Vale Badminton Club

Hi All, no courts on Sunday 14th & Tuesday 16th February as it’s  half-term, we’re back to normality Sunday 21st February.

Only two things worth mentioning from Sunday’s Mixed game against Llantwit Fadre; Firstly we won 5-4 and secondly the 10 year girl who played with Gareth for Llantwit Fadre was awesome! Thanks all for a great night.

Did you know that Richard Vaughan (the former world number 7) lost 3 rubbers in straight sets last night????

Did you also know, that the the word gullible has been eradicated from the english dictionary? ;)

Although those stories would be nice, it was certainly not the case. Richard Vaughan made an appearance (representing our friends, the Rebels Posse) and partnered with the very talented Gareth Day to secure 3 rubbers in the Division 1 clash with Vale A.

However, the Vale crew had no intentions of holding up the white flag, and proved this by taking down the strong pairings of Simon/Andy and Huw/Steve. This meant Vale got another well deserved and hard fought win. It was nice to have such a friendly match, with eye-catching rallies and good old fashioned banter.

However… oh dear, what an expensive game this has become for Vale member Barry ‘Can I borrow a racket‘ Garnham, who has… yes you guessed it… managed to break ANOTHER racket (See above).

It leaves me to ask Barry, will he make it through the next match and break (no pun intended) this expensive trend? Only time will tell, and his bank balance of course.

Thanks for playing guys, good effort. Mart.

So to kick off the new decade, it was the ‘Clash of the Titans’! Two former international players facing off in what was tipped to be a high intensity match. And WOW they did not disappoint! There was some hard hitting, trick shot slicing and menacing rallies all on show, but it was Vale’s 1st pairing of Chris and Dave who used their experience and power to overcome the recently crowned WSS Carmarthenshire champions, to take Vale into a 1-0 lead. This trend continued, taking down Heath’s 2nd and 3rd pairing, giving Vale 3 valuable rubbers.

However, Heath are not a team to go down without a fight, and true to their word, they showed some class, taking down Vale 2nd pairing of Huw and Darius, eventually bringing the match to 3-3. Our boys put up a good fight, and will be ready for the rematch extravaganza.

So our chances of division one glory rested in the hands of Barry ‘I go through 3 rackets in one match’ Garnham and Martin ‘I can count, so I don’t need you to butt in and score in my game’ Dix.

This was no easy task, but they managed the first hurdle, taking down Heath’s 3rd pair 21-10, 21-11. A good start to a tense night. However, the dynamic duo had to square off against their highly talented first pair and despite giving their all, and coming close to winning, they managed to lose in 2 straight games.

The match is now set at 4-4 and it was up to the odd couple to bring home the gold. So 3 rackets, 6 shuttles, 10,000 smashes  and one dispute later, the boys managed to win the game 21-16 in the final set, to secure a 5-4 victory over Heath.

A big thanks to everyone who played, good effort boys.

Handicaps for Tuesday 26/01/10 Mixed A Cup Match Home to Heath A
Vale Mixed A  -2  v  Heath Mixed A  +2

CBDL Quiz Night – Sat Jan 30th at Heath Sports & Social Club

Vale C went down 7-2 against Cardiff A at Eastern Leisure Centre in men’s Division 3. Simon and Rob Calc picked up 1 win while Jack F paired with Steve Tune to record a 2nd win.

Highlight of the night was Jack and Steve winning 23-21 in a decisive game and then playing the next point before realising they had already won! Maths was never Jack’s strong point… and obviously not Steve’s either.

There was a welcome return to action for Danny Teague who partnered Paul, and went really close in two of their rubbers. I know all club members are aware that Danny’s wife suffered a life-threatening illness while on a family holiday in Spain in late autumn. Danny tells me that she is now home and making a slow but steady recovery. All club members send their best wishes to Danny and his family.

A quick note added to the fixtures page to confirm when matches may be rearranged.

BIG congratulations to Nathan and his wife Laura on the birth of their daughter Chloe Bernadette. :)

Just a quick note to let everybody know we have 2 courts available for club on Tuesday 8th December. C’mon down!

We won, We won 7-2. Some really good games. Only losing 2 to their 1st pair.

If their 2nd pair weren’t feeling old enough after Jordan and Darius had played them, Jordan certainly sent them into mid-life crisis with a cutting remark about their ability to keep the right score being impaired by their age. Luckily no blood spilt though…this time. No doubt they are still in the pub recounting the story.

Luckily, although the oldest of our team tonight, I am a few years younger than the gent who got the tongue lash. Note to self- if ever I am to play AGAINST Jordan: Must remember course of intensive night moisturiser/Botox! S