Badminton clubs looking for new members

WITH the long nights rapidly now drawing in and the autumn sinking slowly in the west the badminton fraternity of Kerry, and throughout Ireland, are now looking forward to a new season. Racquets and runners are now being examined and many players have already done their home work by doing a programme of gym training in preparation for a busy seven months or so ahead.

Badminton was one of the success stories of the recent Rio Olympics and Ireland’s Scott Evans did his country proud by reaching the last 16 before ultimately being defeated in a close battle by the eventual Danish bronze medal winner.

The Kerry Badminton Association will hold their Annual General Meeting at the Grand Hotel, Tralee on Friday, October 7 and all club delegates are requested to be in attendance.

Badminton is played extensively throughout the county, indeed the Kerry Association will celebrate its 80th birthday on November 4. It was that night in 1936 when a meeting took place in the K.P.H, Nelson Street (now Ashe Street), Tralee to form the Kerry Association with five clubs in attendance, namely Kerry Protestant Hall, Kenmare, Tralee, Dingle and TCLS with letters of apologies from the Killarney, Cahersiveen and Listowel clubs.

The Kerry Association has had its ups and downs over those 80 years with the peak period being in the 1980s which saw 25 clubs affiliated to the County Association.

On the playing courts the first County Championships were held in 1954 whilst on the inter-county front the first Munster Brewster Cup event won by a Kerry team was in 1953; the first Butterfield Cup was won in 1995 whilst the first All Ireland title win that came to the County was the Class 3 Cup title which was captured in Dublin in 1979. In this 80th Anniversary season court action will commence on Saturday, November 5 with the annual juvenile tournaments taking place in Killarney whilst the adults will commence play on the following day, Sunday, November 6 with the annual Knock-out cup competitions, hopefully for all divisions from 2 to 5. One of the big days on the Kerry fixture calendar will be Sunday, November 13 also in Killarney when the November Handicaps competitions will take place. This is one of the two days of the season when players from all five divisions in the county will compete on the same day.

The year of 1972 saw the formation of a juvenile sub-committee and juvenile competition has been flourishing in the county ever since.

The past season saw 10 clubs affiliated to the Kerry Association and if any locals or new comers to the county wish to try their hand at badminton, which is acclaimed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest of all racquet sports, the following contacts may help.

Annascaul - Lisa Sayers 085 2734648 or Aidan Evans at 087 2888 Ballyheigue - Patsy O’Connor 087 2750380 Causeway - Josie Gilber t 087 9167634 or Brendan O’Carroll 087 2364299 County, Tralee - Tom Clear 087 7549570 or Sarah Murphy 087 9810680 Dingle - Blandina O’Connor 087 2042243 Killarney - Kieron Crehan 087 2748777 or Peggy Horan 087 6486428 Kingdom, Castleisland - Miriam Walsh; 087 9113960 or Brid Murphy 087 9805060 Listowel - James Sheahan 087 7851260 or Jnr. Griffin 087 9107929 Moyvane - Eileen Roche 087 6679943 or Mike Corridan 087 2259065 Iveragh - Mike Reardan 087 9494746