Badminton: Cookstown High School badminton team make history

In fact, the Cookstown High School girls have made it into not one, but two finals!

The Senior Girls Team of Kerri Scott, Alex Scott, Dana Suitor and Lisa Stockdale will play Coleraine High School in their Final while the Junior Girls team of Lauren Reilly, Emma McAllen, Ruth McAllen, Hannah Lennox and Faye Stockdale defeated Hunterhouse College 5-1 in their recent semi-final and play the winner between Sullivan Upper and Wallace High School.

Badminton began in the High School many years ago, but they first entered the Ulster School League and Cup tournaments in 2003. After several years of reaching semi finals and narrowly loosing out on a trip to the prestigious finals day, coaches Mrs Catherine Hall and Mrs Claire Allen are truly delighted with the success and hard work the players have put in over the last few years.

Mrs Hall said, “I am so proud of the girls and over the moon that they will have the experience of being involved in the Ulster Schools Badminton Finals.

“I had the privilege of playing in the Ulster Schools competitions winning the Ulster and Irish League titles and wanted the pupils at Cookstown High School to experience some of the magic involved in participating in Ulster Schools and maybe even Irish School Finals.

“They will remember this experience for a long time to come. The girls deserve to be there. They are dedicated, have great team spirit and are eager to see each other do well.

“We are very fortunate to have Kerri Scott on board. Kerri plays as No 1 on our Senior Girls Team yet she is only in Year 11. She is a super player, currently playing for the Ulster and Ireland U17 squad, but it’s a team event and all the girls truly deserve to be part of the Ulster Finals Day.

“It would be amazing if we could win and go on to represent Ulster at the Irish Schools on March 19th in Dublin. No matter, the girls are already History Makers, so anything else is a bonus.”