This was a tough match with Lou T and Debbie both suffering from “girl flu”, also they played with yellow plastic shuttles – so this one was going to be hard work with them having a big home advantage.

P & LT started off badly, with not being able to see the shuttle, then when we could see it, either not being able to move our feet or hit it back inside the lines!  EEK, this is going to be a hard one.  LB & D took on their seconds and put up a good fight with the difficult lights, plastic yellow shuttles and general lack of good health!  P & LT managed to win the second rubber against their slightly weaker second pairing, but unfortunately the splits went the same way with both P & LB putting up a really good fight and LT & D also doing the same, it was unfortunately a disappointing result losing 1-5, but we will be much closer to them at home with our feathers advantage!

LT & P went on against their 1^st pair and after building up a 11-4 lead, we somehow managed to lose focus and lost 15-13!  Eek, after a small re-group and a slap on the wrist we played very well with lots of good rallies and smashing and clearing from LT and very forceful smashing at the net from P we took the rubber 15-11, 15-6.

Meanwhile LB & J took on the second pairing and although they had not played as a pair before them stormed through against the 2nds with very little trouble, with an aggressive attacking game winning 15-5, 15-3.  2-0 up at this point!

LT & P took on the seconds and started half asleep and let them get into the game, we then sorted ourselves out and took the game 15-13, the second game also went our way with some excellent play to win 15-10. 

LB & J took on the 1^st pair and had some great rallies and there were lots of excellent smashes and drops and net shots from both LB & J to take the rubber in 15-11, 13-15, 15-6.  (Same score as LT & P, but a different way round!).  4-0 at this point!!

P & LB went on as the first split, and after a little confusion over the wrong pair from the opposition walking on court, they went on to play an excellent game, very close in parts with each point very hard fought for.  They took the rubber in 15-7, 13-15, 15-11.

LT & J went on as the second split and yet again had not played as a pair in a match before so were getting used to each other, but after some excellent net shots and smashes we took the final rubber in 15-9, 15-6.  With only 4mins left to spare – thanks for letting us use the 2^nd court again Mr Chairman!

Result: 6-0 WIN !!

This was a fab match with all of us playing really well.  It was lovely to have really close fought games, but to take the advantage and get a 6-0 win – wonderful, well done to everyone and thanks to the supporters for their whooping from the side lines!

LT & P went on against the 1^st pairing and after a slow start we lost the first game 14-17, we then sorted ourselves out and concentrated to take the next two games 15-13, 17-16 with a nail biting finish with two shots bouncing off the net and a quick dive to get to it – cue clapping from the side lines!

LB & DG went on against the 2^nd pairing and again had a slower start narrowly losing 14-17, but they composed themselves and played really well to take the rubber 15-6, 17-15, a little nail biting at the end as well!.  2-0 up at this point.

LT & P took on the 2^nd’s and finished them off swiftly with a 15-5 win, we then decided to play “properly” in the second and took the game 15-0!!!  Woohoo!  Penny moaned at this point that she hadn’t broken a sweat in that game!

LB & DG took on the 1^st’s and were oh so close in the first game taking a great game 17-16, then unfortunately the opposition got the upper hand and despite their best efforts they lost out 6-15, 9-15.  3-1 at the moment, one more for the win!

P & LB went on as the first split and played great against the 1^st split from the opposition.  They took their rubber easily 15-7, 15-6 without much trouble at all.

LT & DG took on the 2^nd split and played well, again taking the rubber fairly easily 15-8, 15-11.

5-1 WIN.  FAB work girls, well done !!!

Excellent win for the Ladies team last night, we were expecting it to be fairly tough and it was – but only due to lack of consistency on our part!

P & LT went on against their strong first pairing and just couldn’t find our normal form and lost the first one 12-15, we then regained our composure and played really well to take the second 15-6, we then went on for the decider and kept the momentum going to take the rubber with a 15-10win.

Meanwhile LT and DJ were on against the 2^nd pairing and made very short work of the games taking them 15-6, 15-8.  2-0 up now and feeling good!

P & L went on against the 2nds and yet again managed to lose out 12-15 in the first, so after a stiff talking to by P we played to their weaknesses and took the second 4-15.  Yet again taking it to a decider –we like to get our money’s worth in ladies! The third game seemed to drag on for ages and ages, with us having 4 or 5 game points and not being able to convert any of them – argh! The opposition was slowly creeping up on us, but we eventually finished them off at 15-11 –but not before a small moment of panic set in as they got into double figures!

D & L went on against the 1sts and both played really well, easily out manoeuvring them and taking the first game 13-15, the second game was also close but they stood their ground and took the game 15-12.  4-0 up at this point, Woohoo!

Time for the splits…

P & LB went on against the 1^st split and played some great shots and easily took the games 15-9, 15-4!.  L &D went on as the 2^nd split and although this was our first match playing as a pairing we settled down quickly, with some wonderful serving from Debbie we easily took the rubber 15-5, 15-4.

Result 6-0 win!  Some excellent badminton from everyone in the team, well done…  This should take us top of the division again now!

This one was expected to be a tough game, with their superb home advantage of plastic shuttles and bright yellow glaring lights that we all hate!

Lou and Penny went on as first pair and found that we were still fatigued from playing the night before unfortunately, and the opposition took advantage of us being a little slower than usual.  We lost out in two games. 9-15, 11-15 –Cue much frustration.

Debbie and Lou B went on against the second pairing and took the first game 15-9, unfortunately the opposition got the better of them and after a very hard fought further two games they lost out 8-15, 8-15.  0-2 down at this point, and we’re all moaning about the shuttles and the lights– even Debbie!

LT and P took on the second pair and had a tough opener narrowly losing ours 14-17! We then found some energy and took the second 15-9, forcing the decider.  Unfortunately they cleared and dropped very well and we were unable to stop then running away with the game losing 2-15 – urgh!  It was decided at this point that we needed some cakes for the next match!!

D & LB took on the first pairing and had a massively hard rubber, losing the first game 16-17! Then winning the second 17-16 to force the decider also… they then played fantastically but unfortunately lost out 10-15.  1-3 down now…

LB & P went on court against the first split from WB and fatigue was starting to set in unfortunately - with being just that little bit slower to and from the net, they fought for everything and played well but lost out 8-15, 4-15.

Debbie and Lou B went on as the second split and with Debbie’s tactics, saying to me “totally aggressive – smash everything” play we secured the rubber 15-9, 15-5.  Queue the oxygen tent for the captain afterwards!!!

Final Score 2-4, loss.  Such a shame, as we really wanted to win this one….but we tried our best and that’s all that matters….  Well played everyone!

The award for physic ability goes to Penny, who during the warm-up declared “I’m going to break my strings tonight, I can feel it” and OMG within the first 5mins of the first game, ping there they went….spooky!

The newly promoted! first pair of LB & D went on against their firsts and with some lovely shots from both of them they secured with first rubber 15-8, 15-13.

Eventually the second rubber got underway and the two youngsters from Jubilee bounced their way onto court.  P & LT then found they were not very strong and after a few lapses in concentration and being “nice” we took the rubber 15-8, 15-4.  2-0 up at this point.

LB & D took on the young second pair and stormed through the rubber very easily winning 15-4, 15-2.

LT & P took on the first pairing and after making a great start 15-5, we lost out in the second game 8-15 forcing the decider, unfortunately even after being 11-4 up we managed somehow to lose 13-15!!!  ARGH, the captain was seen to stomp off in a huff and go and kick one of the cupboards, rather than throw her racket at the wall!   3-1 up now….

Onto the splits: LB & P went on and first split and played some “no mercy” shots to easily take the rubber 15-4, 15-3.

LT & D went on as second split and again decided that the “no mercy” approach was the best, taking the rubber easily again in 15-2, 15-4. 

Overall result 5-1 WIN and cakes to celebrate afterwards, yummy yummy….  Well done again ladies…!

Debbie & Lou B went on as the 1^st pair and played a storm, hardly giving the opposition ladies a chance to get into the game in the first game.  The second game also went their way easily, they took the 1^st rubber 15-5, 15-11.

Lou T & Penny went on as 2^nd pair and found that the cold the captain was struck down with, was hampering the ability to move my feet!  Luckily enough Penny was dressed in her new “bumble bee” outfit, looking VERY snazzy I have to say!, and blinded them with her fab t-shirt - we managed to scrape through the rubber, after not concentrating properly and taking it far too easily, 15-13, 15-13.  2-0 at the moment.

D & LB took on the 2^nd pairing and trounced them without looking like they broke a sweat!  15-2, 15-1….wow, now that’s how to play ladies!

LT & P took on the stronger 1^st pairing (inc the chairman’s beloved – who was he supporting I hear you ask!?!?) and played better, with the aid of some more neurofen and cough sweets!  We took the rubber 17-14 ! 15-10…  Great 4-0 and we’ve got the match won now!

The splits were LT & P first, who both played really well, covering the court really well and attacking at every opportunity…. They took the 5^th rubber 15-2, 15-4…  excellent, can we make it a full house…?

LT & D went on as 2^nd split and after Debbie telling me not to choke on a cough sweet!  We easily took the first game 15-5, unfortunately the opposition ladies upped their game and picked on our weakness’s and we unfortunately lost the second game 6-15. (Still not quite sure how that happened, think I must have fallen asleep during the game, sorry Deb!)  Onto the decider then… With some admittedly silly mistakes and a general lack of normal movement from both of us we unfortunately lost the last game 12-15, argh...

Overall score 5-1 to us…. Well played to everyone, this keeps us in second place.

Well it’s all coming down to the wire with us NEEDING to win this one to keep our hopes of winning the division alive….

After turning up at Barker Buts to find it freezing cold as normal and a Mens match on too, we were in for a long night!

D & LB went on as 1^st pairing and played really well, while still wearing trousers and jumpers, I did wonder if playing in fingerless gloves would work at one point!.  They played steady shots against a very tall opposition girl, who had she moved her feet more – would have caused more problems for us….  They took the first rubber 15-13, 15-12.  Well done ladies, get your coats on before you freeze!

LT & P went on against their 2^nd pairing, we found they were a much easier pairing and after a little sleepy time in the middle of the first game we “put our game heads on” and took the rubber 15-10, 15-5. 

2-0 now…

D & LB went on against the 2^nds  and after warming up again they took the first game 15-10, I’m not too sure what happened in the second game with them loosing 11-15, but there were four letter words beginning with “S” being said afterwards by both Debbie and LB and then they went back on for the decider - easily taking this 15-5!  Well done ladies….

Meantime LT and P went on against the 1^stt and Penny found that hitting it midcourt or at the net to the very tall girl meant it came back VERY fast straight at your body….  we lost that first game 4-15, eek!  After regaining composure we had a much closer game narrowly losing out though at 13-15.

3-1 going into the splits.

LT & D went on as second split and found the short serves of Debbie working extremely effectively, we played really well and took the rubber without any problems, 15-3, 15-4.  Woohoo 4-1 and we’ve got the match win…

Mean while still on court and having more of a game were LB & P, they again played well to take their rubber 15-10, 15-10.

I’d like to say a big WELL DONE to all of us, and pat each other on the backs.  One more match to go and we’re hunting that trophy down!  Also Penny decided that if she’s now known as “Bumblebee” then Debbie shall now be known at “Tigger” for all the bouncing up and down while playing!  Answers on a score-card for nicknames for LT and LB to the captain please…..

Well this match was the one needed to win the division, so the pressure was always going to be on, but when the opposition turned up with a stronger team than last time, we gulped a little!  But suffice to say after lots of calming deep breathing we held our nerve and played some of the best badminton we have all season to take the win and the division trophy!  At one point I wasn’t too sure who was more nervy, the spectators or us !!!

Lou B & Debbie went on as 1^st pair against their 1^sts and their first game was so close all the way through with both pairs playing well, but Debbie & Lou B took the first game 17-16!  The second game unfortunately didn’t go their way as the opposition proved a little to composed, they lost out 5-15.  So onto a decider and although the score doesn’t reflect just how close it was all the way through they unfortunately lost it 9-15. 

Lou T & Penny went on against their 2^nds and overcame their bad serving (nerves) and took the first game 15-5, we then let them get back into the game in the second one and we lost out 9-15.  So after a short re-group we out played them to take the decider 15-7.

1-1  now and the Chairman can’t concentrate on his own game down the other end of the hall !!

Lou T & Penny took on their first pair expecting this to be very hard, but it must be that we play a different style to LB & D cause we felt in control the whole time and took the rubber without too much trouble, 15-12.  It got a little hairy at the end of the second game, as we were 14-9 up and just couldn’t finish it off, but we held it together and took the rubber with a 15-13 game.

Lou B & D went on against their seconds and played great without looking in any danger of losing their composure at any point they took the rubber 15-8, 15-11. 

3-1 now and we only need one rubber to be able to lift the trophy!

LT & D went on against the 2^nd split and I have to admit I was expecting them to put up more of a fight, but without tactics of short serve and pouncing on anything remotely worthy of a smash we took the first game 15-5, at this point I (as captain) was so nervous I  could hardly serve anything half decent (sorry Debbie!), but after lots of calming words from Debbie and smashing the doo-dar’s out of the shuttle at every opportunity we took the rubber with a  15-6 win.  MATCH WON NOW !!!!  This took the pressure off LB & P as they were just about to step onto court for their decider in the 1^st split.

LB & P went on as 1^st split and rapidly got into their stride easily taking the first game 15-8, unfortunately the opposition got a bit more of the luck in the second and they had a tough game with lots of great rallies and narrowly missed out losing the second 13-15.  So onto a decider: they took the lead from the get-go and never looked back, taking control of the game with dramatic effect taking the remaining game and rubber 15-7.

Result:  WON 5-1 rubbers, 11-4 games, 203-158 points.

Thanks to the spectators who stayed and cheered us on Friday evening, it was lovely to have the support!  Sorry if we have you all heart-attacks!  Ha Ha…

Thanks to all the girls this year, as we’ve all played brilliantly…..  Not forgetting Debbie G, Jo, Julie Jones who all stepped in this year to help us out too….. well done to you for playing so well for us….Thank you. 

We thoroughly deserved this division win, even if next season will be a bit of a shock!