Smashers Junior Badminton Club are named Forza Ulster Club of the Year

Smashers Junior Badminton Club was honoured on Saturday when they were presented with the Forza Ulster Badminton Club of the Year award.
Smashers Under 17 and Under 19 Development squadsSmashers Under 17 and Under 19 Development squads
Smashers Under 17 and Under 19 Development squads

Ulster Development Officer, Ryan Prentice came to present the award and praised the children, parents and coaches for their hard work and club spirit.

As well as a lovely glass trophy the club also received a certificate, 20 dozen tubes of Forza feather shuttles and some Forza T shirts.

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Dylan Stewart, who has been a member of the club since its inception in 2006, received the award on behalf of the club.

SmashersUnder 13 Development Squad.SmashersUnder 13 Development Squad.
SmashersUnder 13 Development Squad.

Entries were received from all over Ulster.

]The award was judged on the criteria that the club must be affiliated with Badminton Ireland and Ulster Badminton; show evidence of growth or development; show evidence of working with schools / community; provide a learning environment for all players and give examples of innovative practice.

The very favourable testimonials written by parents and children are great verification of the ethos of the club.

Smashers runs two sections on a Saturday afternoon with primary school and year eight children attending for one hour from 12.30 – 1.30 pm and older children for 1.5 hours from 1.30 – 3.00pm.

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These sessions were open to all levels and abilities with the emphasis being on having fun while learning.

A typical session would start off with some structured coaching and finish with games or fun competitions.

New members are welcome.

The club starts up again after the Christmas break on Saturday 9th January 2016. Just come along and fill out an application form.

Three sections run on a Tuesday night at Coleraine Grammar School Sports hall with players being separated on grounds of their ability.

Players are chosen by trial or invitation.

And there is more emphasis on coaching and development.

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Anyone interested in trying out for the squad should contact Olive Wallace on 02870343840 or email [email protected]

Many of the Smashers players represent Coleraine & District Badminton League in Under 15 and Under 17 inter district competitions and one member, Ryhan Webba da Silva trains weekly in Londonderry as part of the Ulster Raw Performance programme.

One of the highlights of the year is the Ulster Badminton Club Games when members as a team compete across three different age groups with other clubs across Ulster.

Last year Smashers came third.

Members always participate in the in house tournaments with great enthusiasm. In our recent Christmas tournament Group one winner was Samuel McIlmoyle.

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Group two winner was Liam Webb. Group three winner was Ben Hancock.

In group four Andrew Radcliffe won the skills event and Amber Eccles was second. Euan Neill won the singles in group A and Andrew Radcliffe in group B.

In the squad tournament Under 13 B section was won by Andrew Scott.

The A section was won by Helen Reid.

The Under 15 section was won by Peter Donaldson and the Under 19 section by Ciaran Parahoo and Freya Stevenson.

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Smashers now have a men’s team playing in the Coleraine and District senior league.

Some of our members will be playing in the forthcoming La Roche cup which is a mixed handicapped event being held in Jim Watt Centre, Garvagh on 15th December.

The new year kicks off on 2nd January with the inter district Under 17 Jack Wilson Trophy, which is also being played at the Jim Watt Centre in Garvagh.

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