Kernow Bronze U15/U17

Entry forms are available now for the Kernow (Cornwall) Bronze Under 15 and Under 17 events which will take place at Carn Brea Leisure Centre on Saturday and Sunday 25th and 26th February 2017 - Under 15 on Saturday 25th and Under 17 on Sunday 26th.

Please note the closing date will be Saturday 4th February 2017.

Online entry for U17 is available here: Badminton England

Postal entry forms:

U15 Entry form

U17 Entry form

2016/17 CCBA Vets Championships

The 2016/17 Vets County Championships will be held at Polkyth Leisure Centre, St Austell on 

Sunday 8th January 2017.

Entry forms available to download here.

Play starts at 10am.

2016/17 Under 21 County Championships

The 2016/17 Under 21 County Championships will be held at Polkyth Leisure Centre, St Austell on 

Sunday 18th December 2016.

Entry forms available to download here.

Cornwall Badminton’s Flying Start

Both teams from Cornwall had a fantastic start to the season in the first round of matches in the inter-counties championships at the weekend.

The 1st team, playing in Bristol, were up against Gloucestershire and West Glamorgan, with players coming from all over Cornwall, joined by exiles from Bristol and Birmingham.

In the first match of the day, the men’s singles got off to a great beginning with fine wins for county champion Tyler Sillifant as well as Milo Semonin, although James Whetter lost his game in 3 ends to a fast young opponent. The women’s singles were split, with one win for Gloucestershire and one for Cornwall’s Amy Polglase.

Milo in action below.

Both men’s doubles pairs struggled against strong opponents, Ross Lashbrook and Richard Townsend plus Guy Michell and James losing in two ends, as did Jo Philp and Bronwen Wotton in the women’s doubles. Honour was restored by Amy and Emily James winning their doubles in a tight three ender, to make the match poised at 5-4 to Gloucestershire going into the mixed.

Cornwall needed both mixed games to take the match, and sure enough both pairs obliged, Ross and Jo comfortably beat an experienced pair, with Jo showing sublime touches at the net and dominant serving, Guy and Bronwen finished the match in style, never looking troubled, to give the jubilant team and supporters their first victory of the season at 6 games to 5.

Players and spectators in Bristol.

The next match followed in the afternoon against fellow Celts West Glamorgan, and once again the Cornish boys were victorious in the singles, taking all 3 games in two ends. The girls were up against two strong players and both lost fairly comfortably.

From then on in, the Cornwall players didn’t look back, and stormed to wins in all the men’s and women’s doubles, leaving the two mixed partners to clean up at the end, and take the match 9-2 and finish an excellent day’s badminton and a winning start to the season.

1st team – Tyler Sillifant, Milo Semonin, James Whetter, Guy Michell, Ross Lashbrook, Richard Townsend, Emily James, Amy Polglase, Jo Philp, Bronwen Wotton, with manager Brian Hannibal.

Cornwall’s 2nd team had taken the long trip to Bournemouth for their first matches of the season, and also had a storming start- beating Dorset and Wiltshire along the way.

Their first match against Dorset, saw them win 4 out of 5 singles, all the men’s doubles and one women’s, and both mixed doubles to give a comfortable 9-2 victory.

The second game was much closer against Wiltshire with the team losing 4 out of 5 singles, then winning all the doubles to make it 5-4 going into the mixed and needing only one more game for victory. Losing the first mixed game meant that it was all on Tom Lyle and Vicki Thomas, and they duly won in 2 ends to give the team a memorable victory and a clean sweep for Cornwall.

2nd team – Sam Spencer, Tom Lyle, Jack Dyer, Tony Clark, Curnow Bascombe, Sean Havis, Amelia Burrell, Vicki Thomas, Amy Cox, Isabel Victoria-Martinez.

Both teams play their next round of matches in January, with training sessions in-between plus the under 21 Cornwall Championships on December 18th at Polkyth Leisure Centre – spectators welcome.

A Bonanza of Badminton, Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre, Truro, 16 October 2016

64 badminton players from all over Cornwall, Plymouth and mid Devon, gathered at the 8 court Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre in Truro at the weekend to take part in Cornwall Badminton Association’s latest Bonanza.

The idea of Badminton Bonanza tournaments is to give both social players and those who play league badminton a chance to try out and develop their skills against different players. The many regulars were joined this time by some very welcome new faces, some playing in a tournament for the first time, as the Bonanza goes from strength to strength, with any profits going towards developing badminton in Cornwall.

This year’s tournament at Truro was another great success, with some close fought battles in all the 5 different disciplines and a great day of badminton.

In the social events there were some closely contested matches, with St Austell’s Sanaa Roff winning a hat trick of titles, as the only woman singles player, then teaming up with fellow St Austell players Joanna Southey in the women’s doubles, and visiting Malaysian Qing Da Soon to win the mixed with runners up Martin Penney and Marnie Boston from Redruth. The men’s singles final was won by Luke Jannaway from Penzance, who beat Redruth’s Russell Tucker, and in the men’s doubles an all St Austell match saw Ashley Southey and Mohammed Dulal prove too strong for David Head and Chris McCarthy.

Left to right, Gary Braunton, Stuart Larter, Jo Southey, Sanaa Roff, Joan Bontoft, Pam Martindale, Mohammed Dulal, Ashley Southey, Karen Parish, Michelle Wylde, John Zarb, Ryan Lambourne, Debbie Blight, Kay Bossenger.

 Runners up in the social women’s doubles, Pam Martindale and Joan Bontoft.

Left to right, Luke Jannaway, Qing Da Soon and Sanaa Roff, Marnie Boston and Martin Penney.

Left to right, Stuart Larter, Kay Bossenger, Qing Da Soon, Sanaa Roff, Marnie Boston, Martin Penney, Debbie Blight, Gary Braunton

In the league events, the final of the day was the men’s singles, which was an exciting, tense affair between last year’s winner Tony Wong from St Ives, and the young, skilful Qing Da Soon. After some breath-taking rallies Tony finally emerged triumphant with a very close score of 21-19. The men’s doubles had seen two very close semi-finals but in the final the pair from Pool, Gary Braunton and Stuart Larter were just too quick and powerful for Plymouth’s John Zarb and Ryan Lambourne. The mixed doubles final had the partnership playing against each other, with Gary pairing up with Debbie Blight, and Stuart with Kay Bossenger in an all Tecans club match, with the skill of Stuart and Kay winning in the end.

Left to right, Qing Da Soon and Tony Wong, Stuart Larter and Kay Bossenger, Gary Braunton and Debbie Blight

Results  –

League men’s singles – winner Tony Wong, runner up Qing Da Soon 

Social men’s singles  - winner Luke Jannaway, runner up Russell Tucker

Social ladies’ singles – winner Sanaa Roff

League men’s doubles – winners Stuart Larter/Gary Graunton, runners up John Zarb/Ryan Lambourne

League ladies’ doubles – winners Kay Bossenger/Debbie Blight,  runners up Karen Parish/Michelle Wylde

Social men’s doubles – winners Ashley Southey/Mohammed Dulal, runners up David Head/Chris McCarthy

Social ladies doubles – winners Sanaa Roff/Joanna Southey, runners up Joan Bontoft/Pam Martindale

League mixed doubles – winners Stuart Larter/Kay Bossenger, runners up Gary Braunton/Debbie Blight

Social mixed doubles – winners Qing Da Soon/Sanaa Roff, runners up Martin Penney/Marnie Boston

CORNWALL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Cornwall’s top stars made their way to Polkyth Leisure Centre at the weekend for two days of quality badminton in the annual County Championships. 51 players from all across Cornwall, including 20 under 18 year olds, took part to find this year’s champions in singles and doubles. It was very much a family affair in some events, with the three Sillifant brothers from Launceston and Truro’s three Dyer brothers plus the two Bailey sisters taking part, alongside some other very promising juniors from Cornwall Youth Badminton on show taking on the established competitors.

DAY 1:

In the men’s singles three of the top four seeds made it through to the semi-finals, although Chris Glasson narrowly lost to Sam Spencer in a tight quarter final. Tyler Sillifant, the defending champion, cruised through to the final, to once again meet his older brother Liam in a repeat of last year’s match. Liam had had a harder passage, with two closely fought previous rounds to narrowly beat Ross Lashbrook and James Whetter. The final was once again a thrilling match with no quarter given, but in the end Tyler’s speed around the court and consistency won through in two close ends, and he retained his crown.

Men’s singles champion Tyler Sillifant on right with runner up Liam Sillifant.

The women’s’ singles were dominated by exciting young players, with over half of the entrants under 16. Top seed Johanna Philp from Port Isaac was beaten in the semis by Falmouth’s Emily James, and in the other half of the draw, number two seed, 15-year-old Amelia Burrell from Camborne lost to 13-year-old Cara Collins from Liskeard in an epic battle. Cara then lost her semi-final to 15-year-old Ellie Reed from the same town, for Ellie to reach the final for the first time. The last match was a close, tense affair which went the distance with three tight ends of attacking power and speed around the court, eventually won by the more experienced Emily James for the third time in her badminton career.

On the left women’s singles champion Emily James, with runner up Ellie Reed

Saturday’s final event was the women’s doubles, contested by 8 pairs, and again the top two seeds made it through to the final relatively comfortably. Johanna and Amelia were paired against Camborne’s Kellen Moore and Amy Polglase, and Jo and Amelia’s power and precision comfortably won in two ends to take  the title this year.

Women’s doubles champions Jo Philp and Amelia Burrell on left, with runners up Amy Polglase and Kellan Moore

DAY 2:

The next day the players once again filled the hall, and gave the large watching crowd more excellent badminton thrills and spills in the men’s and mixed doubles competitions.

A big entry of 17 pairs in the mixed saw the top four seeds progress to the semi-finals, with a new pairing of Ross Lashbrook and Isabel Victoria Martinez doing well, particularly in the quarter finals against Sam Spencer and Amelia Burrell. They then had a well fought three ender against number two seeds Guy Michell of St Austell and Vicki Thomas from Penzance and came out winners to reach the final, against top seeds James Whetter and Jo Philp. James and Jo’s accuracy and tight net play saw them take the title in two ends against the battling Ross and Isabel, to once again be crowned champions.

From the right mixed doubles champions James Whetter and Jo Philp with runners up Ross Lashbrook and Isabel Victoria Martinez

The last event of the weekend was the men’s doubles, where the Dyer brothers, Jack and Elliot did well to reach the semi-finals and came up against the Launceston/Saltash pairing of Ross Lashbrook and Richard Townsend the defending champions who proved too powerful and experienced in the end. St Austell’s Guy Michell and James Whetter had reached the final comfortably but proved no match for Ross and Richard, who won in two ends of accurate smashing and quick retrieval to defend their title.

Men’s doubles champions Ross Lashbrook and Richard Townsend on the left in action against Guy Michel and James Whetter

In the plate events, Sean Havis from Penryn capped off a good weekend with a hat-trick of victories in the singles, doubles and mixed, with his partners Tony Wong from Penzance and fellow student Amy Cox. The women’s singles plate final was contested by two 14 year olds from Truro – Melissa Lin and Mollie Bailey with Melissa winning in the end.

Plate singles winners and runners up – from left Sean Havis, Mark Pearson, Melissa Lin and Mollie Bailey

Plate mixed doubles winners Sean Havis and Amy Cox

Plate women’s doubles winners Aabha Mate and Melissa Lin

Plate men’s doubles winners Sean Havis and Tony Wong

A fine weekend of matchplay with some new plus some defending champions and a promising mix of youth and experience bodes well for the new season for Cornwall’s badminton.

RESULTS

Men’s singles – Tyler Sillifant beat Liam Sillifant 21/19 21/18

Women’s singles – Emily James beat Ellie Reed 17/21 21/16 21/15

Women’s doubles – Jo Philp/Amelia Burrell beat Kellan Moore/Amy Polglase 21/17 21/9

Mixed doubles – James Whetter/Jo Philp beat Ross Lashbrook/Isabel Victoria Martinez 21/18 21/17

Men’s doubles – Ross Lashbrook/Richard Townsend beat Guy Michell/James Whetter 21/16 21/17

Plate events

Men’s singles – Sean Havis beat Mark Perason 21/14

Women’s singles – Melissa Lin beat Mollie Bailey 21/14

Men’s doubles – Sean Havis/Tony Wong beat Harry Dyer/Josh Richards 21/6

Women’s doubles – Melissa Lin/Aabha Mate beat Mollie Bailey/Beckie Bailey 21/16

Mixed doubles – Sean Havis/Amy Cox beat Tony Clarke/Beckie Bailey 21/19

Kerrier Open

Entry forms are now available for the Kerrier Open, which will be held at Carn Brea on 12th and 13th November:

• Under 13

• Under 15

• Under 17

Badminton Bonanza

Cornwall Badminton Association's latest Bonanza will take place on Sunday October 16th at the Sir Ben Ainslie 8 court sports hall at Truro School.

The idea of Badminton Bonanza tournaments is to give both social players and those who play league badminton a chance to try out and develop their skills against different players. Last year's successful tournament saw over 50 regular players from all over Cornwall and Devon joined by some very welcome new faces, some playing in a tournament for the first time, with any profits going towards developing new clubs in Cornwall.

Closing date for entries is October 9th - entry form available here.

Duchy Open

The 34th Duchy of Cornwall Badminton Championships is due to be held on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September, 2016.

The tournament is promoted by the Cornwall County Badminton Association, and has the honour of a Silver ranking on the Badminton England Senior Circuit

A new venue will be hosting this year - the new Sir Ben Ainslie Sports Centre at Truro School.

Entries are invited online, or the entry form can be downloaded here if preferred.

Closing date for entries is 6th September 2016.

Truro and Penwith College - National Badminton Champions 2016

For the second time in three seasons Truro and Penwith College Badminton Team have claimed the National Team Title. The Team which consists of a full compliment of 8 Junior and Senior County Players have travelled far and wide over the last six months competing against top class opposition.

This  success has resulted in the College achieving its most successful season ever at the National Level, following on from their Top girls pairing of Amy Polglase and Kellen Moore winning the first ever Individual College title in the doubles at Newcastle two weeks ago and the Top boy Milo Semonin gaining a Silver runner up medal in the singles.

On their way to the final at High Wycombe Badminton Performance Centre(Buckinghamshire) on Tuesday 26th April the team defeated the following Teams ;

Cornwall College

Exeter College

Peter Symonds College (Hampshire)

Cirencester College (Gloucestershire)

Farnborough College (Hampshire)

Runshaw College (Lancashire) were their opponents at High Wycombe. Runshaw boasting a strong group of boys two of whom compete at the very top level on the National circuit. Both Lancashire County players and one of whom has represented England at U17 Level.

Tactical decisions on Team selection were of paramount importance and the “Cornish” players responded in resounding style.

The girls leading the way taking both singles and the boys  accumulating a good points total. In the doubles the girls again led the way with 2 great wins and the boys running the no1 pair, which included their opponents top two players, so close with a narrow 21-19 21-18 loss. However the no2 boys pairing stormed to a fantastic 21-6 win and then a close 21-16 win in the second end.

Five games to three to “Cornwall” going into the mixed.  The experience of the last two pairings shone through in both mixed doubles with straight sets wins after their opponents put up cracking first end games.

TEAM:

Noah SEMONIN (CAPT) ST AUSTELL BAY BC

Milo SEMONIN ST AUSTELL BAY BC

Sam LAITY MOUNTS BAY BC

Duncan COVEY TRURO BC

Amy POLGLASE FIRST EDITION BC

Kellen MOORE (CAPT) TECANS BC

Laura GALLEY CAMELFORD BC

Agnes ALLISON MOUNTS BAY BC

Team Manager/Coach Jon Wotton Truro and Penwith College Badminton Academy.

Thanks must go to the continued support that Truro and Penwith College Sports Academy provide to their Badminton Academy and commitment to ensuring all fixtures are honoured no matter what the distance across the Country.

CCBA AGM & End of Season Presentation

The CCBA Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 14^th May 2016 at 6pm. 

This will be followed by the end of season presentation with buffet from 8pm.  

Venue: White Hart Hotel, Church Street, St. Austell,  PL25 4AT.   

DONATED PRIZES FOR THE RAFFLE GLADLY ACCEPTED! 

Tickets are £15, please contact Lorna Riggs - telephone: 01726 862878

CYB Trials dates

“BRITISH COLLEGES NATIONAL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS” “CORNISH PLAYERS SUCCESS”

A group of 5 players from Truro and Penwith College represented South West Colleges at the National Association of Colleges British Championships over 3 days starting on Friday 15th April.

This meant a 1200 mile round trip to compete at Northumbria University. The  players competed at  the nearby  Tyneside Badminton Performance Centre ,built to International competition standard in 2013.

The Players Milo Semonin (St Austell). Amy Polglase (Hayle). Kellen Moore(Camborne). Noah Semonin (St Austell) and Duncan Covey (Truro) have all developed through the Cornwall Youth Badminton organisation over the last 7/8 years, some from the age of 9 years old. As South West Regional winners back in November in Plymouth they took their place at the National Finals.

The competition was of a high class with players from England, Scotland, and Wales some of whom having represented their Country and a high percentage being experienced Junior and Senior County players from across the United Kingdom.

Amy and Kellen took the Ladies Doubles by storm, playing controlled dynamic doubles in all 6 matches. The Cornish Girls winning all matches in 2 ends with many close ends which required  making full use of their experience, calm nerves and no little amount of skill. National Ladies Doubles Champions ! A thoroughly deserved National Title after many years of training and competing across the Country.  Truro and Penwith College gaining its first ever individual National Badminton Title over the 26 years of this competition !

Milo had 3 other top class players in his opening group, Surrey, Lancashire and Worcestershire County players with High National rankings. Milo worked tirelessly and won through by a 4 point margin on a 3 way tie. In the semi-final a classic 3 ender against a Lincolnshire County player came out in Milo's favour. In the final Milo had a rematch against Ryan Quek from Worcester ranked 13 at National Senior Level, England U19 squad a high class opponent. First end was a nail biter going right down to the wire, Milo missing a game point at 15/14,just losing 18/16. The shot execution and court coverage of both players on a technical, tactical and physical level was breathtaking. The second end continued with long demanding rallies but eventually Quek ran out  a deserved winner 15/8.

A truely memorable final, Milo taking the game to his opponent and demonstrating what a fantastic developing talent he is, with more to come over the next few years. National Silver Medal !

Noah and Duncan started well in their Mens Doubles Group box winning 2 from 3 matches. Needing a win in their final match to progress to the semi-final they changed 8/5 up in the final end. Unfortunately the pressure told and they narrowly lost 15/10 against a Middlesex pair. They then competed for a final placing of 5/6 and in three great ends of badminton and ran out deserved winners against a Worcester Pair. A final 5thplace finish in the Nationals!

Team Manager/Coach. Jon Wotton - Truro and Penwith Badminton Academy

Personal thanks must go to Truro and Penwith College under the stewardship of Julie Penprase, the Sports Academy Co-ordinator who although recognising the high level of commitment that the players put in outside of College at both County and National competition level, ensures two coaching sessions a week at College are provided. In addition she ensures full support in the logistical challenge of competing across the Country in both Individual and Team College Badminton competitions.

CORNWALL U17 2016 ICT

Our 2016 Team travelled to Nottingham University on Wednesday 30th March for our 10th  ICT since 2007, this being the 51st year of the competition.

A very young team by ICT standards with three U15 players. Only two of the squad of ten having competed in 2015. A building year having achieved our "best ever" result of 16 in 2015 starting from 39th place in 2010.

Day one - early 9.30am warm up

What a roller coaster !

So so many amazing matches,so much experience gained,such a wonderful team spirit and two very able captains in Lewis and Sarah.

Highlights were that every member of the team won at least one match,fantastic for each player.

Sarah and Elliot having two match points v the England no1 Mixed Players ! In our very first match v Buckinghamshire the current champions and eventual winners .

Harry winning his first match ever at an ICT at 13 years of age on day one v Lincolnshire in an epic 3 ender 18-16 in the third, against a 17 year old!

Mark winning 2 unforgettable singles in 3 ends,the second against Bedfordshire from 14-11 down in the third 16-14,his opponent 150 places above him in the National rankings ! 

Melissa winning so so many matches at no2 singles doubles and mixed and still only 13 !

Charlotte winning at doubles with Ellie as our 2016 U15 County doubles champions!

Ellie going out at no1 singles time after time and working so hard,winning doubles matches with Charlotte and Sarah.

Amelia so strong at no1 mixed some fantastic wins,so confident at no1 and 2 doubles and 2 great no.1 singles wins !

Nathan a great partnership with Mark at no1 doubles and several great wins !

Elliot great wins at no2/1 mixed and no2 doubles! Mixed with Sarah only losing 2 matches in their mixed.

Sarah winning at no2 mixed and No1 doubles.

Lewis winning at no1/2 mixed and no2 doubles. Elliot and Lewis only lost 2 matches playing doubles together.

Day four - 7.30 am breakfast

Overall final placing 30, so so close to a final group of 24/28.

The first of 4 days competition meant 4 matches,and still competing at 11pm at night.

Buckinghamshire(2015 and 16 winners) Cheshire(top 10 team 2015 and 16) Warwickshire (top 10 team 2015) Lincolnshire!

The team won their target game v Lincolnshire 6-4 on the first day.

The second day still competing at 10.45pm

Eleven matches in total our most ever.. WON 4 v Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire, Isle of Man (10-0), Cumbria, DREW 1 v Nottinghamshire lost on count back by one end. LOST 5.

TEAM

LEWIS JEFFREY-CAPT -TECANS

MARK PEARSON-FIRST EDITION

ELLIOT DYER-FIRST EDITION

NATHAN HOLMES-NEWQUAY

HARRY DYER-FIRST EDITION

SARAH FROST-CAPT-FIRST EDITION

AMELIA BURRELL-TECANS

ELLIE WATKINSON-FIRST EDITION

MELISSA LIN-TECANS

CHARLOTTE GRIGG-ST AUSTELL

Sincere thanks to all the parents that travelled to support..Guy and Patricia LIN,Ian and Deborah GRIGG and David,Kim and Jack DYER,fabulous support in every match.

Thank you to our sponsors Dairy Crest Davidstow, Probus Surgery, The Christine Parsons Legacy, Eastbrook Limited and Truro and Penwith College.

Team Managers Neil Pearson Cathryn Bick .Coach Jon Wotton

Cornwall Badminton 1st team – the final weekend

The final weekend of Badminton England’s senior county championship season saw the top Cornish players travel to Cheltenham and Gloucester to take on Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Guernsey, and seek to maintain their position in Division 3.

 

Mens singles players

After an early start, first up for the team in Cheltenham were Gloucestershire, and the Sillifant brothers, Tyler and Liam, gave Cornwall an excellent start with wins in the opening men’s singles, followed up by another emphatic victory by James Whetter in the 3rd singles slot. The girls were not to be outdone, and both Amy Polglase and Vicki Thomas secured victories to give Cornwall an amazing 5-0 start.

Ladies singles players

The mens doubles began with a tough match for number 1 pair Ross Lashbrook and Richard Townsend, who found the top Gloucester pair just too hard to handle, and Cornwall’s Guy Michell and James Whetter also lost out after going the distance of the maximum 3 ends in a closely fought game.

Things got better in the ladies when Jo Philp and Bronwen Wotton had a great win over the best Gloucester pair in two straight ends to secure the match for Cornwall, but Amy and Vicki lost out to the second duo after a hard fight, leaving the match at 6-3 going into the mixed doubles.

The opening mixed was a see-sawing battle with 2 good pairs demonstrating tight net play, fantastic retrieving and powerful smashing to thrill the watching crowd. Finally, Ross and Bronwen triumphed over their very experienced opponents after 3 ends. Guy and Jo duly followed with a very comfortable victory in the second mixed, to make the overall match score a fine 8-3 to Cornwall.

This set the team up for the next match against Oxfordshire, which began in the afternoon, and once again, young Tyler Sillifant took the number 1 men’s singles slot and again demonstrated his fitness, all round court play, and unflappability to beat a tough opponent. Liam Sillifant found the second singles a step too far and lost in two ends, although James Whetter successfully used all his experience to beat a younger player in two. Again the Cornish girls stepped up to the plate and both won in two, Amy Polglase again calmly converting her superiority, and Jo Philp powerfully using all the court to win the second singles.

This time the men’s doubles was split, with Oxfordshire narrowly winning the first game after 3 exciting ends against Ross and Richard, who were unlucky to lose out 20-22 in the final end. James and Guy also went the distance, but this time beat their opponents with precision and force in three ends.

The ladies’ doubles both went to Cornwall and so the overall match was won. Despite losing the first end and very nearly the second, Jo and Bronwen dup deep and triumphed, and Amy and Vicki won a more comfortable victory against the second string pair.

Both mixed games were tight affairs and both went to the maximum 3 ends, with Ross and Bronwen just losing out and Guy and Vicki having better fortune against the other Oxfordshire pair and winning to make the match result a very creditable 8-3 to Cornwall.

After an overnight stay in Gloucester, the Cornish players were refreshed and eager to tackle the final match of the weekend against a strong Guernsey team, starting again with the singles games. This time, both Tyler and Liam, and Amy in the ladies’ singles, lost to more experienced opponents, although James did well to win his match after 3 ends, and Jo was too strong in her game for the Guernsey girl, giving Cornwall a 2-3 start.

The doubles results were halved – in the men’s Ross and Richard were out muscled, but James and Guy won their game in two ends, and although Amy and Vicki lost, Jo and Bronwen made it 3 excellent victories in a row by winning their ladies in 3 skilful ends.

The match came down to the mixed results, Guernsey only needing one more to win the match, and Cornwall needing to take both – Guy and Vicki set up the nail biting finish by easily winning their mixed to leave all Cornish hopes resting on Ross and Bronwen. Their game swung wildly, with the Cornwall pair easily taking the first and the Guernsey pair the second end, unfortunately the third end saw the Guernsey pair pull away and win, to give them the overall match 6-5, in what was a thrilling encounter between two evenly matched teams.

So the weekend finished and the Cornwall players can be very proud of their performances this weekend and throughout the season in this division, played to a high standard with a wide range of experience and  top skills, alongside excellent team spirit.

Cornwall team –

Tyler Sillifant, Liam Sillifant, James Whetter, Guy Michell, Ross Lashbrook, Richard Townsend, Amy Polglase, Jo Philp, Bronwen Wotton, Vicki Thomas.

Managers – Brian Hannibal and Sue Biscoe