If you’re not interested in being selected for a team, just attend club night on the Mondays, Sundays are for team selection only.

Matches and standard club nights resume w/c 19th September.

I’ll update the fees and club night pages soon!

Cheers,

James.

There are four separate files provided. I guess you only need to print the entry form and declaration (3 & 4) to send in. I’ve also combined them all into one file in case you just want to see all of the pages in one go, coz I’m helpful like that. You’re welcome.

1. Programme of Events
2. 2011_2_Conditions_of_Entry
3. 2011_3_Official_Entry_Form
4. 2011_4_Declaration_Form

The full 2011 League Tournament Entry Form – Now in one, handy, cut out and keep file!

• Monday 14th March
  • Mixed Doubles Championship
  • Mixed Doubles Restricted Championship Div 3and,4
• Tuesday 15th March
  • Gents Singles Championship*
  • Ladies Singles Championship*
• Wednesday 16th March
  • Gents Doubles Championship
  • Ladies Doubles Championship
  • Gents Doubles Restricted Championship Div 3 and 4
  • Ladies Doubles Restricted Championship Div 3 and 4
• Thursday 17th March
  • Mystery Mixed Handicap
• Friday 18th March
  • Veterans Gents Doubles Handicap
  • Veterans Ladies Doubles Handicap
• Saturday19h March
  • Mixed Doubles Handicap ‘A’
  • Mixed Doubles Handicap ‘B’
• Sunday 20th March
  • Gents Doubles Handicap ‘A’
  • Gents Doubles Handicap ‘B’
  • Ladies Doubles Handicap ‘A’
  • Ladies Doubles Handicap ‘B’
• Monday 21st March
  • Veterans Mixed Doubles Handicap – over 40’s
  • Veterans Mixed Doubles Handicap – over 50’s
• Tuesday 22nd March
  • FINALS – Handicap Events
• Thursday 24th March
  • FINALS – Championship events

For the ‘Why do you say that?” question in follow up to my answer of ‘very poor’ to “Thinking generally about the current benefits of being a BADMINTON England member – how would you rate them? ” question:

A national organisation with literally NO relevance to local players. Despite lip service in the magazine, the organisation leeches from local clubs and gives nothing in return, bar forcing undesired changes on locals just because they suit national and international players or TV producers (e.g. rally points).

When I chose ‘very poor’ for “Thinking generally about the Badminton Magazine – how would you rate it?”, they asked me why I said that. I replied:

No content worth reading for practically anybody. Very limited coaching advice or information about playing badminton at the level of what must be the vast majority of the readership, local league players. Even for higher standard players there can’t be anything worth reading beyond the results and national rankings.

Seriously, who wants to read endless puff pieces about what some national player does on their typical day?

Where are the reviews of equipment? Where are the discussions about tactics that league players and up-and-coming juniors can use at club night? How about some drills that can be put into use by people at several removes from the elite? Or advice on how to organise a club night around 2 courts with 20 people wanting to variously practice, play games and talk about East-enders, before sodding off down the pub? These people don’t need or want advanced aerobic and anaerobic conditioning regimes, they need some basic advice about where to stand to receive serve, how to practice backhands and what to do when the opposition are making bad line calls. OK, lots of people do want more advanced stuff, so leave it in (though I bet if they’re serious they’re getting it elsewhere anyway), but where’s the stuff for the little people?

It really isn’t clear who the audience of this magazine really is.

Have you washed your shorts?

Shuttles

Selection

E-Mail

Web Site

Twitter

Social

Committee Meetings

Not sure what the point is!

I have now set up a new calendar for the club, hosted by Google Calendars. You can access this in several ways: If you have a google account yourself (maybe you’ve already got Gmail or a Google calendar of your own) you can subscribe to the calendar and the events can then be overlaid on your own (Google) calender – this is what I will be doing and part of the reason I’m trialling Google for the club calendar – do this by clicking the very obvious button on the side-bar; You can link directly to the calendar using this address; or you can view the calendar on this site on the Calendar page (see also the side-bar, Pages section). I’ll gradually populate the calendar with all forthcoming events and matches. I can’t be bothered to do the whole season right now in one go, but I’ll do the next couple of weeks to be going on with.

Speaking of events, the Golf day I had been going on about for this Saturday looks like a no go at the moment – several people who wanted to come have cried off, and it turns out there’s a comp on at Morecambe anyway on Saturday. I really need to get one of our expert golfers on board to organise the golf side of the day – I don’t mind trying to organise the people to get together, but it would be handy to have someone who’s well into it to help organise tee-times and a format and help out the erm, less able with handicaps and stroke indexes and how to do stableford scoring and things. I’m thinking the Brian Forrest’s and Dave Carney’s and Dave Sowerbutt’s of the club can help out with that side – how about it guys? We’ll try and get something sorted in the next few weeks, yeah?

Once again, the selection process has been extremely tricky – new faces and an additional team to select have only compounded the usual problem with selection at this time of year, namely the farcically limited time available to observe players and to select teams before matches start. With holidays and other commitments, some players have only been seen once by the selectors prior to this evening, which, as you know is the final club night before the competitive season starts next week (W/C 25th September).

Aside from observation at club nights though, the selectors have, without exaggeration, spent several hours ‘off-court’ deliberating and agonising over the opening selections, so please remember that these were not simply dashed off in the pub in a few minutes, or rashly chosen during the heat of a club night. Nevertheless, we don’t expect to get it absolutely right first time, or expect that the teams will not change throughout the rest of the season. In fact, quite the opposite, the selection process will be ongoing, and we are required by the club to make constant assessment of our choices. Remember, also, that it is our job to select teams, not players, and to select the best teams possible to ensure that the club is as successful in the league and cup competitions as it can be.

Finally, as always, if you have any concerns or queries, or if the selections have puzzled or annoyed you in some way, come and speak to us about it. That goes for the team placings and also for the pairings we’ve made. We’ve spent a long time on this and all of our selections are made with good reason – if our reasoning turns out to be faulty or groundless, we need to know about it.

James Illingworth
Pam Clemmet.
18/09/2006

• Gentlemen
1. James Illingworth.
2. Graham Hewitt.
3. Dave Carney.
• Ladies
1. Janette Sowerbutts.
2. Lorraine Cross.
3. Maureen Forrest.

‘B’ Team

• Gentlemen
1. Matthew Derham.
2. Paul Gardener.
3. Dave Sowerbutts.
• Ladies
1. Pam Clemmet.
2. Tanya Hughes.
3. Daine Williams.

‘C’ Team

• Gentlemen
1. Stewart Clark.
2. Gordon Rutter.
3. John Skelcher.
• Ladies
1. Anne Parker.
2. Lorna Stewart.
3. Diane Williams.

‘D’ Team

• Gentlemen
1. Kevin Thompson.
2. Stuart Allan.
3. Brian Forrest.
• Ladies
1. Cynthia Dickinson.
2. Helen Alexander.
3. Jo Hinde.