SPORTS
Good competition in Badminton tournament
Badminton tournament winners (l-r) Keith Whitley,
Lorraine Gillies, Wray Banker, Don Calloo, Chris Cole
and Kavita Thomas.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The recent Badminton Open tournament, held at Cayman Prep
& High School, was marked by fierce competition in all categories, as players
competed for the numerous titles on offer. Hosted by the Cayman Islands
Badminton Association and sponsored by Castaways Grille, the competition
included men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed
doubles.
The tournament was marked by a number of exciting upsets.
The competition began with the women’s singles. The final
was fought out between number one seed Loraine Gillies and number two seed
Christina McTaggart. Gillies dominated the match, taking a comfortable 11-3
win to claim her first title of the tournament.
In the women’s doubles, Gillies found herself in the
finals again, this time partnered by Kavita Thomas. They took on the team of
Charlene LeBlanc and Gay Frye, after both teams had had to face a couple of
close matches on their way to the final. Gillies tasted success once more, as
she took the title with Thomas, beating LeBlanc and Frye 15-3 in the final to
take the women’s doubles title.
The men’s singles competition was marked by tough
competition and close matches, with number three seed Don Calloo making it to
the final, where he faced number one seed Chris Cole. In a very close match,
it was the underdog Calloo who took it 15-14. However, Calloo went down in the
final, with Wray Banker taking the win to claim the men’s singles title.
The competition in the men’s doubles was every bit as
intense as in the men’s singles competition, with Cole making it to the final
partnered by Keith Whitley. They faced tough competition in the form of
Raymond Richmond and Balan Murugesu, who pushed them all the way. However,
Cole and Whitley came out on top after a very close match, taking the men’s
doubles title 15-13.
The tournament closed with the mixed doubles competition.
This division drew the highest number of entries, needing a total of 51
matches to decide the title.
One of the closest games of the division took place in
the semi-finals, as men’s singles champion Wray Banker and women’s doubles
winner Kavita Thomas took on men’s doubles winner Chris Cole and women’s
singles finalist Christina McTaggart. The match went down to the wire, with
Banker and Thomas finally clinching it 15-13 to book a spot in the final.
However, their tough match in the semi-final must have
taken it out of them, as they went down 15-4 to the combination of men’s
singles finalist Don Calloo and women’s singles and doubles winner Lorraine
Gillies.
The win in the mixed doubles assured Gillies of complete
dominance in the tournament, as she took the title in every category she was
entitled to enter, claiming three titles.
The Badminton Association is open to members and
non-members at Cayman Prep & High School on Walkers Road every Monday and
Wednesday night, starting at 7:30 pm.
The annual membership fee (calendar basis) is $75/year
per person. There is a per person nightly rate of $3. Racquets can be rented
for $1 per session and are also available for sale.
On Monday nights from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm one of the
courts is reserved for skills training and instruction for beginners.
The club will be closed for the holidays from 6 December
and will reopen on 4 January 2006.
For further information, please contact Mark Frye at
947-6459.
Results:
Women’s Singles Lorraine Gillies
Women’s Doubles Lorraine Gillies/Kavita Thomas
Men’s Singles Wray Banker
Men’s Doubles Chris Cole/Keith Whitley
Mixed Doubles Don Calloo/Lorraine Gillies
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