The members of the Junior Badminton Club have completed a very satisfactory season.
We have enjoyed huge success, both locally and nationally, and had lots of fun in the process.
We travelled to compete in tournaments throughout the Country, and won open competitions at venues as far afield as Belfast, Donegal, Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon and Dublin. Five teams played in the County League and 50 players competed in the County Championships with great success. 55 prizes were presented to our players in Maree Community Centre at the Finals in March.
There was a great feeling of pride and excitement in the Club when John Forde was selected to play on the Irish U14 Team. The extent of John’s achievement can be appreciated when one considers that no Junior Badminton player from Galway has ever represented his/her Country abroad. Congratulations John! Another highlight of the year was the winning of a gold medal in the U12 Irish Championships Boys Doubles event by Christopher Keane. His partner was Alan Flaherty of Tuam Badminton Club. Christopher and Alan knocked out the highly fancied number one seeds from Leinster in the first round of the competition, which certainly ruffled a lot of feathers in Badminton Circles at national level.
I thank all the parents and members of the club who were so generous and kind to John when he travelled to Scotland.
We have recently organised a very successful coaching weekend for our younger players, who showed great dedication throughout the entire weekend. We are grateful to the following sponsors who helped defray the cost of the weekend:
Mary Moran, Lakeview, Quinnsworth, Dawn Dairies, Fyffes, Statoil, Corrib Oil, Monaghan & Sons Car Sales.
The session for the more senior players is on August 23rd, 24th, 25th.
The U15 team will represent Connacht in the Community Games in Mosney at the end of August. Each and every team member:- Caroline Garrett, Kathryn Lennon, Sheena Tierney, Cathy Casserly, Enda O’Connell, John Forde, John Horgan and Brian Casserly, put in excellent performances at the Connacht finals in Roscommon on Sat. 27th July. We wish them the best of luck in the National Finals.
I have enjoyed every minute of this season watching all the games and travelling in good company. I am very proud of all our members and thank each one for their contribution to the success of the club.
Mary Forde, Secretary