new legislative requirements for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults, and for protecting
members’ data. We also have a government mandate to achieve compliance with the Governance
Code requirements and insurance liability and cover concerns for member organisations and individual
members1 highlighted by our insurer.
There are considerable additional costs as well as changes to procedures and operations as a result of
the new legislation coming into force. For example, under the Children First Act we are obliged to
have a full-time staff member as National Children’s Officer (NCO); until now this position was
voluntary.
The changes flowing from the EU implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in
order to be compliant with this new legislation are many and far-reaching from both financial and
operational perspectives.
To ensure that individual members and member organisations are informed about, and protected by
the new legislation, and to provide an assurance to parents and relatives that their children and family
members are playing badminton in an organisation that complies with current legislation, we are
developing policies, guidelines, procedures and training for both safeguarding and data protection.
The essential, legal protection provided by the legislation and the Badminton Ireland policies applies
only to Badminton Ireland member organisations and individual members who, in accordance with the
Badminton Ireland constitution, must have all of their individual members affiliated to Badminton
Ireland. Member organisations that have individual members who are not affiliated to Badminton
Ireland will not be covered by the provisions of the new legislation which means that they, and their
officers, will be jointly and individually legally responsible and accountable for safeguarding their
children and vulnerable adults, and for protecting their members’ data and they will need to develop
their own policies, procedures and training to ensure compliance with the legislation in these areas.
Irish badminton continues to prosper, and the challenges facing us now are to implement the strategic
plan and not just to be compliant with the new legislative requirements and government mandates,
but to embrace them such that they become an essential part of our culture.
Thank You.
Yours in Sport
Ronan Rooney
Chairperson,
Badminton Ireland.
1
Member Organisations include clubs, leagues, counties and branches. Individual (Associate) Members include
players and volunteers
©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 6
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018
Badminton Ireland 2018 AGM
Finance Report
©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 7
Badminton Ireland AGM 2018 FINANCE REPORT Dear Member, It gives me great pleasure to present my first report as Treasurer of Badminton Ireland for the year ended 31st December 2017. The Company's operating surplus for the year ended 31/12/17 was €85,232 (2016 - €14,552). The Net Current Assets of the Company increased from €261,526 in 2016 to €346,758 in 2017. In 2017 BI received Sport Ireland funding of €564,000, a €14,600 (2.5%) decrease on the 2016 figure of €578,600. It should be noted that this Grant accounts for 49% of Badminton Ireland's total income. This shows the importance of Sport Ireland to BI and reinforces the need to be compliant with all the changes coming down the line in Sporting Legislation. Total Income in 2017 was €1,152,055, an increase of 0.3% the 2016 figure of €1,148,321. Other Income of €310,666 was up €17,098 (5.8%) on the 2016 figure while Affiliation Income of €277,389 is up slightly €1,238 or 0.4% from €276,153. Total Expenses are down from €1,134,989 in 2016 to 1,068,279 in 2017 - a drop of 6%. It is very important that we keep a tight rein on our costs as we will need to be able to comply with all future legislation - with added costs but no increase in grants. The reserves of the company (€346,758) show almost a 33% increase on last year's figure of €261,526. This is moving nicely towards the €500,000 (or 6 months expenditure) target that Sport Ireland requires from Sports Governing Bodies. Sport Ireland has been very supportive of BI, and this is mainly due to the excellent working relationship that has developed between the two bodies over the years. This relationship must be continued and will be very important to the future of Badminton Ireland. Finally, could I take this opportunity to thank our Auditors - Grant Thornton, my fellow officers, BI board members, BI staff plus the volunteers and players. John Feeney Treasurer Badminton Ireland ©Badminton Ireland - AGM 2018 – Annual Report Page 8
badminton
in January
Coach Education
The Shuttle Time programme got off to a great was held in Carrigaline Badminton Club
start in January 2017 with a course having been led by Tony Robinson alongside Michelle Hayes
run in every province in the first month. The and the other was held in Avoniel Leisure centre
aim of Shuttle Time Course is to get all children led by Mervyn Fee. Both courses had great
playing badminton in their school, club and attendance with some good feedback coming
college. from the participants. “The course was really
Our first course of the year was in Coolmine, enjoyable and useful” - Shuttle Time participant.
Blanchardstown on the 8th of January. The
course was well attended with people coming
from across the province to take part. The next
course ran was in Oranmore where one of our
Badminton Ireland Academy Cell’s is held under
academy coaches Shane Wynne and Anthony
Conneely.
On the 20th of January Karen Brady ran a
student teacher Shuttle Time course in University
of Limerick where a large group of training
teachers took part.
On the 28th of January we ran two Shuttle Time
courses on opposite ends of the country. One
page 13
high performance - january
European Mixed Team Championships The team was made up of:
announcement Men: Scott Evans, Sam Magee, Joshua Magee,
The 2017 European Mixed Team Championship Nhat Nguyen.
finals where held in Lubin in 2017. The team that Women: Chloe Magee, Rachael Darragh, Sara
played at the Qualifiers in Dublin from the 11th Boyle, Sinead Chambers.
to 13th of November 2016 were selected to
travel to the event. The matches were as follows:
Wednesday 15th February - 10.00
Ireland competed Group 2 alongside Sweden Ireland v Sweden
and England. The team managers that travelled to Wednesday 15th February - 19.00
the event where John Quinn and Daniel Magee. Ireland v England
page 14badminton
in february
Coach Education
Twelve passionate badminton people flew were able to improve quickly and learn
from all over Europe to participate in a BEC to play the role of a Tutor and a Trainer. With
Trainer/tutor course. The course took place in some other sessions like “silent coaching” or
Cardiff, Wales from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th of “preparation of a course planning”, they could
February. experience different approaches and learning
styles.
With quite a few people already experienced in
the Shuttle Time program, this course had a very Mark Topping and Craig McCourtney were
high quality standard. the representatives from Ireland and both
Everything started on the Friday morning with a participants qualified as Shuttle Time Trainers
quick introduction of everyone. A nice way to get after the intensive weekend.
all the participants to get know each other and
in that way, make the atmosphere more relaxed. Events
Part time coaches, full time coaches, federation The Badminton Ireland Events Team kicked off
workers and even teachers were introduced. with three events in February, first up was the
Tom Causer and Jeroen van Dijk led this three- FZ Forza Irish Club Championships. That was
day course. Very quickly the participants took followed by the Senior & U15 Irish Nationals,
part in the delivery of a Shuttle Time lesson; they with the last event being the U13 & U17 Irish
were asked to act as a tutor and handle a session Nationals. The events took place in Galway
for teachers. Lawn Tennis Club, Lisburn Racquets Club and
Waterford Institute of Technology, respectively.
From Friday to Saturday, this was mainly the tasks
that the participants had to deliver. But time after First up was the Irish Club Championships
time, and thanks to the very precise advice and in Galway Lawn Tennis Club. This event saw
feedback from Tom and Jeroen, the candidates clubs from all over the country competing
page 15events – february
for the Grade A and Grade C title. After an
eventful weekend of games two teams came
out victorious, Lakewood retained the Grade
A title for the second consecutive year and
Ailesbury took home the Grade C title. The finals
of the Grade A saw Mount Pleasant take on
eventual winners Lakewood. The Grade C final
was between Ailesbury and Kingdom, this game
went down to the mixed doubles event where
Ailesbury came out winners.
Next up was the Senior & U15 Irish Nationals
which took place in Lisburn Racquets Club. A bit
of history was made at this event when Three-
Time Olympian Chloe Magee won her 23rd
national title after she won the ladies doubles
and mixed doubles. This event also saw up and
coming talent Nhat Nguyen win his second
men’s singles national title and the young age of
16. Along with Chloe, Sam Magee also claimed
two titles at this event when he won the men’s
doubles with brother Josh and the mixed doubles
with sister Chloe. The U15’s event saw Sean
Laureta and Kim Feehily take home two national
titles, in the boy’s doubles and girl’s doubles
respectively. Sean and Kim then went on to
win the mixed doubles where they paired up
together. In the singles event Alexandra Troy and
Peter McDonald took home the national girl’s
and boy’s singles title respectively.
The last event of February was the U13 &
U17 Irish Nationals in Waterford Institute of
Technology. Over the course of the two days
some fantastic badminton was played by all
competitors. This was a very successful weekend
for three players in particular who took home
three national titles, Sophia Noble in the U13
event and Rachel Woods and Adam McAllister
in the U17’s event. Sophia took home the girl’s
singles, girl’s doubles and mixed doubles titles,
meaning she won every discipline she was
involved in. Adam McAllister and Rachel Woods
did something very similar where the won the
boy’s singles, boy’s doubles, girl’s singles and girl’s
doubles respectively. Adam and Rachel then joined
up together to win the mixed doubles event.
page 16high performance - february
The European Mixed Team Championships
took place in February. It was a tough campaign
for the Irish Team as they lost out to stronger
Swedish and English sides. The team performed
well in both matches but were unable to
overcome higher ranked opposition.
Match 1 Ireland v Sweden
It was a tough start for Ireland as they lost out
to a solid Swedish team. Scott Evans was the first
player on court as he faced Henri Huskainen.
Huskainen, like Scott has been a lead figure in his
countries team for many years now and like Scott
was hoping to get his team off to a winning start.
It was Evans who looked the more dangerous
player in the opening game as he beat his higher
ranked opponent 21-15. In the second game
Evans continued to dominate and was looking
in a good position as he led 14-10. The Swede
bounced back at this stage of the game winning
9 consecutive points before Evans broke his
rhythm. Henri’s rhythm wasn’t broken for long,
however, as he took the second game 21-15.
Henri led the whole way through the third game
with Evans only bringing the game close towards
the end as he drew back to 19-20. At 19-20 a
missed serve from Evans cost him the match as
Huskainen put the first point on the board for
Sweden.
Ireland’s other Olympian Chloe Magee was next
up. Magee faced a new member for the Swedish
team, the up and coming Emma Karlsson.
Karlsson took control of the game from the
opening points and never looked back. Magee did
manage to get back into the game briefly as she
drew even in the second game at 13-13. Karlsson
pushed on from this point again and sealed
another match for Sweden winning 21-14 21-14.
Sweden now led 2-0 and Ireland had to take the
next game to stay in the tie. The 2015 European
Bronze medalists Sam and Joshua Magee took
to the court to face Richard Eidestedt and
Nico Ruponen. The Irish pair had faced the
page 17high performance - february
Swedish pair twice this year already in international more experienced and higher ranked opponent.
competition and the score was 1 win each. The Penty who has recently made the final of Estonia
match itself lived up to the hype with the tie going and won the Swedish international series was a
to the deciding game. The Swedish took the opener big favourite going into this match. Nguyen fought
21-19, but the Irish bounced back to take the second hard but was unable to replicate his previous
game 21-16. In the deciding game the Irish had two success on Polish soil, as he lost out 21-18 21-17.
match points that they failed to convert but at 23-22
the boys in green finally got the match across the line England continued to dominate the match as
to take Ireland’s first point of the match. Fontaine Chapman took out Rachael Darragh in
the women’s singles. Darragh fought well in the
With Sweden leading 2-1 next up it was Ireland’s opening game however, Chapman showed her
youngest pairing Sara Boyle and Rachael Darragh. physical edge as took the match in straight games.
The Irish faced Clara Nistad and Emma Wengberg.
The Swedish pair had just recently won the Swedish This was followed by an exciting men’s doubles
International and showed their class as they took as the Olympic bronze medal pairing of Chris
the opening game 21-14. The Irish fought hard in the Langridge and Marcus Ellis took out Joshua Magee
second and brought the game close at 15-18. The and Nhat Nguyen. Joshua had won earlier in the
experience of the Swedes came through at this point day with his brother Sam but unfortunately Sam
as they went on to take the second game 21-17. This was unable to play in this match due to an injury
win secured the Swedish team the match with only concern. Nguyen and Magee fought hard but
the mixed left to play. were out-played losing in two games 21-9 21-12.
Sam Magee and Chloe Magee were set to play Next on court was the women’s doubles where
the mixed but after a few points the pair had to the English pairing of Lauren Smith and Sarah
withdraw due to an injury concern to Sam. Walker beat Sara Boyle and Sinead Chambers
with another convincing win.
Match 2 Ireland v England This left the mixed doubles where Ireland had
Nhat Nguyen made his first appearance in a their two three-time Olympians Scott Evans and
European Mixed Team Championship Final as he took Chloe Magee facing tough opposition in Chris
to the court to face England’s Toby Penty. Nguyen and Gabby Adcock. The English pairing who are
who took the European U17 Championship title in ranked 8 in the world showed their class winning
Lubin was back on a familiar court as he took on this the match 21-15 21-16.
Ireland once again finished in the top 12
teams in Europe after coming through a tough
qualification group. They will look to build upon
the performance at this event and will take away
a number of positives, with the younger players
gaining valuable experience.
There has been a great balance in the team with
the older players passing on their knowledge
to the players coming through, while the older
players went out and continued to display the
determination and pride off wearing the green
Irish jersey.
page 18badminton
in march
Coach Education
The first Shuttle Time course of March was
held at the Peacelink Centre, Clones in County
Monaghan on March 11th and was led by Tutor
Naomi Darragh.
“The course was very well attended, teachers
were given the theory and the resources to
help them deliver on court before lunch, the
theme was keep it simple and to deliver the
practice in a fun and safe environment.
After lunch the teachers got to plan and
deliver sessions using the ideas model
receiving feedback from the other teachers
and tutors, the teachers found this of great
value.
The teachers found the resources great, loved
the Shuttle Time app and the videos were
very helpful in allowing them to deliver the
programme with confidence”.
Badminton Ireland Tutor Naomi Darragh.
page 19events – march
This was yet again a busy month for the
Badminton Ireland events team with a further
three events taking place. The first event of the
month was the All Ireland Shuttle Time Primary
Schools Finals, next up was the All Ireland Shuttle
Time Secondary Schools Finals. The last event
of March was the Irish Inter-Provincials. The
events took place in Baldoyle Badminton Centre,
Gormanston Park and Baldoyle Badminton
Centre respectively.
The All Ireland Shuttle Time Primary School
Finals was the first event to take place in the
month of March. This event saw 39 teams
compete for their schools, from all over Ireland.
The competition consisted of four groups of
five in the girl’s bracket with the winners of each
group progressing to the semi-finals, the boys
bracket consisted of three groups of five and one
group of four. The winner in the girl’s bracket was
Banteer, with the boys being Knocklyon.
page 20events – march
The All Ireland Shuttle Time Secondary School Badminton Centre. The first day of the
Finals was the next event to take place in March tournament was a contest of the U13, U15 and
and again it was a very successful event. This U17 provincial teams. The second day of the
event was split into three age groups per gender, event saw the Grade A’s and Over 50’s take to
U14, U16 and U19. Then within each group there the court. On day one of the event Leinster saw
was a Division 1 and Division 2 for schools to off some stiff competition to claim all three titles
compete in. this year saw schools from all four of the day. Day two of the event saw Leinster and
provinces compete in the competition. Ulster play in a straight final with Leinster coming
over victorious.
The last event of March was the Irish Inter-
Provincials which took place in Baldoyle
page 21high performance - march
Para Success in Spain - Emma Farnham returned
home from competing in the Spanish Para-
Badminton International held in Majorca with
a silver medal in the women’s doubles SS6
Exhibition and a bronze from the women’s
singles. Emma partnered Poland’s Maria Bartusz
to a 21-1 21-7 victory over Daria Bujnicka and
Deirdre Nagle, which earned them a silver medal
despite losing to the top English pair of Rebecca
Bedford and Rachel Choong 21-9 21-5.
Niall McVeigh lifted a silver medal in the Men’s
Doubles SS6 category. Seeded No.3 with Chun
Yim (Hong Kong) they were able to ease through
to the final where they faced top seeds Krysten
Coombs and Jack Shephard (England). Despite a
spirited fight which lasted some 50 minutes, Niall
and his Hong Kong partner unfortunately lost
21-16, 21-16.
page 22badminton
in april
Shuttle Time
“All of the teachers really enjoyed the
April saw two Shuttle Time courses held in course and used the day to improve their
Drogheda Institute of Further Education on April learning of the material.
4th and 6th led by Tutor Tony Robinson and
They asked questions over various periods of
assisted by Badminton Ireland Events officer Greg
the day which helped them to engage with the
Farrell. Greg is a former student of Drogheda
Shuttle Time programme and learn different
Further Institute so it was good for him to return
teaching methods”
and pass on his badminton knowledge to the
current students. Badminton Ireland Tutor Tony Robinson
“The course went very well with enthusiastic
teachers and who were keen to learn and
came with their lesson plan and materials
ready to use.
The teachers all worked well together and
progressed through the Shuttle Time material
at a steady pace. They also asked lots of
questions during the course which was
encouraging”.
Badminton Ireland Tutor Tony Robinson
page 23events – april
April was another busy month for the Badminton
Ireland events team with four events taking
place across the month. The first event of the
month was the Irish Inter County Finals, next was
the Irish Masters Open, then the Juvenile Inter
County Championships, finally the Quadrangular
U15’s took place.
The Irish Inter County Finals for 2017 took
place in the National Indoor Arena in Dublin.
Westmeath took away the Grade F and Grade
G categories after some stiff competition. Cork
overcame an early deficit to claim victory in the
Grade C Inter County Championships when they
beat Kilkenny in the final. In Grade D Dublin and
Kerry fought off against each other in a straight
final with Dublin being the eventual winners. The
final title of the day was taken by Galway in the
Grade E finals.
The second event of the month was the Irish
Masters Open which was held in the National
Indoor Arena. This event was available for players
over the age of 35 with the eldest age group
being the over 70 division. The Irish Masters
Open proved to be a very popular event as
129 athletes took part from all over Europe.
The event ran over a course of three days, the
men’s singles opened the tournament on the
Friday, followed by the women’s singles, women’s
doubles and the men’s doubles on the Saturday
and the last category of this tournament saw the
mixed doubles category take to the stage for a
chance to win the title.
The Juvenile Inter County Finals took place
next on Easter Saturday in Baldoyle Badminton
Centre. This event would see teams from across
Ireland compete in a team competition to see
who would become the All-Ireland champions in
their respective age groups. There was a big game
feel around the event this year with each team
bringing big support. Each age group consisted of
page 24events – april
three or four teams, where the counties would
play against each other in a team format with
four singles matches, four doubles matches and
two mixed doubles matches. Dublin and Kildare
took home two age groups each, U13 and U17
for Dublin and U11 and U15 for Kildare.
The last event of the month was the 2017 Junior
Quadrangular which took place in Baldoyle
Badminton Centre. Four countries took part in
this event, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales
with 10 players from each nation competing (5
boys, 5 girls). After a very eventful three days,
the standings where are follows: 1. England, 2.
Scotland, 3. Ireland and 4. Wales.
page 25high performance - april Sam and Chloe Magee make Irish badminton Sam and Chloe went out and gave it everything history and secured Ireland’s first ever medal at in the final game and dominated, winning 21-12. the European Badminton Championships. They have bagged at least a bronze medal by beating Sam and Chloe Magee had to settle for bronze the number four seeds and former European medals as they lost out to the very strong pair of gold medallists Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezba Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen Zieba of Poland in the quarter final. The first of Denmark in two games 21-14 21-10 in the game came down to the wire after some long semi-final. Sam and Chloe played world-class rallies, but Sam and Chloe kept their composure badminton all week long and had some close and won 22-20. In the second game, the Polish games. They managed to knock out the number fought back and managed to steal it 21-17 after 4 and 5 seeds of the tournament on the way to Sam and Chloe had a chance to clinch the match. their medal. page 26
badminton
in may
Events
May was a quieter month due to the season coming
to a close. Only two events where held over the
month of May, the Irish Inter League Finals and the
All Ireland Individual A, D & G. The events took place
in Baldoyle Badminton Centre, Terenure Badminton
Centre and Lisburn Racquets Club respectively.
The Irish Inter League Finals was split in two with
the C, D, E and G grades being held in Baldoyle
Badminton Centre whilst the F and H grades were
played at Terenure Badminton Centre. The results
for this event where as follows: Grade C- Johnswell,
Grade D- Ailesbury, Grade E- GLTC, Grade F-
Killarney, Grade G- Sligo City, Grade H- Nomads.
The Irish Individual Grade A, D and G was held on
the 13th May in Lisburn Racquets Club. Please see
below for a list of winners:
Grade A
Men’s Singles – Nicholas Murphy
Women’s Singles – Vicki Pesti
Men’s Doubles – Stuart Lightbody/Conor Hickland
Women’s Doubles – Vicki Pesti/Karen Nelson
Mixed Doubles – Stuart Lightbody/Crona Rooney
Grade D
Men’s Singles – Darren Lee
Women’s Singles – Alex Chan Taylor
Men’s Doubles – Darren Lee/David McLean
Women’s Doubles – Kinga Dabrowska/Larisa
Samorosenko
Mixed Doubles – Leon Coe/Lesley Cobbe
Grade G
Men’s Singles – Ben Power
Women’s Singles – Eva De Las Heras
Men’s Doubles – Adrian Rabbitte/Fiachra Crowley
Women’s Doubles – Ceiti Daly/Sinead Daly
Mixed Doubles – Adrian Rabbitte/Eva De Las Heras
page 27high performance - may
Medals for Noble and Cheung in
Glasgow Youth International
After the U13 Irish team won their first ever
medals in the Team Event at the U13 Glasgow
Youth International 2017, Sophia Noble and
Matthew Cheung went on the take silver medals
in the mixed doubles event. Sophia also had
some impressive results in the women’s singles to
take a second silver medal.
In the singles Sophia topped her group to
progress into the elimination stages of the
tournament, where she made it all the way to
final where she came up against Ashwati Nair
of England. Sophia fought hard throughout but
eventually lost out in straight sets and settle for
the silver medal.
In the mixed doubles, Sophia and Matthew
played well throughout the event, winning four
matches to reach the final. In the final, they came
up against the English 3/4 seeds just losing out in
three close games 21-19 14-21 21-15.
page 28badminton
in June
Two shuttle time courses held in
Castlebar County Mayo
June was a busy month for our coach education
team. They ran two Shuttle-Time courses, the
first of which took place in Del La Sal school hall
in Castlebar, County Mayo. Shuttle-Time tutor
Tommy Hehir had this to say about the course:
“There was a good mix of male and female
teachers. All were very proactive with course
material both on and off the court. They were
happy with the videos being short and to the
point. Overall the course went very well”.
The second course took place in Ulster’s
University of Coleraine. The fully booked course
was delivered by Mervyn Fee who praised those
attending:
“There was good interaction by all in the
activities and feedback on the course was
positive. All had a good understanding of the
programme after implementing the material
on the court”.
All attendees successfully passed the Shuttle-
Time course and each school received a Kit Bag
and resources to continue to promote the sport
in their School
The coach education team also successfully ran
a Level one coaching course in Naas, County
Kildare. The course is recognised by coaching
Ireland and a total of 12 participants attended
Ardclough GAA club, where tutor Tony Robinson
delivered the material.
“The prospective coaches learned much
about the game and also about the coaching
process. They will go to schools and clubs and
hopefully improve the players in their clubs
and schools”.
page 293 medals for Ireland at the Irish
Para-Badminton International
27 June 2017
The Irish players came away with three bronze
medals after some great performances at the
Irish Para-Badminton International, which ran
from the 22nd - 25th June in the Sport Ireland
National Indoor Arena. The first of the medals
came in the women’s doubles wheelchair section
where Laura Lee Jenkins (pictured left) played
alongside Fiona Christie for Scotland. They won
two of their three matches in the group stages
to place second and progress to the knockout
stages which secured them a medal. In their semi-
final match, they faced the tough pair of Mathez/
Suter-Erath of Switzerland who came out winning
21-13 21-14.
The next of the Irish medals came from Emma
Farnham (pictured right) who won a bronze
in the women’s singles short stature class. This
category was played as a round robin where
Emma put in some great performances to place
third in the group after some tough games.
The last of the medals came from former World
and European champion Niall McVeigh (pictured
below) in the men’s singles short stature class.
Niall played well in his group to win two out of
three matches. This was enough to secure second
place in the group and progress to the knockout
stages. In his quarterfinal match, Niall came
up against the number 3/4 seed from England
Andrew Martin. This was a very competitive
game which went right to the wire. Niall took
the match in the third games 23-21 after a long
battle. This secured him a minimum of bronze.
Niall came up against his big rival and eventual
winner Krysten Coombs of England in the semi-
final. There were many good rallies during the
match, but Coombs got the better of McVeigh
taking the match 21-19 21-10.
page 30Development – Teicnic Badminton
for Banteer Juvenile Club
Banteer Juvenile BC decided to finish the season teams playing in the club. This figure is remarkable
with a flourish by having club members assessed as it highlights the club-school links that have been
on the white and yellow levels of the Badminton developed.
Ireland Teicnic programme. Teicnic Badminton
is a skill based programme focusing on the Furthermore, coaching has played a pivotal role
technical progression of players at key stages of in the club’s development in recent times. Aidan
their development. Twenty-seven participants O’Donoghue and David Mulcahy are both BWF
were assessed on the day by David Mulcahy, and Level 1 coaches who have been training and
each of them had a challenging but enjoyable developing the juveniles over the course of the year.
experience. Additionally, Helen Moore has provided weekly
coaching in small groups for interested members
The club has had a busy 2016/2017 season with and this was well attended throughout the season.
plenty of activity on a number of different fronts. Three members also completed
Local primary school teams, Banteer Girls N.S. a Shuttle Time course, which
and Lyre NS, both medalled at the All-Ireland further enhances the
Shuttle Time Primary Schools Finals. In the All- coaching practices within
Ireland Shuttle Time Secondary Schools Finals, the club.
eight teams between Scoil Mhuire and Colaiste
Treasa were heavily represented from Banteer
Juvenile BC, with 98% of players on these
page 31high performance - June
Sam and Chloe Magee Win
at Spanish International
Sam and Chloe Magee win the Mixed Doubles
title at the Spanish International in June 2017
after overcoming a tough draw with some tricky
foreign opposition. In their quarterfinal match,
they beat the strong Japanese pair of Matsuyama/
Matsui 21-15 21-19 under the tough heat
conditions that the Spanish tournament is known
for.
They beat the number 3 seeds in the semi-final
whom they have had many difficult matches with
in the past. The score against Labar Fontaine of
France was 21-17 23-21. Sam and Chloe held
their form well to stop the match going to three
games at the end of the second.
In the final, they came up against Tabeling/Seinen
of the Netherlands who beat some strong pairs
and had some close matches to reach the finals.
The Irish duo was on fire and came through
the final winning 21-11 21-18. ”Seven years ago
we won our first ever international title here, so it
always brings great memories playing in Madrid.”
- Sam Magee.
Chambers Win Lithuania
International
Ciaran and Sinead Chambers also took home
an international title in June of 2017, winning
the Lithuania International Mixed Doubles title.
After a solid win in their first-round match, they
followed it up by knocking out the number three
seeds Christensen/Syvertsen from Norway. After
comfortably winning their quarter-final match
they then had two close three-game matches in
the semi-final and final stages of the tournament.
The final against the Czech Republic pair of
Budzel/Švábíková went down to the wire with
Ciaran and Sinead winning the match in three
games 17-21 21-18 21-18.
page 32badminton
in July
Coach Education
In July, the Coach Education team travelled to
Nenagh College in County Tipperary, Munster to
deliver a Continuous Professional Development
session, led by John Quinn and Daniel Magee, to
Coaches from the counties of Tipperary, Clare, Cork,
Kerry, Offaly and Waterford.
Right from the word go the coaches were challenged
to think about designing a session. The theme on
progressing a routine made coaches think about.
Looking at technical work and how to help juveniles,
Decision-making abilities and the Consequences of
pressure. The last session of the day the coaches
were able to shadow national coach John Quinn as
he took the kids through a typical court session. This
was a great example of what coaching at the highest
Level looks like. Coaches again were challenged to
get involved and help across the courts.
“The Munster CPD session in Nenagh was
a fantastic day which afforded coaches the
opportunity to work with & learn from our National
High-Performance Coaches. It also gave coaches
the opportunity to share ideas & engage in valuable
discussion. The opportunity to run a coaching
session on the day & get feedback from Dan Magee
& John Quinn was also invaluable. A very enjoyable
day with most of the coaches now looking forward
to the National Coaching Conference in Marino
22/23 July 2017”. Mike O’Meara coach County
Tipperary.
Coaches Conference
The 2017 Coaches conference took place on
July 22nd/23rd and had its highest ever number
attending with over 50 members taking part. The
conference included a Para session led by Lyndon
Williams which proved to be a great success,
page 33coach education in july Day One Day Two With over 50 coaches, players and members at After a great first day at the Conference, day 1 of the Badminton Ireland Conference 2017 participants were back to see what was in store in there was a great buzz around Marino Institute of both the on and off court sessions. Education. Everyone was split into two groups, the First up was former European Medallist and BWF first group started on court with National Coach Para-Badminton Expert Lyndon Williams who John Quinn where they were practising feeding invited coaches and members into the lecture routines using some of the young talented players theatre where he was talking about various from around the country aspects of Para-Badminton. While this was going “It was fantastic to learn new ways of feeding in on John Quinn took the juvenile players for an on the morning session, it will be great to try to use court session in the main hall where they were these back in our Junior Club”. - Dean Dowling working hard with tough multi-feed routines. (Dunboyne Badminton Club) Andy Stewart in the meantime gave the players a Meanwhile, Andy Stewart took the second group lecture on the mental side of badminton and what for a classroom session where he discussed the that entails benefits and variations of conditioned games After lunch Badminton Ireland development that could be used when coaching. Andy took officer Fiach Andrews got to talk to the everyone through a few ideas which were later participants about some of the ideas being put put into practice on the court. Some of the in place to improve and develop badminton conditioned games were focused around being around the country. It was an informative session aware of court space and trying to build a rally where everyone engaged well with the material with an opponent. and content put forward. Everyone was then led In the last part of the day coaches and players got back into the hall for the last section of the day the chance to ‘boost their Teicnic Level’. Levels where Andy Stewart took everyone onto court to from White - Red on the Teicnic Badminton launch the Pink ‘Teicnic’ Badminton Level. Programme were assessed on day 1. Badminton Ireland coaches were assessing players on each of the courts. There was a great atmosphere in the hall as everyone worked together to improve their standard and develop their ‘Teicnic’. page 34
Development
Cavan Para Taster Session
A first ever Para-Badminton taster session was Moreover, it is important to highlight the essential
hosted in Cavan last Wednesday, June 21st, as role the Local Sports Partnership (LSP) play in
Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) groups in rolling out these events, as they assist in recruiting
Cavan and Navan attended a session delivered participants and locating a suitable venue, while
by Terry Conroy from the Lisburn 2gether Pan Badminton Ireland aim to ensure there will be a
Disability club. With the Irish Para-Badminton follow-on from the initial session, by contacting
International Championships beginning the local clubs and coaches to encourage them to
following day, it was an opportune time to be actively involved on the day. Ulster Badminton
introduce the sport to the twenty participants in also assisted in the process of recruiting Terry
attendance as they had never previously played Conroy to lead this particular session. Sports
the game. Commenting on the significance of the Inclusion Disability Officer (SIDO) for Cavan/
timing of this event, Monaghan, Dean McElroy, touched on some of
these points during his assessment of the taster
Terry Conroy had this to say, “On the week of session in Cavan, “On behalf of Cavan Sports
the Irish Para-Badminton International, this was Partnership, Sports Inclusion programme, it
a great opportunity to introduce badminton was fantastic to support such an event in the
to new players who may be at that level in county and to give people the opportunity to try
the future. Most of the group had not played badminton for the first time locally. Working in
badminton before, but a lot of fun was had in partnership with Badminton Ireland and the IWA
picking up some of the basics”. worked excellently well and we hope to continue
this relationship into the future”.
page 35high performance - july
Indonesia Experience
Nhat Nguyen and Paul Reynolds experience
tough training in Indonesia. Paul and Nhat are
spending over a month training and sparring at
the Exist Badminton Academy in Jakarta. They
lived on site at the club and were exposed to
daily training with the other Indonesian players
and coaches. Conditions are tough especially
coping with the heat and humidity that playing
in Asia exposes the players to. This will hopefully
give them the necessary experience of how to
cope with these conditions when they return in
October to play the World Junior Championships
again in Jakarta.
page 36badminton
in august
Coach Education
August was another busy month for the Coach
education team. Delivering two full weeks of
activities at the U13 and U15 Teicnic Badminton
Camps. Starting with the U13s, which was held
in Marino Institute of Education, had over 20
players from across the country attended the
camp with a packed week full of badminton and
other activities. Throughout the week attendees
where taking through various routines on court
to help improve their skills and technical aspects
of the game.
Players also got the opportunity to get outside
for some fresh air where they took part in
Football, Gaelic, Athletics and a variety of other
sports. Towards the end of the week, players
took their Teicnic test. The levels tested ranged
from white to blue. All players were of a very
high standard and passed the level they were
assessed at. To round out the week all players
took part in a team tournament. There were
some very close matches with one team coming
out on top. After the tournament players were
presented with their Teicnic shirts. There was also
an award for best female and male camper of the
week, the prizes for this were a t-shirt belonging
to Chloe Magee and Irish Senior team shirt
signed by all the players. Female camper of the
week was won by Molly Hill and male camper of
the week was won by James Fleming.
Following the U13 camps, the Coach Education
team where back in Marino for another fun-filled
week of badminton and various activities at the
U15 Teicnic Summer Camos. Over 30 players
from across the country attended the camp. The
U15 camp is structured the same as the U13’s,
with a variety of activities being delivered to help
with each attendee’s development. However,
page 37coach education in august this year’s camp attendees had the privilege of female campers of the week. The best female being treated to a session by guest coach Xiaojia camper of the week was presented to Molly Chen of China, who is a former Chinese National Hong Minh. The best male camper of the week and Indonesian Open winner. She represented was presented to Adam Daynes. China in the 2012 Asia Games. The players really enjoyed the session and were put to the test by the Chinese coach. Thanks to HaoTong Aviation World Coaches Conference for sponsoring the players with playing shirts. Coach Education and Training Manager Daniel On the final day of the camp and players got to Magee attended the World coaches’ conference take part in a team tournament. There were 5 in Glasgow Scotland that ran alongside the teams of 5 players and the games were played World Championships on August 25th and to 21 with every point counting toward the final 26th. The conference was widely represented results. # Players were then greeted by their with coaches from across Europe and Asia and parents who got to watch them being presented members of Badminton Europe and the BWF. with the Teicnic shirt that they achieved during Daniel received a certificate of participation for the week. There was also a special prize of a his input during the course. signed Irish Team shirt for the best male and page 38
page 39
high performance - august
Magee’s shock the World as they
progress to last 16
Glasgow’s Emirates Arena hosted the 2017 BWF
World Championships in August. Sam and Chloe
Magee opened the tournament for the Irish with
a strong performance over Yan Tuck Chan & Yuko
Kawasaki of the USA (21-6 21-11) making it to
the last 32. Scott Evans featured later that day as
he came up against the World number 4 Shi Yuqi
of China. He put in a fantastic performance to
really test Yuqi. He lost out in the end 23-21 22-
20. In the men’s doubles, Joshua and Sam Magee
came up against the French pair of Kersuady and
Maio of France. The Irish pair took the first game
21-19 but the French fought back and took both
the second and third games to come out on top.
Sam and Chloe Magee continued their good
form with a sensational win over the number 16
seeds Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino from
Japan (World number 22) with a final score of
21-13 16-21 21-15. The Irish pair were trailing
13-7 in the third game and it looked as though
their World Championships were all but over.
They had a fantastic run of 9 straight points to
come back to lead 16-13 and went on to take
the match and their place in the top 16.
In their final match of the tournament they came
up against the World Number 3 and Olympic
Gold medallists Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana
Natsir of Indonesia. The first game saw the
Magee’s really out playing the Indonesian pair
with Chloe taking control of the net well and
Sam supporting her from the rear court. The
Magee’s took the first 21-19. The second game
saw Natsir and Ahmad really step it up a gear
showing why they are the Olympic Champions.
They put the Irish pair under pressure and won
that game 21-16. In the final game the Indonesian
pair dominated throughout and won the match
21-10.
page 40badminton
in september
Coach Education
The first Shuttle-Time of the new season was
held in Magherafelt on the 6th of September.
Mervyn fee who is an experienced Badminton
Ireland Tutor with a background in Physical
education led the course.
I found the course to be a useful exercise in that:
The participants were from cross community
schools. There was a good mixture of teachers
eager to introduce badminton to their schools.
The teachers were looking to upskill and help to
improve some players they already had.
Tutor: Mervyn Fee
page 41Development – September
Development Officer Fiach Andrews started the
new season by awarding Viking Badminton Club
(Dublin) with a Bronze Level Club Mark award.
This is a fantastic achievement for a club who
have invested a great amount of time and effort
in the Clubmark process. The collective unity
within Viking BC was the primary foundation
behind the clubs successful Clubmark journey,
and this was most evident in how the members
and executive funded the attendance of one club
coach on a Badminton Ireland Level 1 course in
early 2017.
Club Chairperson Andy Tang was responsible for
ensuring the eventual signing-off the Clubmark
process with Badminton Ireland, and upon
visiting Viking to present them with their award,
he provided a background into the culture and
ethos within the club; “Our emphasis in Viking is
not to make money or win the most silverware,
our main priority is to make all members feel
welcomed, appreciated, and most importantly
send them home with smiles on their faces.
Those values remain constant in all club nights,
whether that be in Aughrim Street on a Monday
evening, or Terenure Badminton Centre on a
Thursday night”.
Furthermore, we asked Andy to give us his
thoughts on the Clubmark process and this is
what he had to say; “Clubmark gave us guidance
on what clear structures and strategy look like
for a Badminton club, and we firmly believe this
has progressed the club level in recent months”.
Clubs must meet requirements in areas such as
Governance, Teicnic participation, and Coaching
in order to achieve the Clubmark awards.
For more information on our Clubmark
Programme, please visit the development section
of the Badminton Ireland website.
page 42events – September
September marked the beginning of a new Joseph very close in both finals. Matthew won
season for the Events Team, with both Conor the second game in the boys final to set up a
Doherty and Greg Farrell delivering a fantastic brilliant and tense third game. Matthew traded
international event. The FZ U19/U15 Irish points with Joseph throughout the third game
Open was hosted in Lisburn Racquets Club and but Joseph proved to be too strong in the end.
attracted players for across Ireland and Europe. After a brilliant semi-final win from Matthew
The U19’s ended with great success for Irish Cheung and Sophia Noble in the mixed doubles,
players Nhat Nguyen and Paul Reynolds. Nhat the Irish pair put in a superb performance against
won the Men’s Doubles with his partner Paul England’s Scott and Arksey. The English pair
before winning his first Gold medal of the day took the first game 21-18 before the Irish pair
by defeating Belgium number three seed Julien levelled the match up with a 21-18 game. The
Carraggi. The win caps off a very successful final game once again was very tight and both
weekend for the Irish stars who look to build a teams produced some of their best badminton of
string of good results towards the FZ Irish Open the weekend. With the players playing alongside
in December. the U19 Men’s single final the crowd was getting
behind all the Irish players. Matthew and Sophia
Nhat and Paul were able to beat number two came up just short however after Joseph Scott
seeds Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley and Katherin Arksey won the final game 21-17.
in two games in the Men’s Doubles Final. The
Grimley twins proved a competitive matchup for
Nhat and Paul with many long rallies which left
the crowd on the edge of their seats. However
great net play from Paul Reynolds followed up
by strong backcourt play from Nhat allowed the
pair to comfortably win the match 21-12,21-
11. Following Nhat’s success earlier in the day,
Nhat would close the competition in style with a
dramatic three game match in the Men’s Singles
Final. Nhat cruised to a first game win 21-7. After
a much-needed break Julien Carraggi dug deep
and stepped up his game. Julien produced some
excellent shots at the net and put Nhat under
great pressure. Julien was able to come away with
a well-deserved 21-17 victory. With all eyes on
this match Nhat Nguyen produced a dynamic
performance and reduced his error rate. Nhat
was able to execute his shots with more accuracy
and was able to win the match 21-11 and take
home his second Gold.
In the FZ U15 Irish Open Joseph Scott from
England was able to win three Golds (Boys
Singles, Boys Doubles and Mixed Doubles).
Joesph got the upper hand over Matthew
Cheung in two finals, however Matthew pushed
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