Chronicle Summer 2023

63 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Badminton By Head of Badminton, Michael Bunch Senior Badminton The Spring Term was a busy one for the Badminton Club with fixtures for the Senior Mixed, Boys and Girls Teams. The Mixed Team made a strong start, winning against d’Overbroecks (14-2) and following this with an impressive victory against Bradfield (12-4) avenging the previous term’s defeat. After Exeat further victories followed against Bradfield, however absence and illness resulted in a narrow loss to d’Overbroecks. The term finished with the first Martyrs Badminton match, with key members of the Club from the last few years returning. It was a wonderful occasion, celebrating the development of the club over the last few years. The Senior Boys team had a challenging term with tough opposition from Radley, Winchester and Stowe. With a number of players having switched to football for the Spring Term, new recruits were required to join the team and Ben O’Connor and Oscar Smith joined the ranks. Algy Low and Steven Guo also established themselves as key members of the club and made significant progress on the court. A win against Radley in February was a fitting finale to Justin Liu, Wilson Lian, Lucas Joy and Shun Wang’s time at the School. At the start of the Spring Term, the girls faced familiar opposition again, playing Cheltenham Ladies’ and Oxford High. Results indicated the progress the team had made, with results of 14-2 and 11-5 achieved. It was great to welcome some new players to the team with Sade McNichols-Thomas and Pula Laughton showing a real desire to make a valuable contribution to each fixture, attending additional training sessions to prepare. Victory against Stowe at the end of February presented the girls with a chance to go for a clean sweep of results for the year. Their final match against Downe House completed their unbeaten season with a 23-9 win – an amazing feat. Huge thanks to the coaches who have supported the girls during the two terms; Mrs Simpson, Mr Duncan, Ms Qiu and Ms Valente. Details of the nine fixtures for the year as follows:

Back Row (L-R): Connie Wang, Reine Lam, Sade McNichols-Thomas, Emily Liu, Memie Cholsaipant Front Row (L-R): Sam-I Liew, Karen Teng, Adriane Yeung, Pula Laughton

but it soon became apparent that the contest would be decided between the heavyweights of Cooper Lodge and Oakthorpe. With the scores neck and neck after six rounds, all was to play for going into the final round. The standard of play was outstanding on both sides with Oakthorpe battling bravely but Cooper Lodge were not prepared to relinquish their ownership of the trophy and dug deep, winning the final badminton match 21-18 to take the title for the second time. In the boys’ competition, Cowell’s and Cooper Lodge, were firm favourites at the start of the afternoon, given their strong representations in the school badminton and squash teams. Kendall and Tilly’s were not prepared to give up easily though and made steady progress throughout the afternoon. On the squash courts, Field and Apsley gained their share of the glory, ensuring that no one team gained a sizable advantage. And then from the shadows, Segar’s emerged, quietly accruing points round after round. It was only as the afternoon started to reach its conclusion that competitors realised, albeit too late, the threat they presented. With overall victory in the squash matches and a close 2nd in the badminton, Segar’s pulled ahead of Cooper Lodge in the final round to be crowned Senior Boys Champions for 2023.

Fixtures Autumn Term Cheltenham Ladies’ College – Won 9-6 Oxford High School – Won 9-7 Downe House – Won 18-6 Cheltenham Ladies’ College – Tournament Winners (Featuring Cheltenham Ladies’ College, St Edward’s, Downe House, Cheltenham College, Balcarras Academy, Oxford High School for Girls) Oxford High School – Won 10-6 Fixtures Spring Term Cheltenham Ladies’ College – Won 14-2 Oxford High School – Won 11-5 Stowe – Won 7-2 To finish the term, girls’, boys’ and co-ed Houses went head-to-head to determine who would be crowned victors in the Senior House Racquets Competition. The tournament saw each House put forward a badminton and squash team to compete in a round robin tournament, with scores from every match being combined to declare an overall Racquets winner. The girls’ competition took place first, with a strong turnout across the board. Avenue, Mac’s, Apsley and Corfe put on a brave show, Downe House – Won 23-9 House Matches