Congratulations to our Men’s 2 team for their convincing win last night in the first match of the new season. Pinfold were the visitors and unfortunately they were only able to bring two pairs due to illness. However we still managed to win five of the six games played, so it was a convincing 8-1 victory. Hopefully this bodes well for the season ahead.

The fixtures for the 2015-16 season are now available on our website – www.novusbadminton.net/this-season/. The first match is on 9 October and we’ve started with some home games to ease each side into the new season.

With the holidays fast approaching, our Christmas closure has now been finalised. Our last club night of the year will be on Monday 22nd December, and we will then be closed throughout the festive period. And if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get down to the club more, you’ll be glad to hear we start back again on Monday 5th January.

So have a great Christmas and we’ll see you in the New Year!

Congratulations to our Mixed 2 who achieved the first victory of the new season against Reedswood 2 on Monday night. It was our first mixed match under the new, two-pair format, and proved to be a tight affair. After the first four rubbers the score stood at 2-2, so it was all down to the ‘switched’ pairings to decide the result.

And the team did us proud. Both rubbers went to a third, deciding game, but we managed to snare them both for a 4-2 win!

Unfortunately it hasn’t been the best of starts to the new League season. It doesn’t usually start before October, but this year the first few games came early. The Ladies had the honour of our first match, but playing Three Spires was never going to be an easy start and although there were some tight games they ended up losing 5-1.

The end of September saw the first games for both of our Men’s teams – the first team away to Aston Villa and the second team away to TP Riley-Norton 2. Unfortunately we are currently missing a few players due to injuries, etc so both teams were a little makeshift, and despite our best efforts both matches ended with a rather one-sided scoreline – a 9-0 loss – so the only way is up!

As we continue through the summer, I realise I never posted a summary of how our teams did last season:

Mens

The Mens 1 always expected it to be a tough season up in Division One – and weren’t disappointed! Although there were some good matches, often it ended with a rather one-sided score. Unfortunately we only managed one win over the whole season, so relegation it is. So next year we’ll be aiming to stay at the top of Division Two and bounce back up.

We’ll also get to play our Mens 2 team as they had a successful season, winning promotion from Division Three. Whilst Codsall Eves were the class of the division, the remaining teams were only separated by a handful of games. However our record of six wins and four losses was sufficient to secure second place ahead of League newcomers Yoxall, and the aim will obviously be to stay up next season.

Ladies

The Ladies team continues to improve and with struggling teams dropping out of the League, there were no easy games against under-strength opponents. Unlike previous years stuck at the bottom, this year their efforts were proudly reflected in the results – a record of four wins and four losses left them comfortably in the middle of the table.

Mixed

With the club going from strength to strength, this year was particularly successful as far as the Mixed was concerned. An increasing number of club members meant we were able to put out a second team for the first time in years, and with only one division they were always going to face some tough games. However three wins were sufficient to place them sixth in the division of eight, so certainly no disgrace for a first season.

The Mixed 1 meanwhile were locked in a battle with Three Spires and Reedswood 1 at the top of the table. In the end it went down to our last match of the season, needing an away win at Cannock. With a number of club members turning up to show their support, a comprehensive 9-0 win saw us snatch the title by the tightest of margins – in a season of 14 matches and 126 games, we beat Three Spires by just three games! A celebratory curry afterwards was a great way to cap the season!

The club will be closed on both Good Friday and Easter Monday, so enjoy the break and see you back on Friday 5th April.

Our last night before Christmas will be Friday 21st December.  We have a fortnight’s break into the New Year, with the club starting again on Friday 4th January.