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 Division 2 perennial Runners-Up St Leonards B top the Division by 8 points with a match in hand.  Their match against Otter Vale A ended in farcical circumstances. The match score was 5-1 to the Saints when the match had to be abandoned due to a dangerous, slippery floor. This meant the home team had to concede the unplayed rubbers to Otter Vale, who gratefully accepted the points. Before the “abandonment” the Saints pairs of Adrian Midmer/Andy Rowe and Sam Maltby/Adrian Wijay had won 2 rubbers apiece to secure the win St Leonards C team were hit by a post Christmas sickness bug and were unable to raise a team for their inhouse derby against their B team. The B team gratefully accepted the 9-0 win with no shuttles hit in anger. The C team recovered to put out a full complement of players for the match against Exeter B.

 Just three points separate the top three in Mixed Division One, but it looks as Queens’ four year stranglehold on the title is set to come to an end. Top of the league are Ringswell A who are still unbeaten, winning all three of their matches so far, with Exeter A two points back and Queens three, with Ringswell having a game in hand on the pair. In the last match before Christmas, Ringswell A beat St Leonards A 6-3 to move into first position, with the team of Adrian Freeman/Claire Harrison, Barry Hariss/Laura Eyles and Andy Taylor/Jess Hill all winning two matches, the latter who had a nailbiting 20-22, 21-11, 28-26 win over Tom Phillips/Louise Gubbin. Second in the table are Exeter A, just one point back, after a 5-4 win over Queens. Simon Brassington/Grace Lee won all three matches for Queens, but the deciding rubber saw Shaun Robert

 Despite a very disappointing level of entries, the events were still held during the last week of November. The Men’s Singles was contested by 3 players (all from St Leonards) following one injury withdrawal. Dan Carson maintained his composure and focus during the evening winning both games in two ends to take the title this year. Runner Up was Adrian Wijay who beat Charles Wardale 21-16, 18-21, 21-13 in a tightly fought contest. The Men’s Doubles was held with 6 pairs competing.  Split into two boxes, Dan Carson, playing with Tony Clarke (St Leonards), won their games in two ends. In the other box, Nigel Osborne and Ian Walsh (Ringswell) also won through in two ends. In the final, Dan & Tony made a good start taking the first game 21-8 and whilst Nigel & Ian fought back they could not go to three ends, losing the second game 21-19 and being ru

2017 champions Queens Ladies are proving untouchable, with a perfect record in the first 5 matches in Division 1. The team of Hannah Preece, Amy Housley, Leoni Bishop and Mandy Bishop breezed to a 6-0 win over St Leonards. A changed team of Grace Lee, Learna Herkes, Leoni Bishop and Kate Bovey showed that Queens have strength in depth when they crushed Otter Vale A 6-0. Defending champions, Ringswell A are chasing hard and have 4 perfect wins from 4 matches, with their most recent being a 6 -0 win over Exeter. Exeter’s Julia Melling, Stacey Horne, Katie Scotter ad Hazel Wong eased to a 6-0 win over bottom place Ringswell B. Cindy Li replaced Julia for their match against Chulmleigh but despite some close games the end result was another 6-0 win to Exeter.

The General Election may have been a landslide, but that is not how Division 1 of the Mixed league could be described, with just one point between the top three teams. Queens currently are leading the race for the big prize, and a 7-2 win away at Sidmouth A was enough give them an early lead, with Ben Jordan/Kate Povey going unbeaten, with Harry Williams/Rachel Irish getting Sidmouth’s points. They are just a point ahead of both Ringswell A and Exeter A after Ringswell won the inter-Maynards battle 6-3, with Ian Walsh/Jess Hill going unbeaten. Ringswell A do though have a game in hand on Queens, as do St Leonards A, who have not played for six weeks but could also go top with a win. Sidmouth A, with four defeats from four, look set for a return to Division 2A. And that league is led surprisingly by newly promoted Chulmleigh, who have won five from fi

 Queens’ four year grip on the Division One Mixed title could be slipping after they suffered a defeat to Exeter A to kick-off the new season. The Crediton-based side were unbeaten last season, but were beaten 6-3 by Exeter A, who are the early pacesetters in the division. Sam Lees/Cindy Li were unbeaten for Exeter, while Shaun Roberts/Suzanne Owens and Pete Ford/Stacey Horne also got points on the board. Exeter A followed up with a 6-3 win over Sidmouth A to give them an early four point lead atop the table, with Li again going unbeaten, this time partnering Rob Flack. Queens rebounded from their defeat to record 6-3 win against St Leonards A with Lloyd Skinner/Leoni Bishop going unbeaten in a match that saw five of the nine rubbers go to a final set.  But St

 Devon County Badminton Association are pleased to be able to introduce a new Badminton England sanctioned tournament to their calendar. The new TIER 4 tournament is on Saturday 14th December at Exeter University. Entrants cannot enter if they are graded A-E in that event and must be over 16 on the 1st January 2020, and can enter up to two events. Entry is now open on the Tournament Software website

 There were several close games in the round-robin events at the end of season Handicap Tournament.  The Men’s Singles was split into two groups and Dan Carson (St. Leonards) won his 5 games to win Section A and finished 5 points ahead of his clubmate, Tom Phillips.  In Section B Richard Grigg (Exeter) and Lee Clatworthy (St. Leonards) each won five of their 6 games with Richard Grigg finishing top of the group by just 2 points. Tom Phillips (St. Leonards) and Tony Clark (Ringswell) won 5 of their 6 games in Section A of the Mens Doubles and finished 2 points ahead of Exeter’s Tom Laver and Tim Howard with Jack Langlois and Jordan Camsey (Ringswell) a further 2 points behind in third place.

 The Levels Tournament was held back in November and resulted in some exciting games. The Singles event was split into 4 groups with the seeds cruising through this stage although the other two groups were closely fought. The semi-finals saw Lloyd Skinner (Queens) play Nic Williamson (Otter Vale) and John Carter (Sidmouth) play Tom Phillips (St Leonards) although both Lloyd and John managed to win their games in two. John was last in the Singles Final 22 years ago but despite his years of experience, the previous games had perhaps taken their toll as the younger Lloyd managed to take the title in two games, 21-17, 21-9. Unfortunately both the Ladies Singles and Doubles were not competed for due

 Queens retained the Division 1 Mixed title and completed an unbeaten season after beating Ringswell A in their title-deciding final fixture. Ringswell had to win 8-1 to have any chance of snatching the crown from Queens, but the Crediton side made it eight wins from eight with a 6-3 victory. Tony Clark/Claire Harrison went unbeaten for Ringswell, but Lloyd Skinner/Mandy Bishop, Jamie Dawe/Hannah Preece and Ben Jordan/Leoni Bishop each won two rubbers. Queens finished 16 points clear at the top after Ringswell A rounded off their season with a 7-2 win over fourth placed Exeter A, as Ian Walsh/Jess Hill went unbeaten. Sidmouth A had long since won Division 2A, but the battle for the other places went right down to the wire. Exeter B had been propping up the table and looked favourite for relegation, but picked up form at just the right time and

 Queens look set to retain their Division 1 Mixed title after winning their top of the table clash with Ringswell A. Both sides were unbeaten before they clashed for the first time on Monday night, but Queens came away with a convincing 8-1 win. Jim Teale/Hannah Preece and Lloyd Skinner/Mandy Bishop were unbeaten for the Crediton side, with Ian Walsh/Jess Hill scoring the consolation point. The result leaves Queens 20 points clear of Ringswell A, although the chasers do have a game in hand. But it means that anything less than an 8-1 win for Ringswell in Thursday’s reverse fixture means that Queens have retained their title. St Leonards A look set to finish third after they edged out Exeter A 5-4. Sam  Lees/Julia Melling and Steven Ford/Stacey Horne picked up two wins for Exeter, but Zac Phillips/Sue Banks were unbeaten for St Leonar

In Division 1 a first for the season – a 4-2 result! Ringswell A strengthened their hold at the top by beating title rivals Queens by this rare scoreline. They are now on the cusp of retaining the title they won last season, as they now have a 6 point lead, with 1 match to play.  The Ringswell team of Claire Harrison, Nikita Smethurst, Marion Ginger and Chloe Tsang ran out winners but Sarah Preece made sure Queens also came away with points after bagging a brace of wins, with Leoni Bishop and Grace Lee. An unchanged Ringswell then went on to beat Exeter 6-0, with all rubbers settled in 2 games. Julia Melling was in the starting line up for Exeter for the first time this season, and helped her teammates, Stacey Horne, Katie Scotter and Theresa Ford, to a 6-0 win over Otter Vale A.

 The Division 1 title is set to come down to two clashes in four days between Ringswell A and Queens in April.  Both teams remain unbeaten but it is Queens who have retaken the lead after victories over Ringswell B and St Leonards A. The team of Ben Jordan/Sarah Preece, Nathan Scase/Mandy Bishop and Jamie Dawe/Grace Lee teamed up to beat Ringswell B 8-1, with Barry Harriss/Freya Harris scoring the consolation point, before they made three changes to the team beat that St Leonards A 6-3. Lloyd Skinner/Preece went unbeaten, with Jordan/Bishop and Ian Kirby/Jackie Kirby also getting on the scoresheet. Queens lead by 11 points, but Ringswell A have a game in hand, which if they were win that 9-0, would mean the clashes on April 1 and April 4 become a direct head-to-head shootout for the title. Sidmouth A h

 Ringswell A remain unbeaten and continue to lead Division 1 after a close 5-4 win over St Leonards A. Two wins from Nigel Osborne/Jess Hill and Tony Clark/Nikita Smethurst, plus a win from Barry Harriss/Freya Harris was enough from them to beat their Maynards rivals, although no pair could beat Zac Phillips/Sue Banks. And just three days later, St Leonards again found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-4 loss, this time to Exeter A. Sam Lees/Julia Melling were unbeaten for Exeter, before the pair of Rob Flack/Hazel Wong beat Adrian Midmer/Nikki Anslow 21-17, 15-21, 21-15 in the deciding ninth rubber. But St Leonards A did pick up a 6-3 win over Ringswell B, with Phillips/Banks once again going unbeaten. The loss sees Ringswell B prop up the table with six defeats from six. The table-topping clash between the unbeaten Ringswell A and Queens fell victim to the snow and has been re

The Masters Event was a great success, with a good level of entries in Mens, Mixed and Ladies. Pairs from St Leonards and Ringswell dominated - The results were as follows; MENS Winners – Andy Rowe (St Leonards)/Andy Taylor (Ringswell) Runners Up – Barry Smethurst (St Leonards)/Tim Ellis (Ringswell) LADIES Winners – Sharon May (St Leonards)/Sharon Strong (Ringswell) Runners Up – Jess Hand ( St Leonards)/Anne Jones (Ringswell) MIXED Winners – Sylvia Child

Ringswell A and Queens are still matching each other point-for-point at the top of Division 1 in what has become a two horse race for the title. Ringswell A went top of the league after they won 7-2 in their interclub derby against Ringswell B, with seven comfortable wins, but Adrian Freeman/Liz Marker picked up two points from three for the B team, both coming after first set losses, a tight second set win, and then an easy third set win. Queens matched Ringswell A after they beat Exeter A 7-2 to put both teams on 38 points – 25 clear of third placed Exeter. Ian Kirby/Sarah Preece were unbeaten for Queens, with Exeter’s points coming from Sam Lees/Julia Melling. Ringswell A and Queens have yet to play each other and meet for the first time on Thursday. Just one match has been played in Division 2A, which s

 Queens and Ringswell A are locked together at the top of Division 1 of the Mixed league. Both teams have won three from three this season and already have a 17 point gap to St Leonards A back in third place. Ian Walsh/Jess Hill and Tony Clark/Claire Harrison went unbeaten for Ringswell in their 8-1 win over Exeter A, while Queens beat St Leonards A by the same scoreline, with Jamie Daws/Hannah Preece and Jim Teale/Mandy Bishop winning three matches each. Exeter A are off the bottom of the league after an 8-1 win over Ringswell B, who have now lost all four matches. Sam Lees/Julia Melling and Dave Spencer/Katie Scotter went unbeaten for Exeter. Sidmouth A continue to lead Division 2A after picking up another 8-1 win, this time over St Leonards B. John Carter/Rachel Irish and Paul Owens/Yvonne Hudson went unbeaten, with Sam Maltby/Laura Britton

 It’s 6 of one and half a dozen of the other in the Ladies League……..So far this season 80% of all matches has finished 6-0. Ringswell A top Division 1 with a healthy dozen point advantage after winning their last 3 matches 6-0. The Ringswell team of Jess Hill, Claire Harrison, Marion Ginger and Sylvia Child brushed aside the challenge of Exeter 6-0, with all rubbers won in straight games. Nikita Smethurst and Liz  Marker replaced Marion and Sylvia for the delayed inhouse derby against their B team, with an identical result  - 6-0 and all rubbers won in straight games. The trio of wins in this fashion was completed against St Leonards, with Marion Ginger back in the team in place of Liz Marker.

 Queens have drawn level with Ringswell A at the top of Division One of the Mixed league after a 9-0 win over Exeter A. The team of Jamie Dawe/Sarah Preece, James Teale/Mandy Bishop and Ian Kirby/Jackie Kirby dropped just the one set in their comprehensive victory over Exeter, who prop up the bottom of the table. Sidmouth A have recovered from their opening round defeat to Otter Vale A to storm away at the top of Division 2A after back-to-back victories. With Grace Williams, Yvonne Hudson and Rachel Irish all coming into the Sidmouth side, Exeter B were beaten 8-1, with Gareth Pearse/Theresa Ford winning a consultation point with a 15-21, 21-19, 21-19 win over Martyn Schmidt/Hudson. And 8-1 win over Chulmleigh has seen Sidmouth taken a 14 point lead at the top of the division. Carter/Williams and Schmidt/Julie Frost were unbeaten, with Ben Hami

Entries are now open for the 68th Exeter & District Badminton League Levels Tournament.To be played on Tuesday 20 November (Singles), Wednesday 21November (Mens and Ladies Doubles) and Thursday 22 November (Mixed Doubles)Venue -  Maynards School, Exeter Start Time each night 7PMPlease visit the League Website http://www.exeterbadmintonleague.co.uk/tournament-entry-forms/ Closing date for entries is Saturday 10th November, so don't delay enter today!  

Two wins from two have put Ringswell A at the top of Division 1. Having finished runners-up to Queens last season, they began the campaign with a 9-0 over their B team, before beating St Leonards A 6-3, with the pairs of Ian Walsh/Jess Hill, Tony Clark/Claire Harrison and Joe Davies/Nikita Smethurst winning two rubbers each. Zac Phillips/Sue Banks though were unbeaten for St Leonards. St Leonards A sit second after getting revenge by beating Ringswell B 6-3, with Phillips/Banks and Tom Phillips/Louise Gubbin both winning all three matches. Defending champions Queens also got off to a winning start against Ringswell B, picking up a 6-3 win, with Jim Teale/Leoni Bishop going unbeaten. Division 2A sees Exeter B sit atop the table after beating Chulmleigh 7-2, although it could have closed had the visitors not lost all four deciding sets. Gareth Pearse/Theres

Queens A retained their Division One title without having to step on court after Ringswell A lost their final match to Exeter B. Queens had only needed one point in their final fixture to mathematically secure the crown, but were handed the title when Exeter B beat Ringswell A 7-2. Sam Owens/Katie Scotter were unbeaten for Exeter, as Nigel Osborne/Erin Whitten won two rubbers for Ringswell which was enough to finish second. Queens A then were given a walkover against St Leonards A who were unable to field a team and were already consigned to finishing bottom. Queens B had already won Division 2A, but just like in the top division, Ringswell finished second. Despite four of the nine rubbers going to three sets, Ringswell B beat Otter Vale 9-0 before doing just about enough despite a 5-4 loss to Sidmouth A to finish second by three points.  John Carter/Rachel Irish were unbeaten for

 Exeter D could not make 2 Become 1 but nevertheless secured 2nd place in Division 3A with a battling 6-3 win over Chulmleigh B, with Chulmleigh A winning this League. Exeter were missing 3 regular players but the reserves of Ian Halliday, Jon Baker and Kes Krishnamma-Hillier all played their part in the win, alongside the regulars of Jeremy Smith, Richard Grigg and Prakash Kripakaran. St Leonards D overcame Honiton B 7-2 thanks to an unbeaten performance from Lee Clatworthy and Mike Lamboll. Ben and Tom Bennett got on the scoresheet for Honiton with 2 wins. St Leonards D then beat Otter Vale B, 8-1, with the pairings of Martin Weller/Lee Clatworthy and Neil Robson/Martin Matthews winning 3 and Mike Lamboll/Barrie Sharman bagging a brace of wins. Andy O’Brien and Simon Witts picked up the solitary point for Otter Vale.

Queens A are on the verge of retaining their Division One Mixed title after winning their top of the table title decider against Exeter A 6-3. Sam Lees/Julia Melling won all three rubbers for Exeter, but Jamie Roberton/Jenny Maddison, Lloyd Skinner/Mandy Bishop and Ian Kirby/Jackie Kirby each won two rubbers each to give Queens one hand on the trophy. They will secure the title if they beat St Leonards A in their last match. Ringswell A can still pip them to the title though if Queens slip up, and have secured at least second place after a 7-2 win over Exeter A. Again it was Lees/Melling who won the points for Exeter A, winning two rubbers and losing a third 23-21 in the deciding set, but unbeaten Ian Walsh/Jess Hill led Ringswell to victory and leaves them seven points behind Queens A with one game to play. Exeter B beat St Leonards A 8-1 in a potential

Queens A are still top of Division 1 of the Mixed league, but have had their lead over Exeter A cut to just four points – and they have Exeter B to thank for it. Exeter A completed the double over St Leonards A with their second 9-0 win of the season against them. But despite only managing to field two pairs, Exeter B, who have lost all six matches this season and sit bottom of the table, took two points off Queens A in a 7-2 loss, with Sam Owens/Katie Scotter winning two of their three matches. Jamie Roberton/Bronya Pike were unbeaten for Queens. Ringswell A remain third, eight points off the top, but the title decider looks to be Exeter A vs Queens A on Monday, March 26. Queens B are still favourites to win Division 2A after they beat Sidmouth A 6-3 to give themselves an 11-point cushion at the top. Five of the

Queens looked set to win both Division 1 and Division 2A, but two defeats to Ringswell sides have thrown the divisions wide open. Four wins from win for Queens A put them top of Division 1, but they suffered a shock 5-4 loss at home to Ringswell A in the reverse fixture. Sarah Preece/Zac Phillips won all three rubbers for the Crediton-based club, but Ringswell rallied with Erin Whitten/Nigel Osbourne, Jess Hill/Ian Walsh and Claire Harrison/Tony Clark all chipping in, before Harrison/Clark came from behind to beat Jackie Kirby/Ian Kirby 15-21, 21-16, 21-14 in the decisive ninth rubber. And a 7-2 win for Ringswell over St Leonards A has taken them to the top of the table, although just by a single point having played one game more. Whitten/Osbourne and Harrison/Clark were unbeaten for Ringswell in a match that saw five rubbers go to three sets. Exeter A are third after a

 The first of this season’s annual tournaments took place at Maynard School in November and all the competitions were run as round robin events.  The most successful player was Exeter’s Sam Owens - Sam won the Singles and then teamed up with Mark Trebble to win the men’s doubles and his mother, Suzanne, to win the mixed title for the second time together.  There were 4 groups of players in the Men’s Singles with the winners of each group contesting the semi-finals where Zac Phillips (Queens) defeated Jamie Roberton (Queens) 21-13, 21-16 and Sam Owens defeated last year’s champion, Geoff Littler (Exeter) 21-18, 19-21, 21-15.  In the final Sam Owens defeated the 2016 champion, Zac Phillips, 20-22, 21-8, 21-11.  There were 14 pairs in the Men’s Doubles divided into 4 groups.  In the semi-finals Sam Owens and Mark Trebble (

The last six weeks have only seen six matches take place in the Mixed league – and the tale of the tape has stayed very much the same. Queens A, Queens B and St Leonards C still lead the way and all three teams have stretched their leads with 9-0 wins. Queens A remain top of the table in Division One and stay undefeated after a 9-0 win against St Leonards A. The Crediton side though were pushed close as five of the nine rubbers went the distance, but they did manage to win all of the deciders. They have an 11 point lead over Ringswell A, but Exeter A are just two further points behind after they beat their B team 8-1 with Geoff Littler/Rowan Despard scoring the consolation

 As was the case Last Christmas, defending champions Queens A look set to retain their crown as they lead Division 1. Although they are level on points with Ringswell A, Queens have played a game less and they had A Wonderful Christmastime as they thrashed them 8-1 in their table-topping clash, with Sarah Preece/Zac  Phillips and Leoni Bishop/Jamie Roberton leading the way with three wins from them. Queens A then followed up bringing Joy To The World with a 9-0 win at Exeter B which enabled them to Stay Another Day in first place and dampen Ringswell’s hopes of a Fairytale Of New York to give them a first Division 1 mixed title. Exeter B are bottom of the table and Lonely This Christmas with four defeats from four, although they only lost 5-4 in a close match against St Leonards A where they couldn’t Stop The Cavalry. Five of t

 Ringswell A have been running rings around the rest of the first division as three wins out of three have put them on course for their first ever Mixed Division One title. They started with a tense 5-4 win away to Exeter A with the points shared between the pairs of Iain Walsh/Jess Hill, Nigel Osbourne/Marion Ginger and Chloe Tsang/Ben Hartridge. It was followed by a 8-1 thrashing of St Leonards A with Walsh/Hill and Osborne/Erin Whitten winning all three of their matches – Tom Phillips/Louise Gubbin with the consolation point. Ringswell A then did the double of Exeter as they beat their B team 9-0, with Walsh/Hill, Osborne/Whitten and Ginger/Barry Hariss all winning their three matches. Queens B top Division 2A after winning their top of the table clash against Ringswell B 8-1, with unbeaten performances coming from Sarah Preece/Nathan

 There was a triple success for Exeter’s Geoff Littler at this year’s Annual League Tournament. Geoff won the Singles and then teamed up with his clubmates, Sam Lees and Rowan Despard, to win the men’s and mixed titles. Tom Phillips (St. Leonards) was runner-up to Geoff Littler in all 3 level events partnering Tim Wardale in the men’s and Verity Greenaway in the mixed doubles.Sarah Preece (Queens) successfully defended her singles crown as this competition has not been held since Sarah won the event in 2014. The Ladies Doubles was not contested this year due to lack of entries. Sadly, for the first time ever, all the level competitions were run as round robin events due to the low number of entries.   Therefore, the League Committee are considering holding the tournaments on weekday evenings next season to try and attract more entries.