The year has begun in usual style for Malvern Hills Badminton Club with the quickest AGM (we think) in Gloucestershire. Lasting longer than previous seasons, approximately 22 minutes, Chair Tom took us on an efficient and information filled meeting. Important things to note for the season ahead:
- We are delighted to already have new members joining us in the ladies, mixed and men! Welcome Anita, Niki, Joe, Will and Rich!
- There is a change for mixed this year. Stay with your partner for every match, no levels and mixed ‘mix ups’ this year.
- We will be keeping to 2 sets to 21 rather than world badminton proposal of 3 sets to 15.
- We are on a shuttle adventure this year. If anyone has a particualr preference for shuttles let Tom know.
The final and most exciting part of the AGM is, of course, the annual awards for the Barabara Gibson Women’s Trophy and the Most Valuable Player plaque. The Barbara Gibson Women’s Trophy was awarded to Sarah Edwards. Sarah is a stalwart of the team, turning out to every club night, ladies and mixed match. She is a dedicated to the club and incredibly fun to play with and against. A friendly face around the club, she has improved massively the last few seasons and we are delighted to have her in the club – well done Sarah!
The Most Valuable Player was awarded to Steven Price. As well as being the strongest player at the club, Steven gives a huge amount of time coaching, teaching and guiding players to improve their game. He treats everyone with immense kindness and exudes the values of the club through his generosity of time, patience and welcome to new players, expecting nothing in return. Well done Steven!
A special award was created for Mike Stimpson who, in a flashback to school, attended every single club night last season. Mike has been a member for a couple of seasons and his dedication to turning up every week is evident in how much he has improved. A club night withough Mike is strange indeed! Well done Mike and hope you enjoy your throw back certificate!
Beginning of Year Club Tournament
As is tradition at Malvern, we love to kick off the new season with a fun club tournament. Thank you Chair Tom for organising and mathing, and Treasurer (and all round legend) Pauline for doing the mathing as well as playing all matches!
The format was a fun combination of luck and chaos – as ‘Queen of Chaos’ Liv enjoys – with completely random pairings pulled out a tupperware box. This is your partner for the evening, but also your opponent! Two sets of 9 points are played; one with your partner and the other against as you mix up for the 2nd set.
After each pair had played against each other we (well…Tom and Pauline) tallied up the totals for a final. The initial final was Tom and Liv against Steven and Sophia….however a twist occured! Sophia had already taken her shoes off and no one was stopping her from watching Celebrity Traitors! Third place Emma (who only had 1 shoe off at this point) was called in.
The final followed the same format; 2 sets of 9, swap partners in between and after some excellent rallies the eventual winners were Steven and Emma. Their prize …nothing!
A very fun evening as always and thank you again Tom and Pauline for running the event!
