3 March 2010
The Lent term’s Badminton calendar features the inter house competition. Each year we see one or two novices cheerfully learning Badminton skills the hard way in public, and when established Badminton pairings don’t come from the same house even regular players have to establish a modus vivendi with an unfamiliar or inexperienced partner. The week before the competition Nick Topping was seen trying out talented sportsmen from O’Doherty’s as possible partners, and on the day Richard Brown was doing his best to follow captain Julian Martin's best advice.
In the Middle School part of the competition, Webb’s house, Christodoulou’s, School, Boyd’s and Phelps’ were eliminated in the first round, but Duncan Chow had found a powerful partner in Bernard Ng and we can anticipate greater success for them next year. Southwell-Sander’s and O’Doherty’s went in the second round, so the final was between Franklin’s and Crescent with Franklin’s, in the shape of establised pair Daniel Chen and Adam Uberoi, prevailing 21 - 11, 21 - 9.
The first round of Upper School games eliminated School House, Southwell-Sander’s, O’Doherty’s and Franklin’s. Boyd’s and Webb’s fell out next (Boyd’s after a very close game), so the final was between Phelps’ and Crescent. Both members of the school’s regular first pair, David Choy and Gary Ling, happen to be in Phelps’ so it wasn’t a complete surprise when they won, 21 - 18, 21 - 5.
Ian Macdonald