By Colm Griffin
Munster Closed Championships U-11 / U-15
Kerry were well represented at the Munster Closed Championships last weekend at the University of Limerick and our young Badminton players certainly made the county proud.
In the U-11s clubmates Nicole Vesko and Ben McElligott from Listowel both had double success. Nicole took the Division 1 girls singles title and Ben the Division 1 boys singles title before teaming up together to that the Mixed title.
Ben came close to triple success when he teamed up with James Burke of Castleisland in the Division 1 boys doubles but they were beaten in the final. Ben had earlier beaten James in the final of the boy’s singles.
In the U-15s Ethan Tritschler, another player from the Listowel club also took singles honours in Division 2 whilst Sara Hayes also of Listowel was runner up in the girls division 2 singles before teaming up with Ethan to capture the mixed title.
In Division 1 Ayrton Burke of Castleisland was runners up in the plate event and also part of a pairing in the boys doubles that finished runners up.
All-Ireland Championships Grades C & F
Four Kerry players travelled to Dublin last weekend for the All-Ireland Championships grade C competition in Baldoyle. All gathered valuable experience by taking part in competition at this level and this will stand to them in years to come. The highlight of the weekend from a Kerry perspective was Maeve Twomey (Killarney) playing with Paul Kingston (Cork) reaching the Mixed semi-final before losing out in a very close encounter 22-20. 21-19.
Kerry Schools Badminton
The deadline for entering the Kerry Schools Badminton tournament is Dec 20th. The event is played in three different age categories U-14, U-16 and U19 and both the boys and the girls competition will be played on Thursday January 10th. The winners will go on to represent Kerry at the University of Limerick in the Munster Championship on January 24th. Each team consists of four players each playing singles and doubles in the order of their strength. For further details on entering please contact Carmel Hudson on 087 9267871 or carmelhudson@eircom.net
Senior Leagues
Fri Dec 14th
Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 3 League
Killarney 5 – 1 Listowel
Wed Dec 12th
Suits Select Men’s Div 1 & 2 Combined League
Killarney 5 – 3 Kingdom-Castleisland
Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 3
Killarney 5 – 1 Moyvane
Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 4
Moyvane 2 – 4 Listowel
Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 3 League
Kingdom-Castleisland 5 – 1 Killarney
Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section B)
Listowel 3 -3 Moyvane (Listowel win 9 sets to 7)
Tues Dec 11th
Suits Select Ladies Div 1 & 2 Combined League
Ballyheigue 0 – 3 Moyvane
Men’s Advanced Cleaning Supplies Div 4 League (Section A)
Causeway 6 – 0 Killarney
Mon Dec 10th
Suits Select Ladies Div 1 & 2 Combined League
Listowel 4 – 2 Kingdom – Castleisland
Ladies Agri-Auto Parts League Division 3
Moyvane 5 – 1 Listowel
Upcoming Events
Sunday Jan 6th Munster F, G & H Individual Championships
Wednesday Jan 9th Ladies and Mens Div 3 and 4 League Finals
Thursday Jan 10th Kerry Schools Competition
Saturday Jan 12th / Sunday Jan 13th Listowel Tournament