Youngsters shine at Championships

Young badminton players from Stirling and Clackmannanshire locked horns in the Central Schools Regional Championships recently.

Clackmannanshire Sports Development creates a pathway for pupils to progress to this event from local competitions through their partnerships with Active Stirling, the Central Schools Badminton Group and Badminton Scotland and 35 players took part in the event held at Lornshill Academy. The top three players or teams in each category will go on to represent Central Schools at the National Championship in May.

Four boys and four girls qualified from each local authority in the singles by playing matches up to 21 points. The top two players from each group then qualified for the semi-finals.

The standard of play was high, with each match keenly contested and this year’s boys’singles champion was Fraser Banks from Doune Primary School who beat Isaac King of Menstrie PS in the final. Third place went to Robb Ferguson from St Serf’s PS,Tullibody.

In the girls singles, this year’s champion was Laura Buxel (St Margaret’s PS, Cowie) who edged out Kirsty McKendrick (Newton PS, Dunblane) in the final.

Newton pupil Rosie Haythorne picked up the bronze medal.

Boys’doubles champions were Marcus Sinclair and Lachie Hunter (Dunblane) after a close fought final against Robb Ferguson and Logan McCrae (St Serf’s). Third place and the bronze medal went to Liam Richards and Angus Crockett (Newton).

Ailsa Livingstone and Kirsty McKendrick (Newton) were victorious in the girls’doubles competition, winning the final against Laura and Hannah Buxel (St Margaret’s).

Newton pair Sophie McKendrick and Rosie Haythorne picked up the bronze medal after winning the third/fourth play-off game.