Front Row: Katie Foulis, Gary Nicolson, Calvin Reid

Photo: Back row: Angela Bell, Kim Atkinson, Carolyn Young, Moira Nicolson, Paul Scott, Jason Jamieson and Ian Gorn

Middle: Colin Grant

Front row: Katie Foulis, Gary Nicolson, Calvin Reid

KT Sports Intersport Orkney Open

The KT Sports Intersport Orkney Open was recently held in the KirkwallGrammar School. Orkney Badminton are delighted and very grateful that David and Katie Foulis have taken over sponsorship of the tournament, now in it’s fifteenth year.

Play commenced on Friday 5th November with the mens and ladies singles events.

Numbers for the singles were down on previous years but saw some high quality matches being played.

Joanne Pottinger gave reigning champ Shona Keith from Shetland a tough game with Shona progressing to the final after two hard fought sets. Regular visiting coach Angela Bell showed that she still plays a mean game as she beat previous champion Carolyn Young from Edinburgh in two high quality sets of play. The final looked very even on paper but it was Angela experience that was the telling factor as she played the winning shots when needed and was more consistent throughout the match winning in two sets.

The mens competition saw an all orcadian semi-final as Ian Gorn took on Ross Groundwater. A close game was expected and looked that way but Ian pulled ahead in both sets to progress to the final where he would meet his playing partner from Edinburgh, Paul Scott, who did very well to beat the powerful Jason Jamieson from Shetland in two sets. Paul ran away with the first set winning very convincingly. As expected Ian did not go down without a fight and duly turned the match round by winning the second set comfortably. A titanic third set ensued with both players knowing each others games inside out ensuring long punishing rallies. Paul started to gain points advantage and reached 20 before Ian saved a couple of match points with Paul eventually claiming the trophy with a scoreline of 21-18 in the last.

Well done to all singles finalist for putting on a great display.

The ladies doubles began with a great result for Jane Hill and Joanne Pottinger as they beat veteran players Elaine Gray and Moira Nicolson in two sets. Angela Bell teamed up with Rebecca Reid and put in a fantastic effort as they beat reigning champions Ann Wood & Shona Keith from Shetland in three close sets in the first semi-final. Orkney’s Christine West and Elspeth MacLellan played fantastic as they very nearly progressed to the final but narrowly lost the final set 21-19 to Edinburgh pair Kim Atkinson & Carolyn Young.

Kim and Carolyn greater experience as a pairing may have been the telling factor as they won a hard fought final against Angela and Rebecca in two sets. Well done to both sets of players for playing well throughout the day.

The mens doubles saw number one seeds Colin Grant and Jason Jamieson defeat Ian Gorn and Paul Scott in two hard fought sets whilst Ross Groundwater and Eion Ballantine played good attacking badminton to defeat the strong thrown together pairing of Graham Keith and James Henderson. The final was a hard fought match against two experienced pairings with many long rallies and hard hitting. Colin and Jason winning a close first set 21-18. They seemed to gain confidence from here and went on to win the second set 21-15 and claim the title. Again, well done to both sets of finalists on their play.

The mixed doubles saw Carolyn Young and Paul Scott progress to the final at the expense of Angela Bell and James Henderson who had previously beaten the number one seeds whilst Ann Wood and Colin Grant beat Christine West and Eion Ballantine to reach the final. After two close sets it would be Carolyn and Paul who emerged victorious with a scoreline of 21-18, 21-18. A high quality close final between two strong pairings.

In the plate competitions Carolyn Young won the ladies singles, Calvin Reid won the mens singles, Moira Nicolson and Elaine Gray won the ladies doubles, Marty Flett and Gary Nicolson won the mens doubles and Kim Atkinson partnering Ian Gorn won the mixed doubles. Many thanks to all participants, especially those who travelled to these shores to take part. Hopefully a contingent of Orkney players will make the trip to Open competitions out of Orkney and compete for prizes. Big thanks to all who helped organise the tournament.