THERE were some aching limbs after the Carey Olsen Fantasy Badminton Team Challenge that took place at the Rohais Halls. Each player registered withj the Guernsey Badminton Association was assigned a fantasy value between £1m. and £6m. and teams of four had to be assembled within a £13m. budget.
These rules resulted in 10 teams including players of all ages and experience battling it out from 9am until 6pm to find this year’s winners.
In group one things were very close, with the Ducks Reloaded winning all their matches by three rubbers to two, giving them a total of 12 points.
Jon White and Jed Le Page combined effectively in the men’s doubles, while Maxine Fitzgerald and county player Annika Johnson performed well in the doubles.
The Ducks Reloaded were closely followed by the Peglets, captained by Bridget Podger, and the Under Average Height Squad, led by Kiara Green, both on 11.
Fourth were Champy O’Knees, with Chris Archard and Chris Stagg showing some of the younger players a few tricks, and fifth were the Guernsey Juniors+1.
Group two was a much simpler affair with the key match being between Podge’s Surprise and Sal’s Smashers.
The former, with the help of Andy Podger, ran out winners of this group with 14 points. Second were Sally Wood’s side, with 12, aided by some good performances from the ever-improving Laura Jouhning, who added some much needed youth to the team.
Third were Hoof Hearted, led by Fran Babbe, with 11 points. Fourth were the Awesome 4Some who started the day brightly but finished it looking jaded, Roger Mahy in particular, even though they contained the youngest player in the tournament, Ellie Mason, who performed admirably.
There were many highly competitive matches in the group stages, with some good singles performances from many of the young and old players.
Glenn Le Tissier in particular showed some signs not only of his touch play, but of his developing pace and power.
Both Bridget and Andy Podger showed their class and Steve Trebert showed the youngsters how to play effective and accurate singles before his unfortunate injury in the last round of matches.
In the final between the two group winners, the men’s singles was to be a crucial rubber and despite his defeat to Le Tissier earlier in the day, Jed Le Page recovered well and fought hard to beat Andy Podger 21-16.
Johnson then fought off a spirited effort from the improving Emily Trebert 21-19 to put the Ducks 2-0 ahead.
Poge’s Surprise pulled one match back with Podger partnering Oli Shier to victory over Jon White and Le Page. Shier emphasised his recent improvement and showed no sign of being overawed throughout his performances.
It was the Ducks pairing of Johnson and Maxine Fitzgerald who secured the trophy with a 21-6 win over Trebert and Jane Langois giving them an unassailable 3-1 lead.
‘The atmosphere and energy levels in the hall were brilliant,’ said GBA president John Stuart.
‘With such a mix of players and ages and everyone supporting each other it was a pleasure to watch,’ he added.
Final results: 1, Duckrs Reloaded; 2, Podge’s Surprise; 3, Under Average Height Squad; 4, Sal’s Smashers; 5, Hoof Hearted; 6, Peglets; 7, Awesome 4some; 8, Champy O’Knees; 9, Juniors+1; 10, Young and Old Alike.
Article posted on 3rd November, 2007 - 12.00am
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