ORKNEY BADMINTON ASSOCIATION – Under 18 SINGLES

The annual OBA Under 18 Singles Competition took place at the Pickaquoy Centre on Sunday, 11th December. 16 boys and 12 girls participated, displaying a very enthusiastic and sporting manner throughout the event. The standard of play in both the girls and boys competitions was top rate.

Girls singles.

First Round :- Neve Hall bt Maddie MacDonald 21-6, 21-5, Molly Cant bt Anna McEwen 21-8, 21-5, Ingrid Rendall bt Ann Lennie 21-9, 21-10, Nicola Sutherland bt Megan Clouston 21-18, 21-19.

Best match of this round and well worth a mention was the ding dong battle between Nicola and Megan which went to the wire. Great badminton, a huge effort and very sporting play.

Quarter-Final scores:- Elise Doull bt Kiera Stevenson 21-4, 21-9, Adele Flett bt Neve Hall 21-15, 21-17, Molly Cant bt Ingrid Rendall 21-18, 21-12, Tanya Seator bt Nicola Sutherland 21-7, 21-3.

Semi-Finals:-The first semi-final saw No.1 seed Elise Doull play No.4 seed Adele Flett. Both girls displayed great tactical play concentrating well on the task in hand. This saw them making good use of every corner of the court. After many exciting rallies Elise's very strong backhand and tight net shots saw her win in 2 sets 21-17, 21-17 to progress to the final.

The next semi-final saw the No. 2 seed Tanya Seator play No.3 seed Molly Cant. Again fine tactical play was employed by both girls. They both had good deep serves and also moved each other fully around the court. Tanya was the stronger of the two. Molly who seemed not to be in her usual form was under pressure. Tanya secured her place in the final in a convincing 2 sets victory 21-8, 21-7.

Final:- The top 2 seeds Elise and Tanya now had to battle it out. Elise started strongly gaining a 10-4 lead. Tanya then got more into her stride and fought back. This saw both girls forcing each other to the back of the court to open up shots at the net. Elise kept on task to win this set 21-15. In the second set after many long rallies and skillful shots the girls were level at 7 all. First Elise then Tanya had a run of points. After a ding dong battle Tanya won this set 24-22. All to play for in the third end then! Spectators were certainly being treated to a display of excellent badminton. Tanya took an early lead and kept it up to 5-3. Hower Elise's very strong backhand was a force to reckon with. This and her ability to take the pace off the shuttle neatly dropping it just over the net gave her the upperhand. Elise emerged the winner 21-17 to become a worthy Champion.

3rd/4th place play off :- Adele Flett v Molly Cant.

This was a very closely contested match. The girls were working hard each employing good badminton tactics. Adele played the stronger badminton which secured her a well deserved win 21-16, 20-22, 21-17.

Girls Plate:- Quarter-Finals:- Maddie MacDonald bt Ann Lennie 21-16.

Girls Plate:- Semi-Finals:- Anna McEwen bt Maddie MacDonald 21-10.

Keira Stevenson bt Megan Clouston 23-21.

Plate Final:- Anna McEwen v Keira Stevenson .

A close tussle here with both girls displaying very fine shots! Anna secured a win 22-20.

Boys Singles.

First Round Scores :- Sam Rendall bt Andrew Seator 21-7, 21-4, Reid Kemp bt Finn Hancock 21-7, 21-5, Aaron Leitch bt Ross Sinclair 21-8, 21-10, Tommy Ballantine bt Liam Barnett 21-11, 21-6, Craig Clouston bt Glen Foubister 21-13, 21-19, Willis Deans bt Nairn Hall 21-6, 21-6, Sean Thomson bt Ewan Stevenson 21-14, 21-16, Bruce Tait bt Ewan Flett 21-13, 21-15.

Quarter-Final scores :- Sam Rendall bt Reid Kemp 21-8, 21-14, Tommy Ballantine bt Aaron Leitch 21-11, 21-12, Craig Clouston bt Willis Deans 21-19, 19-21, 21-9, Bruce Tait bt Sean Thomson 26-24, 21-18.

Semi-Finals :- The first semi-final saw No.1 seed Sam Rendall play No.4 seed Tommy Ballantine. Both Sam and Tommy had came through their respective quarter finals fairly comfortably and as anticipated this was a close contest throughout. Sam took the first set 22-20. Tommy retaliated taking the second set 21-17. Tommy's tight net shots were very effective and a strong weapon and likewise Sam's consistently good drops and overall game play were equally effective. The third set was looking difficult to predict. Game on! Sam pulled away at the beginning and things were looking to go his way but Tommy continued to dig in and ate away at this lead to provide a very exciting final few points. Sam emerged the winner 21-18.

The second semi-final saw No. 2 seed Bruce Tait play No 3. seed Craig Clouston.

In the first set we saw a lot of close and exciting rallies. Bruce was using his power to great effect and Craig was employing a very fine variety of shots. Craig secured this set 21-18. In the second set Craigs consistency and variation of shots proved too hard for Bruce to deal with. Craig won 21-9 to secure his place in the final

Final:- Sam and Craig now had to battle it out to see who would be this year's champion. The first set went Sam's way seeing him win 21-10. His fluent movement around the court enabled him to return most shots. Craig retaliated in the second set using his powerful smash very successfully. Forcing an early lead things were looking good for Craig and despite a spirited comeback from Sam Craig held on to take this set 21-15. In the third end Sam's fitness saw him have the greater consistency and this proved crucial as he made less unforced errors and finally took the spoils winning 21-10. A worthy Champion!

3rd/4th place play off :- Tommy Ballantine bt Bruce Tait 21-8, 17-21, 21-16.

The first set saw Tommy have a very convincing win. This must have spurred Bruce into action as he retaliated well to take the second set. With great court coverage and thoughtful play from both players the third set was secured by Tommy who deserved his victory.

Boys Plate Quarter finals :- Ross Sinclair bt Liam Barnett 21-9, Nairn Hall bt Andrew Seator 21-18, Ewan Stevenson bt Ewan Flett (stopped due to injury at 10 all), Glen Foubister bt Finn Hancock 21-13.

Plate Semi-Finals:- Ross Sinclair bt Nairn Hall 21-17, Ewan Stevenson bt Glen Foubister 21-12.

Plate Final:- Ross Sinclair v Ewan Stevenson .

Ross came out the winner here with a convincing 21-11result.

Special thanks must go to Frozen Foods for their generous sponsorship of the Under-18 Tournament for the season 2016-17. Neil Foubister kindly presented the winners with their trophies.

Thanks are due also to Alice Cant and Eion Ballantine who ensured the competition ran smoothly.

CB