Event Organiser

PJ Cooney

pjandannecooney@eircom.net

Updated 10.09.08

BADMINTON IN THE MIDLANDS

NEW SEASON UNDERWAY

The 2008-2009 Badminton season is reorganising in Laois, Offaly, and Southwest Leinster Badminton League. 

Southwest Leinster League

Honourable Secretary Loftus Warren has posted entry forms to all clubs that participated in Southwest Leinster Badminton League during the 2007-2008 season.  The entry forms are to be returned to the honourable secretary before the 16th of October.  Entry fee this year is €40 per team and must be enclosed with the entry form.  All entry forms are to be posted to Loftus Warren to reach him before 16 October and not brought to the meeting on the night of the grading.  Any club not receiving an entry form but wishing to play in the Southwest Leinster Badminton Leagues should contact Loftus Warren by phone at 059 86 38563 or in writing at 11 Ashville, Athy, Co. Kildare.  All members of the grading committee are to be present at the meeting.  Senior Grading Committee members selected at the AGM are Martin Hanlon, Johnswell; John Looby, Rahan; Malcolm Neale, Portarlington Parochial; Aubrey Cox, Carlow Y.M.; William Stevenson, Carlow Y.M.: William Mitchell, Mullingar, and Trevor Cobbe, Portarlington Parochial.  Junior Grading Committee members are Carthage Byrne, Rahan; Tony Nolan, Johnswell; Tom Dooley, Carlow L.T.C.; Kathleen Mullins; Roy Cobbe, Portarlington Parochial; Dolores Sheerin, Rahan; Bob Jones, Baltinglass; David Quinn, Clonenagh; and Richard Wallace, Carlow, Y.M.

Other officials of the Southwest Leinster Badminton League are P.J. Cooney, Carlow L.T.C., President; Kathleen Mullins and Judy Bryant, PRO’s; and 8 Vice-Presidents, Roy Cobbe, Portarlington Parochial; William Mitchell, Mullingar; Trevor Cobbe, Portarlington Parochial; Tony Nolan, Johnswell; Tom Dooley, Carlow L.T.C.; Malcolm Neale, Portarlington Parochial; Bob Jones, Baltinglass; and Aubrey Cox, Carlow Y.M.

Any club wishing to get coaching for juvenile players should contact SWLL President P. J. Cooney at 087-6429948l.

Southwest Leinster voted at the AGM to use the pre-Olympics scoring system for the 2008-2009 badminton season.

Laois Leagues

Laois League Secretary, Alan Cobbe held a Grading Meeting in Portarlington Parochial Hall to kick-start the 2008-2009 season.  Each club was to have at least one representative at the meeting.  The meeting were to discuss which scoring system Laois Leagues were to use for the League competitions.

At the Spring AGM, Sarah McDowell was returned as Chairperson for the coming year.  Alan Cobbe is continuing as Secretary.  Mary Doogue and James Kilbride will be the Treasurers.  Niall Davis was elected League Secretary, and Judy Bryant as PRO.  David Quinn and Lorraine Hill will organise the County Championships.  A County Committee to oversee Laois Badminton was appointed.  Members are Alan Cobbe, Secretary, Trevor Cobbe, James Kilbride, Sarah McDowell, and Niall Davis.

Offaly Badminton

The Offaly AGM was held on 25 September.  Kevin Henson was returned as Chairperson.  Judy Bryant will serve as Secretary and PRO.  Stuart Lavin was elected Treasurer and Ina Wilson was elected Vice-chairperson.  Judy Bryant agreed to serve as Youth Officer and the Youth Committee from last year was returned in block.  The revision of the Offaly Rules, last updated in 1993, was the main item on the agenda.  Fees were held at the 2007-2008 level.  The new or Olympic Scoring system will be used again this season.  The Offaly grading meeting will be held in Killoughey Community Centre on 9 October, and Leagues are due to begin in early November.  The Offaly Leagues are accepting entries for 4 person men’s or ladies teams and 6 person mixed teams.

Join a Club or League

Any player wishing to join a club or any club wishing to join a League or County association should contact the respective County/League Secretary:  Southwest Leinster, Loftus Warren, 11 Ashville, Athy, Co. Kildare, Telephone 059 86 38563; Alan Cobbe, Alpa, Doolagh, Portarlington, Co. Laois, Telephone 085-1742247; or Judy Bryant, Rathrobin, Blueball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, Telephone 087 3103299.

Update 08.04.08

Class 1

Round 1          Meath 4 – Kildare 3

Round 2          Wexford 7 – Kildare 0

Round 3          Wexford 4 – Meath 0

Class 2

Round 1          Wicklow 6 – Offaly 1

Round 2          Wexford 7 – Offaly 0

Round 3          Wexford 4 – Wicklow 0

Class 3

Final                Wexford 4 – Wicklow 0

Class 4

Semi-Finals   Meath A 4 – Meath B 1: Louth 4 – Kilkenny 0.

Final                Louth 4 – Meath A 1

Class 5

Semi-Finals   Meath 4 – Louth 1: Carlow 4 – Laois 0

Final               Meath 4 – Carlow 0

Update 20.02.08

The qualifiers for the Leinster Class 4 Inter Counties were played on Sunday 17th February.  Seven teams participated in the event with Meath A and B progressing to meet each other in one semi-final while Louth and Kilkenny will contest the other.

Section 1

Round 1 Meath A 4 : Wicklow 3   Kilkenny 6 : Laois 1   
Round 2 Meath A 6 : Laois 1     Kilkenny 5 : Wicklow 2 
Round 3 Meath A 5 : Kilkenny 2  Wicklow 5 : Laois 2    

Final Standings: Meath A 15; Kilkenny 13; Wicklow 10; Laois 4.

Section 2

Meath B 4 : Westmeath 3
Louth 7 : Westmeath 0
Louth 6 : Meath B 1

Final Standings: Louth 13; Meath B 5; Westmeath 3.

Semi-finals and finals will take place in Whitehall Road on 6th April '08.

The next Inter County matches will be held on 2nd March when 6 Class 2 teams go into action.  Venues yet to be decided.

Update 21.01.08

The results from the Leinster Class 3 qualifier that was played on Sunday 20th January in Roundwood where Wexford came out on top with 15 points to secure a final spot. The other three teams in the group finished on 9 points each, however, it was Wicklow who edged out Louth and Meath for the other final spot on the number of sets won.

Round 1   Wexford 5:Meath 2        Louth 5:Wicklow 2            
Round 2   Wexford 4:Wicklow 3     Meath 4:Louth 3              
Round 3   Wexford 6:Louth 1         Wicklow 4:Meath 3           
                               
                               
Final Standings:

Wexford - 15pts                     
Wicklow - 9 Wicklow qualify for the final as they won most sets            
Louth - 9                    
Meath - 9                     
                               

The Class 5 qualifiers were played yesterday, 27th January, with ten teams entered in the competition.  These were broken into three pools with the winner of each and the best runner-up to progress to the semi-finals.  However, Wicklow and Kilkenny withdrew very late leaving it too late to rearrange into two pools.

Results

Section 1: Carlow 5 - Wexford 2
Section 2: Westmeath 4 - Meath B 3; Louth 5 - Meath B 2; Louth 5 - Westmeath 2.
Section 3: Meath A 5 - Laois 2; Laois 5 - Offally 2; Meath A 5 - Offaly 2.

As section winners, Carlow, Louth, Meath A went through with Laois also making the semis as best runner-up.

The next event is the Class 4 qualifier which will take place on 17th February (venues to be arranged)  The Class 2 qualifier is pencilled in for March 2nd.  Class 1 has three counties entered and will be run as a round robin along with other the Finals and Semi-finals in Whitehall Road on 6th April.

Updated 17/11/2008

Racquets are swinging again in the Midlands as the competitions commence in Southwest Leinster Badminton League, Laois Leagues, and Offaly Leagues.   In their quest for competition, some clubs are entering teams in more than one League.

Southwest Leinster: 

Southwest Leinster clubs are fielding teams in 6 leagues for the 2008-09 season.   Entries are up in the lower grades, with increases in Grade 6, Grade 5, and Grade 4.   Grade 1 remains stationary with Gurteen, Co. Tipperary, moving up to replace Ballycommon, Co. Tipperary.   Other teams in the Grade are CarlowL.T.C., Carlow Y.M., Killoughey, Co. Offaly, and Portarlington Parochial.   Last year the 2 Carlow Clubs vied for top honours in both League and Cup, with the Lawn Tennis Club winning the League and the Y.M. triumphing in the Cup.   The remaining teams will try to block a repeat performance for the 2008-09 season.   Baltinglass were double winners in Grade 3 League and Cup last season, so are new entrants into Grade 2 this season.   They join Carlow L.T.C., Portarlington Parochial, and Johnswell, Co. Kilkenny.   Grade 3 received a major facelift for the 2008-09 season.   Baltinglass have moved to Grade 2, Ballinkillen, Co. Carlow, and Vicarstown, Co. Laois, have not fielded teams, and Rahan have moved up from Grade 4.   The new league becomes Carlow Y.M., Donoughmore, Co. Wicklow, Mullingar, Portarlington Parochial, and Rahan.   Grade 4 have increased their numbers by 2. Annacurra, Co. Wicklow, Carlow L.T.C., and Rahan are joined by Bough, up from 5, Clonenagh, Mountrath, Co. Laois, and Johnswell, Co. Kilkenny.   Grade 5 didn’t just get a face-lift, but a complete overhaul.   The winners, Bough, moved up to Grade 4, only to be replaced by the Bough team that won Grade 5.   Bough are joined by Athy R.F.C., Baltinglass, Portlaoise G.A.A, Ballinkillen, Co. Carlow, and Johnswell, Co. Kilkenny.   Grade 6 has the biggest increase in teams with a net gain of 4.   Carlow Y.M. field two teams, Y.M.A and Y.M.B.   Bough is back and are joined by Donoughmore, Co. Wicklow, and new kids on the block, St. Laurence’s from outside Athy.   Clonenagh and Portarlington Parochial complete the Grade, which will be played in two leagues.

Laois:  

Laois Leagues have a new look this year—gone is Grade 7 and added is Grade 4.   Portlaoise G.A.A. have reformed their club and entered a Grade 4 team.   They are joined by Clonenagh of Mountrath and Rahan.   Grade 5 has two new additions joining Athy R.F.C., ountry Club of Ballyskenagh, Co. Offaly, and Clonenagh — Rahan and Portlaoise G.A.A.   Gone are Killoughey, Carlow Y.M. and Vicarstown. In Grade 6, six of the teams are back from last year, Athy R.F.C., Carlow Y.M., Country Club, Clonenagh, Portarlington Parochial, and St. Michael’s.   They are joined by Rahan.   The Grade is split into 2 Leagues, Group A consisting of Athy R.F.C., Carlow Y.M., Portarlington Parochial, and St. Michael; and Group B consisting of Country Club, Clonenagh and Rahan.   Entries will soon be out for the Laois Graded Championships which will be played over a Saturday and Sunday similar to the 2008-09 season.

Offaly: 

"Necessity is the mother of invention" and Offaly have become very innovative this year.   While the number of clubs in the county remains the same, the number of teams has decreased.   In order to have viable leagues, the League Officers have amalgamated leagues and handicapped teams.   Handicapping under the new scoring system is without precedence, so the Officers have put themselves on the line to try and provide competition within the county.   Teams are divided into Junior and Intermediate Leagues.   The Junior League is an amalgamation of Division 5, Rath, Killoughey, and Country Club, with Division 6, Kinnity and Rahan.   The Grade 5 teams will play off a–5 handicap against the Grade 6 clubs. All teams will play off scratch when playing someone of their own Grade.   A similar pattern is followed for the Intermediate League.   Grade 3 teams, Rahan3 and Country Club, will play off –5 when they play against Grade 4 teams, Kinnity and Rahan4, but all teams will be scratch when playing teams in their own grade.   To meet the demand for competition by clubs with an imbalance of men and ladies, or for those who just want more, but shorter, competitions, Offaly are fielding 4-Person teams this season. In the Men’s 4 League, when Kinnity and Country Club6 play against Rahan, Rath, and Country Club 5, they will begin the match with a +4 score. As in the main Leagues, when playing someone in your own grade, the score will begin at 0-0.   In the Ladies 4 League, Kinnity is a Grade 6 team, so they will begin with a +4 handicap when playing against Rahan, Rath, and Country Club5.   When playing against their  own grade, Rahan, Rath, and Country Club 5 will start at 0-0.   The handicaps will all be reviewed at Christmas when the main League teams are expected to have half their games played.

Offaly Juveniles:  

Offaly Juveniles began their doubles season with a competition in Clonaslee this past weekend.   Again, innovation was necessary to facilitate competition.   Pre-entries into the competition indicated Division 1 Girls and Division 2 Boys, so the organisers decided to play one competition for everyone.   Even when a pair of Division 1 Boys entered, the competition stayed as one group. The players all rose to the challenge and excellent games were the results.   Cormac Franks and Christian (Rocky) Clarke, Country Club lead the League with 6 wins, followed closely by Orla Maloney and Sinead Maloney, Country Club, with 5.   Emma Owens, Killoughey, and Colm Grogan, Boora, hold down third place.   Level with 2 wins apiece are Aoife Norton and Helen Norton, Killoughey, Ben Wilson and John O’Brien, Ballycumber, and Kevin Egan and Francis Egan, Boora. Colin Sui and Eoin Wall complete the league line-up.   The return games will be played on 11 January next year.

Division 3, 4, and 5 Girls also played their First Round competition today .   In Division 3,   Molly Molloy and Katie Molloy, Boora, top the table with no losses.   Evelyn Egan and Siobhan Egan, Boora follow closely in second place.   Alisha Leonard and Edel Gonoude, Killoughey and Chloe Halpin and Deirdre Daly, Killoughey, fought for third. Final places will be determined on 11 January, 2009 , when the girls return for their final round of games. Boora girls continued to be prominent in Division 4.   Aisling Grogan teamed with Amy Dunican, Killoughey to become table toppers in the Division.   Eabha Walshe and Diane Mahon, Killoughey, and Edel Egan and Jayne O’Boyle, Boora fought point for point the entire match before the pairs could be separated. Neither pair were able to score with service, so the game was tied every second serve until 20-all.   Eabha and Diane had the final serve, but it was Jayne and Edel that got the final point, 30-29. Amy Wilson and Kelly Cornally, Ballycumber, and Deirdre Murray and Maeve Murray, Country Club, completed the League. In Division 5, Cathy Ennis and Megan O’Brien, Ballycumber, lead the League. Emma Murray and Mackenzie Treacy, Country Club, and Mikayla Mitchell and Tara Phelan, Killoughey, are level for second place. Another tie sees Cliodhna Monaghan and Siofra McCann, Killoughey, level on 3 wins with Lauren McIntyre and Carol Mahon, Boora. Other competitors were Alison Monahan and Claire Conway, Killoughey, and Hannah Molloy, Boora, and Orla Cooney, Killoughey.

The next outing for Offaly Juveniles will be 14 December when Division 3, 4. 5 Boys will compete in Clonaslee beginning at 2.00 pm.

The days finals were well organised by PJ Cooney (Carlow), and this was no mean fete as there were 5 different classes being decided on the day.

In the Class 1 section, this was an all Wexford final with no surprises, the Wexford (A) team took the title from the "B" Wexford team 4-1.

Photo: Wexford (A)

Deirdre Kehoe, Siobhan Parle (Capt), Gillian Murphy, Mick Murphy (Manager)

Donal O'Keeffe, Gavin Murphy, Philip Walsh, Edward Cousins.

Once again in the Class 2 section, Wexford pushed Laois aside to take their 2nd title of the day with a score of 4-2. The sunny south east county was on a roll now and was looking for a hat trick of titles. In the Class 3 section, it was Wexford against Wicklow, but Wicklow had a big say in this class and with most of the matches going down to the wire Wicklow stopped them in their tracks and won the section 4-3.

With two classes still to be decided, in Class 4 it was an all Wicklow final. This did not go as per the script because the Wicklow (B) team took the title 4-1 with a little of a surprise on the faces of the Wicklow (A) team!! Finally in Class 5, it was Meath (A) versus Meath (B), although this match was a well-fought battle, the Meath (A)’s narrowly took the title 4-3.

Results:

Grade 1: Wexford A   4      Wexford B     0

Grade 2: Wexford      4          Laois          2

Grade 3: Wicklow      4          Wexford     3

Grade 4: Wicklow B   4       Wicklow A    3

Grade 5: Meath A      4           Meath B     3