U15 Dublin Championships 2009

Congratulations to the four Connacht players who attended the Dublin

Championships

               Results

Winner U15 Boys Singles - Connor Scanlon Runner - Up Boys Singles -

 Danny Keown

Winners U15 Boys Doubles - Connor Scanlon & Danny Keown Winners U15

 Mixed Plate - Connor Scanlon & Janie Fahey

Winners U13 Singles Plate - Fionnula Scanlon

Runners Up U15 Girls Doubles - Janie Fahey  & Fionnula Scanlon

Well Done to all the above Connacht players. Keep up the hard work

Connor Scanlon - Sligo

 Danny Keown - Sligo

Fionnula Scanlon - Sligo

 Janie Fahey - Loughglynn Roscommon

.Connaght Junior Inter PRO team 09 with Sligo Players Joseph  and Finton Keown, Greame Watt,and girls Rebecca mc Gillen and Paula Mc Donagh and missing Francie Mahon with team managers John Dolan and Theresa o Brien

Connaght under 17 Inter Pro Team 09 with Sligo players Mark Dolan,Cian Scanlon.Laura Keown and Elaine Finnegan and managers John Dolan and Theresa o Brien

Connaught Badminton Juvenile Report 08/09 John Dolan

1. (Juvenile badminton is in a very healthy state in Connacht .)

As this is my last report stepping down from my position I decided to revisit the last five years of the juvenile committee. I have been blessed with a hard working group of people – Anthony Walsh, Therese O’Brien, Mary Forde and Liz Hughes and a limited amount of meetings. My job has been made that much easier also by the support and help of non committee people Paul Dolan, Vera Scanlon and Bridie Brennan, Michael Kearney.

Juvenile Competitions:    

  In Connacht we run a large amount of events over the season and I will briefly touch on these.

Sligo Open which is run by Paul Dolan and Vera Scanlon, Connacht Open run by Michael o Moran, Therese o Brien The season starts of with Sligo Open, Galway Open, Connacht Closed, by2, Yeats B,and Ballina Singles and Strokestown Fun Event. Each County also run a County championship, Sligo Mayo, Galway and Leitrim. That is a total of 9 tournaments which is 12 weekends and on top of this a number of Training Sessions.

  2. Schools Badminton

 Therese O’Brien has been carrying out Trojan work in this area with the level of participation from schools building every year with increased numbers to 450 school kids from 26 schools in three divisions, culminating with Summerhill College Sligo winning the Under14 Boys Division 1 last year.

Connacht had success this year with Silver Medals to Summerhill College and Ursline Convent Sligo in Division 2 and Gold to Sacred Heart Secondary Girls under19 She is also assisted by Tommy Hehir and David Magee but 99% of the work is done by Therese during the week,

Inter Provincial Teams

Five years ago we decided to re enter teams in the series despite some stiff opposition from the Branch, claiming that it was excessive cost and that the standard was too weak in Connacht . We entered 2 teams under 15 and 13 and this year we had 4 teams with an extra junior team. The standard has improved over the years in achieving a silver medal this year at under 15 level but the real and lasting purpose of this competition is for the weaker players who aspire to represent their province. We have had some heavy defeats but no player has come back to me and not dearly wanted to be selected next year.

This year we got the late opportunity of sending a team of under 15’s to the Celtic Challenge in Baldoyle and I want to thank Paul Dolan and Adrian Kenna for managing the team. The team defeated East of Scotland 8   7. just imagine the sense of pride for those players in years to come when asked do you play badminton.

The most important group of players are the ordinary club juniors who will be tomorrows adults and I would suggest that each county run a B tournament and not allow any Inter Provincial player to enter as a start.

At the other end of the spectrum we had the following players representing Ireland . Jonathon Dolan and David Walsh at under 15 level and Mark Dolan at under 17. This is a great achievement for the boys and also their parents who have clocked up a lot of miles and indeed  air miles with Jonathon playing and winning Gold events in England   last season.

Because of the success and increased numbers, badminton has moved to a 52 week season with summer camps in Ballina, Sligo and Claregalway last year. We now have some more Level 1 coaches in Connacht . and indeed Joseph Keown  worked with the under 13 Inter pro team and are available all summer or weekends during the season to travel anywhere in Connacht , so this should help clubs with no coach.

Finally I want to thank the Branch Officers for all their help and support last year and wish the new committee all the best in their endeavors.

.

Connacht Juvenile Championships

Galway Lawn Tennis Badminton Club hosted the finals of this year under 11 and 15 championships on Sunday last. The tournament was well organised and efficiently run with numerous games for all standards of player. The numbers of juvenile playing is increasing each year and this year saw the return of competitors from Leitrim entering the competition. Sligo had a number of players playing both age groups, under 11 and 15.

The girls were well represented by Laura Keown and Elaine Finnegan in the under 15 category.  Both of these girls are under 15 and gave good performances reaching the finals in the doubles losing to the Galway pair of Siobhain Clancy and Rachel Farrell in a close game. Both of these girls have improved immensely this year and are showing a great appetite for their game and should do very well next week. In the boys under 11 Cian Feeney gave a great display of badminton in securing the singles title playing some powerfull badminton making him the number one under 11 in Connacht and he was partnered with John Joe Boles from Sligo in the doubles who is still only eight years of age. This will greatly help the development of Cians game in the future.  Sligo Tennis Club had only one girl in this age group.

But pride of place goes to Fionnala Scanlon who won the Singles Title 21/18 in a very close game showing great concentration and power to become the number one in Connacht under 11 girl and we look forward to her development in future years.

In the boys under 15 section, Conor Scanlon and Danny Keown had a great victory in a close three setter with Jeff Keena and Liam Brennan from Mayo 15-17, 15-12, 15-14. 

Regional Squad Development 

These sessions will continue to the end of June with a number of Summer Camps planned and well done to all Sligo players who represented Connacht in the recent Inter Pros, J. Dolan ,D Keown, E. Finnegan,C. Scanlon, Emma McTiernan, C.Donaghy, C.Scanlon, G.Boles.

Intermediate Cup Success for STC Team

Last Sunday in Baldoyle Badminton Club, the blue riband at competive badminton for players from all over the country took place. 
Sligo Tennis Club entered two teams in the cup proper. They were extremely successful in reaching the finals and winning the tournament. This is testimony to the coaching programme now running in the club for badminton with current Irish Senior International  Danny McGee in attendance.  

Sligo had not entered in this competition for a number of years but certainly it was worth the wait. The Sligo team continued a good mixture of experienced and young players to provide a blend of strong team work to reach the finals. Many thanks are due to Colm McCashin and his team from Badminton Ireland in organising the event on the day with great enthusiasm.

 In the finals Sligo had a difficult match with Alpha from Lisburn eventually winning the match 4-3 and securing the cup.  

STC Team: John Dolan, Ross Doonan, Graeme Watt, Fintan Keown, Joseph Keown, Paul Dolan, Mark Dolan, Jonathan Dolan, Paula McDonagh, Ger Lowry, Francie Mahon , Keire Reville and Diane Grapp.

Team Event

The final team event of the season continues this week on Tuesday night 22nd at 8pm with Team C v Team D and will continue every Tuesday night up to the finals on Tuesday March 4th.
Last weeks match saw Team B have a 22-8 point win over Team A to set the early pace in the competition.

League Fixtures

Special Olympics

Coaching for Special Olympics continues on Monday nights at 8pm.

Connacht Senior Closed

Men's / Ladies Doubles

Congratulations

Dolan Digs Deep to Win Two Leinster Titles

Jonathan Dolan from Sligo Lawn Tennis Club started the New Year the way he finished the old one. He was a double winner in the Ulster Open U/15 before Christmas and last week he again won two titles in the Leinster U/15 Open played in Whitehall rd., Teranure. Jonathan won the boys singles and the mixed doubles playing with Caroline Black.

The first competition of the day was the Mixed Doubles. Jonathan and Caroline were seeded No. 1 in this event. They played Ciaran Chambers and Zoe Purdy from Lisburn in the last 16. They had a surprisingly easy win in this match 21/13, 21/2.

In the Quarter Final they came up against a strong pair from Dublin. They had a tough 3 setter against David Marron and Jane Killoch. Dolan and Black lost the first set 22/20. They settled down and took control of the game. They won the second set 21/9 and the third set 21/7. 

The Semi Final was always going to be tough against Matthew Getty and Ruth Roddis from Lisburn. Roddis played for the Irish under 17 team earlier in the year. Dolan and Black won the match in two sets 21/12, 21/18.

In the final Jonathan came up against his doubles partner Joshua Magee from Raphoe who was playing with Laura Shannon. They put out the No. 2 seeds Sofie Brondun and Adam Jermyn in three sets in an excellent Semi Final. Dolan and Black started the final really well and won it easily 21/7. Magee and Shannon got their game working in the second set but came up a little bit short. Dolan and Black won the second set 21/18 and won their third Open title this season. Jonathan’s older brother Mark won this competition with Natasha Brady last year so the trophy will stay in Sligo for another year.

Jonathan was seeded No. 1 in the boy’s singles because of his excellent results this year. He played Mark White from Dublin in the last 16 and was never under any pressure winning easily in two sets 21/9, 21/5.

He played James Mc Callon from Lisburn in the Quarter Final. He won an Irish doubles title with James last year. Although Jonathan won the match in 2 sets 21/11, 21/14 there was great badminton in this game with some gruelling rallies. Jonathan had to work hard for every point. He probably played his best badminton of the day in this match.

In the semi final he came up against David Walsh, a rising star from Ballina. David travels over to Sligo twice a week and trains with Danny Magee and John Dolan in the Tennis Club. Danny’s brother Joshua also got to the semi final losing a tough match to Adam Jermyn from Dublin. It was great to see three players from the Sligo Club making singles semis. We must be doing something right so credit must go to the coaches. All three are on the current Irish U/15 training squad.

David put up a great performance but lost in 2 sets 21/16, 21/16.Just like the previous round there was gruelling rallies in this match with a high standard of badminton. Jonathan seemed to have a little bit extra on the day. Hard luck David.

Jonathan played Adam Jermyn from Dublin in the final. He’s already played him several times this season and every game has been hard won. Jonathan looked exhausted in the first set and at times he looked ready to concede the match. He lost the first set 17/21. The tough games earlier in the day were telling on both boys. The Sligo boy played a soccer match for summerhill the previous day on a heavy pitch and this obviously had a major effect on his stamina. He hung in without really playing well in the second set and managed to take it 21/19. Often the player that wins the second set goes on to win the third but this didn’t look on the cards. Young Dolan who is nearly 2 years younger than his opponent appeared to have given up and went 11/2 behind in the third set. He looked dead and buried at this stage and no one watching the match gave him any chance of winning the match. Jermyn must have been thinking about his acceptance speech at this point. Jonathan came out after the break and his will to win took over. There was a sense of determination in his game and a refusal to be beaten. Jermyn was now starting to look tired as Dolan upped his game. Jonathan went from 12/2 down to winning 21/16. Martin Evans, father of Scott Evans who is going to the Olympics said to Jonathan afterwards, ‘well done, it was a gutsy performance’ and that’s exactly what it was. Many players can win when they are ahead but not too many have the self belief and determination to come from behind. Already Jonathan has won many tournaments but this was by far his greatest victory.

We’d like to wish Jonathan, Joshua and David the best of luck in the Irish U/15 closed which takes place next week end in Baldoyle.

In a report about the Ulster U/15 open some weeks ago I mentioned Dolan and Magee felt they were ‘cheated’ out of 2 points in a game against Getty and Chambers. It was a poor choice of words and I want to state clearly that neither player believe the Lisburn players would cheat in any way. They have great respect for both players. I want to take this opportunity to explain the events and show that the boys felt cheated by the rules of Badminton and not the opposition.

Dolan and Magee were playing Getty and Chambers in boys doubles match. At one stage there was a dispute over the score. Magee and Dolan said the score was 9/7. One of the opposition argued that the score was 9/8. If the Sligo pair agreed to this they would have lost only one point. They ended up losing two points. They were both adamant that the score was 9/7 and so a referee was called. When there is a dispute over the score the score must go back to the last score that all 4 players agree on. In this case the score went back to 6/6. This is the reason the Sligo pair felt cheated out of two points. Although the Lisburn pair claimed that they were losing by one point and the Sligo pair said it was two points now because of the badminton rules they were level again on 6/6. Again, I want to reiterate that the Sligo pair felt cheated because of the rules of badminton and not by their opponents.

All of these players are trying to make the Irish U/15 team. Results from big competitions such as the Ulster Open are used for team selection. There should be umpires for all these major competitions because there are often disputes over the scores without umpires. It was great to see umpires for all the matches at the Leinster open and there were no problems relating to scores.

Devestating Dolan wins 2 titles in Ulster

Jonathan Dolan from Sligo Lawn Tennis Club made a worthwhile trip to Belfast at the weekend. Jonathan reached three U/15 finals and won two of them. He won the Boys Doubles and Mixed Doubles competitions and was narrowly beaten in the singles. He has shown himself to be the best under 15 player in Ireland this year winning title after title and is surely on target to retain his place on the Irish under 15 team.

Jonathan and his partner Joshua Magee from the well known Magee family in Raphoe were seeded no. 1 in the boy’s doubles. They came through the early rounds without any difficulty. In the quarter final they played Matthew Steele and Frazer Wallace from the Alpha Club in Lisburn. The younger pair never got into the game and lost in two sets, 21/10, 21/10.

The standard moved up a gear in the semi final. They now faced a strong Dublin pairing of Rory Curry and Adam Jermyn. Dolan and Magee are both still 12 so there was a distinct obvious physical advantage for the two Dublin 14 year olds who are both about six feet tall. All four played excellent badminton and showed the large crowd the way doubles should be played. Dolan and Magee won in two sets but this was no easy victory. Both sets were very close but Dolan and Magee showed their composure to close out both sets 21/19, 21/18.

The final was set up to be a classic when the No. 2 seeds Ciaran Chambers and Matthew Getty from Northern Ireland came through their earlier rounds with ease. This turned out to be a great final with the Northern pair anxious to get revenge for some earlier defeats during the year. The first set was a bit tetchy with a heated dispute over the score at one stage. Although they were cheated out of two points Dolan and Magee won the set 21/16. Complacency set in and Chambers and Getty took full advantage winning the second set 21/16.The Sligo pair got a bit of a roasting from their coach and this had the desired effect. There was a much more positive edge to their play in the deciding set. It was clear from the start that they weren’t going to lose this match. At one stage they were 10/2 ahead. They relaxed a bit but still ran out comfortable winners 21/13. They have dominated the boys doubles this year having won three of the four major competitions so far this season. They have now won the Ulster Open, Sligo Open and Dublin Open and are favorites to win the Irish Closed in February 2008.

The Mixed Doubles is usually well contested and this competition in Ulster was no different. Joshua played with Northern Ireland’s Laura Shannon while Jonathan paired off with Caroline Black from Lisburn. Both pairs were seeded 3 /4 which was strange because Jonathan and Caroline had already won a mixed doubles competition this year and both are current Irish players. The No.1 seeds did reach the final but Matthew Getty and Kirsty Walker who were the No. 2 seeds didn’t get past the Quarter Final where they were well beaten in two sets 21/9, 21/17. Joshua and his partner played well in the earlier rounds and came through to the semi final where they met the No. 1 seeds, Adam Jermyn and Sophie Brondum. They could have won this tight 3 setter but Jermyn and Brondum who have played together all year narrowly went through winning a tight third set 21/19. The scores were 21/14, 18/21 and 21/19. This was the first time Shannon and Magee have played together so they may develop into a formidable partnership with more competitions. Dolan and Black were in the same section as the No. 2 seeds. As in the doubles there was no difficult match until the semi Final stage. They easily beat Rory Curry and Catherine Mc Ilwrath, an ex partner of Jonathan’s, 21/13, 21/16. In the semi final they faced Ruaraidh Sim and Keady Smith. Sim had earlier defeated Jonathan in the singles final so Dolan wanted to balance the books. This was a one sided match with Dolan and Black winning easily in two sets 21/9, 21/17.

In the final Jonathan and Caroline faced Jermyne and Brondum. Both pairs had one title each already this year so both pairs were anxious to gain the ascendancy. This turned out to be one of the best matches in the tournament. The four players served up three very good sets after a long day’s play. Jonathan looked as fresh now as he did at the start of the day’s play despite contesting all three semis and finals. Black and Dolan were slow to get into the match and their opposition took full advantage winning the first set 21/17. Caroline and Jonathan got their act together and won the next set 21/19. They trailed at one stage 19/17 and looked as if the title was on its way to Dublin. They showed great composure under pressure and played great badminton winning the set 21/19. The final set of the tournament didn’t disappoint the spectators who still remained. It was nip and tuck until mid way through the set when Jonathan and Caroline took control. They won the set 21/17 and they secured their second title of the day. Caroline had earlier won the girls singles competition.

Jonathan’s only disappointment on the day was that he lost in the final of the boy’s singles competition. Jonathan was seeded No. 2 and the eventual winner Ruaraidh Sim was the one Seed. This was the first under 15 tournaments Ruaraidh played in because he normally plays in the U 17 age group. He regularly competes in European competitions and is ranked No. 2 in Demark where he goes for regular training sessions. Jonathan played Ciaran Chambers in the quarter final. Chambers was no match for him and Jonathan won easily in two sets 21/15, 21/12. In the semi final Dolan faced Chambers doubles partner Matthew Getty. They have played good matches in the past with Getty beating Jonathan in the Ulster Open last year. Clearly Jonathan has moved on a step due to increased training with Irish senior player, Danny Magee. This was very one sided with Jonathan winning in two sets 21/17, 21/10. This defeat was demoralizing for Getty who was clearly upset afterwards.

The final was eagerly awaited because it has been over a year since Jonathan last played Ruaraidh. The last time Dolan lost 21/5, 21/6 which was a big defeat but Sim is 18 months older than Dolan which is a big difference at this age. Jonathan is still Under 15 next year whereas Ruaraidh will be Under 17. Although he lost the match in two sets Jonathan will take great encouragement from his improved performance. Jonathan took a while to settle and it was clear that their last match was in his mind. He lost the first set 21/13. It was obvious from the start of the second set that Jonathan now believed he could now compete with Ruaraidh. There were some top class rallies in the match with points being won by good play rather than mistakes. Ruaraidh won the second set 21/17 to claim the title but his reaction after showed this was much closer than he expected. He realizes the younger player is rapidly closing the gap on him.  

Credit must go to Jonathan himself and his trainers John Dolan and Danny Magee for his fitness level. It’s nice to see that training four to five times a week pays off. There aren’t many 12 year olds as committed to their chosen sport as Jonathan. Indeed his Uncle John is well used to phone calls looking for more training sessions. Jonathan would have been in Sligo Tennis Club on Sunday evening if he was allowed.

Addams Christmas Team Event

The finals of the Addams Team Event took place on Thursday night December 13^th. This event has been running for the past month with  four teams based on a round format. At the end of the round robin format the final standings were:

  Team A -  65 points   Team B  - 49 points   Team C -  37 points  Team D -  45 points

So after the final standings Team C and Team D were contesting 3^rd & 4^th place while Team A & Team B were contesting the finals. In the 3^rd & 4^th place play off in which the format was 2 games to 21 Team C held a 2 point advantage after the first round of matches on a score line of 6-4. Indeed this was lead they never relinquished and despite Team D giving a stronger showing in the second section Team C eventually won by two points overall by 12-10 and condemn Team D to 4^th place.

The final itself was expected to be a close affair as both teams seemed to be very evenly matched on the night despite Team A scoring a big victory in the round robin format. But in a one off set of games anything can happen. The format for the final was 3 games to 21. After the first series of matches the expected close affair had not materialised with Team A holding an impressive 5 point lead at 10 -5. However in the second series of matches Team A won all their matches bar one in a flawless performance to win the second section 14 -6 and win overall by an impressive 24 -11  which was similar to the score in the round robin format.

In her presentation speech Captain Siobhain McDermott thanked Jimmy Durkin of Addams for their sponsorship of the event, Kay who provided  the second prizes, those who helped organise the event, the captains of each team, and all the players as well as the subs who took part.

Winners Team A: Graeme Watt, Martina Craig, Marie McTiernan, Kay Curley, Paul Dolan.  Sheila Glancy (Capt),Thomas Graham Maguire, Therese Brady, Eddie Ryan, Maureen Gorby, Helen Clarke.

Runners-Up Team B: Graham Culkin, Paula McDonagh, Sam Hayes, Siobhain Parker, Jim Mulcahy, Ronnie McGillen, Joe O’Brien, Mary Kehoe (Capt), Maurice Whelan, Fiona McLoughlin, Catriona Fallon

3^rd Place Team C: John Dolan, Paula McDonagh, Francie Mahon, Siobhain McDermott, Peter Boles, Elaine Finnegan, Thomas Graham Maguire, Theresa Finnegan (Capt ), Sam Boles, Angela Carr, Catriona Fallon.

4^th Plate Team D: Brian Caliendo (Capt), Martina Craig, Deirdre Lavin, Paula Nairn, Donal Heraughty, Pauline Maguire, Jimmy Durkin, Phil Rooney, PJ Tivnan, Eileen Hale, Attracta O’Kelly Lynch

Yeats Senior/Junior Tournament

This competition will take place on Saturday 8^th and Sunday 9^th December in Sligo Tennis Club. The competition on Saturday will be for Divisions 4-5-6 while the competition on Sunday will be for juniors only.

Saturday’s timetable is as follows:

Men’s Singles 10:00am
Ladies Singles 12:00pm
Men’s Doubles 12:00pm
Ladies Doubles 3:00pm
Mixed Doubles 5:00pm
Plate competitions where required.

Entry fee is €10 euro per event or €25 for all three payable on the day

Sunday’s timetable is as follows:

U/14 Boys/Girls 10:00am  (U/12 born in 1996 or earlier)
U/12 Boys/Girls 1:00pm    (U/14 born in 1994 or earlier)
U/17 Boys/Girls 3:00pm    (U/17 born in 1991 or earlier)
Second chance games for all. Boys and girls singles and doubles.

Entry fee is €10 euro per event payable on the day,
Entry forms available from Sligo Tennis Club and the closing date for entries is Thursday 6^th December. 
Entries to Paul Dolan ,Faughts Lane, Calry, Co.Sligo (0876100108 or 0719141429)

Mens/Ladies Doubles

Special Olympics

Coaching for Special Olympics continues on Monday nights at 8pm.

Higgins Pharmacy Team Event