03/06/2024
Saturday 1st June, saw the first ever all women social badminton tournament at Oakham School Sports Centre.
Women of all ages and abilities took part in this inaugural event. A couple of no shows meant that the organisers had to improvise and invite a male spectator to play left handed! and one woman had a partner in the morning and another in the afternoon and still managed to bag a medal! Also, an on court injury meant that an innocent spectator was commandeered onto the court...no one was safe!
Trish said " I was sitting there watching my friend play and then all of a sudden, I was playing opposite her! I don't know how that happened, the Head Coach, Nishi Varma, was very persuasive and I thoroughly enjoyed it - much better than being a spectator"
One of the coaches Ben, commented "You had to really concentrate to keep the score, ensure that the women were playing correctly, calling out faults and recording the results. 5 hours of concentrating beats my attention span even when I'm at Uni! Still I got to unwind with a few games of my own after the event"
A very successful day, with 36 women playing and competing for 1st and 2nd places in each of the 4 groups. Some women had never played in a tournament and were nervous and anxious to start of with but that soon wore off in the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the other players. One woman was shocked when it was announced that she and her partner had won gold in their group.
A tearful Eileen said "I wasn't the fitessed, youngest or experienced player there and I've never had the confidence to play in anything competitive ever in my life but my partner Christine encouraged me all the way and despite not being the most agile person there, I was stunned that we actually won in our group. I lost my husband a couple of years back and it took a lot for me to play. I can now look at my medal and know that he would be as proud of me as I am"
Oakham School Enterprises run a variety of badminton sessions ranging from children's, adult social play, intermediates and a whole host of well being sessions for adults and children with professional coaches and all equipment provided. Sessions start from just £2.50. Contact the Sports Department on 01572. 758754 for further details.
