Good turnout for 15th Yell Junior Open
The 15th Yell Junior Open in badminton, sponsored by Victor Jamieson, was held at the Yell Leisure Centre last weekend.
Under-13s
On Saturday the under-13s played a round robin format.
There was only one group in the girls’ singles; after many close games Linsey Morrison proved too strong and topped the group to take the title with Yell’s Jenna MacDonnell taking second place.
In the boys’ singles Rory Irvine topped group one, winning his two games comfortably. However, group two was a much closer affair with two of the three matches going to three sets with Liam Flaws coming out on top after a long tactical match against Dean Guthrie which he won 21-14, 14-21, 22-20 to meet Rory in the final.
In the final Liam took an early lead winning the first set 21-17, but Rory attacked well in the second and took the game 21-12. The third set was very close but Rory edged ahead to take the title 21-16.
In the girls’ doubles final Linsey Morrison and Jenna MacDonnell took on Kate Tyler and Amy Sineath. Linsey and Jenna were strong taking the first set 21-9. Kate and Amy got off to an early lead in the second, but in the end Linsey and Jenna closed the gap and took the title 21-17.
The boys’ doubles had three pairings; Rory Irvine and Dean Guthrie came out on top of the group by winning all their games with Liam Flaws and Matthew Scollay runners up.
In the mixed doubles Jenna and Dean won their first three games comfortably and Claire Johnston and Rory edged past Linsey and Liam 16-21, 21-14, 21-18 meaning that the winner of their match would take the title. In the first game Claire and Rory won 21-17. In the second set Jenna and Dean attacked very well to take the set 21-14. In the final set Claire and Rory edged ahead to take the title 21-16.
Under-16s
The under-16s was played on Sunday and this was played as a round robin format.
In the girls’ singles Hannah Garrick topped group one giving her a place in the final. The other group was a much closer affair which eventually saw Jennifer Sim prevail after a couple of marathon matches against Karrie Fraser and Lorrie Robertson. The first game went from point to point until Jennifer took the lead, but Hannah pulled it back to take the first game 22-20. In the second game Hannah took title 21-14.
In the boys’ singles Roy Wood faced Finn Watt in the final. A close first game saw Roy eventually coming out on top 21-17. The second game was point for point levelling at 14 all then Roy crept in to the lead and eventually served for the match at 20-17 but Finn couldn’t recover and Roy won 21-18.
In the girls’ doubles there were many close games which eventually saw the pairing of Hannah Garrick and Sarah Leask take the title after a three setter win against Jennifer and Lorrie.
In the boys’ doubles the experienced pairing of Roy Wood and Patrick Nicol came out on top with the under-13 pairing of Dean Guthrie and Rory Irvine taking second place.
The mixed doubles was the last event of the weekend. Karrie and Finn and Jennifer and Roy both won their first game without dropping a set. The more experienced pairing of Rory and Jennifer won in three sets.
A spokeswoman for the Yell Badminton Club said the tournament was a great success, and commented on the high standard of play in both age groups. She said that it was a pleasure to see the level of sportsmanship and friendships being formed. She thanked everyone who took part in the tournament, and Victor Jamieson Ltd for their continued support in sponsoring the tournament.
The 20th senior tournament starts next Friday at 6pm with the singles. The doubles is on Saturday 11th starting at 9am, spectators welcome. Entry forms to be in by Wednesday the 8th.
The day will conclude with the infamous “Do” in the Mid Yell Hall, with Matt Vinyl providing the entertainment. Tickets may still be available from committee members at the leisure centre during the day.
