Division Title and Promotion For Thame Badminton Men

AFTER two seasons with no success for any of Thame Badminton club?s teams, the men?s team playing in the Oxford & District league have achieved the divisional title and promotion.
The final game of the season for the side was against Windrush of Witney.

Ever present in the side, Chris Charman, paired with Trevor Walker, opened the match against the Windrush 1st pair. Chris and Trevor were forced to work hard but were still able to win in two straight games. Chris Daniels, another ever present team member, paired up with youngster Ben Cooper. After an initial hiccup, Daniels dominated the play and oversaw another Thame straight games win. The third pair was Keith Richards and Andy Scarlett. Despite Scarlett playing poorly, the pair was still able to beat the Windrush 3rd pair in straight games.

The second round of rubbers saw Charman and Walker struggle against the opposition who managed to take a game off them. However, they stormed through the last game to win the rubber. Daniels and Cooper took on the Windrush 1st pair and surprisingly beat them with more ease than their first rubber. The 3rd pair of Richards and Scarlett again struggled to win in straight games. However, when both players completely relaxed they improved although it was strange to see Scarlett serving four successive high serves.

With the match won, it was expected that all the pairs would relax and ease through the last round. However, it was only the youngest pair of Daniels and Cooper who did ease through their final rubber in straight games. Richards and Scarlett again were not playing well and their positional play was poor. Nevertheless, they were still able to complete a third straight games win. The final game for Charman and Walker again saw them being taken to three games before winning the rubber. Although Thame won the match nine rubbers to nil, some of the team felt that they had had to work harder than they had all season.

The victory is one that Thame Badminton Club hope sees the return of higher playing standards for the club. One of the most pleasing aspects of the season for this team was that promotion was gained without ever being able to field the strongest side the club was capable of producing. Next season will see harder matches and the need to strengthen the club.

Where possible, Thame Badminton Club likes to see existing members improving their play through coaching and play. Higher playing standards allow the club to improve the play of all its members. Improved play in turn leads to more enjoyable badminton.

Contributed by Andy Scarlett