Glad to hear you are still around UKP. Is there no county practise in Yorkshire? Most counties are crying out for singles players and have more than enough doubles players so you should be sorted. I have a friend at York Uni who has just been asked to play for the 4ths. The club standard is pretty much as good as it gets, but as you say so is the club scene . Having had a bad patch I think, or hope, that my game is on the way back. Mens is not great but the mixed is much improved over recent weeks. We shall see as I have found a good, perhaps too good, new partner. We are doing some training and will play Nottingham and Leicester. Was going to come up to Hull and play with my old partner, but might play the rankings game and get spanked at the Grand Slam instead. It is right on my doorstep and you get lots of points just for losing. Would pretty much have to reach the final of the Hull just to get similar points. Before you say it DLP, I know, but going to Hull costs a lot of money. I want to play mixed in the Nationals next year so have to get my ranking up higher. I am closing in on the top 50 but really need to be inside the top 30. I am thinking I will play Nottingham, Leicester, Sussex and Guernsey this year and concentrate on the Challengers early next year, namely Wimbledon and Essex, then I wont be too far away. It would be good to have played the Nationals once. If the rankings system is there to be exploited, which looking at the players ranked in the top 100 it plainly is, then I dont feel too bad about doing just for one season. BAofE website is a definite improvement. There are a few bugs in the navigation but it is a lot more pleasing to the eye. It still looks as if it is hosted by Datamex though, so I wonder if they will still have to pay for every update. Anyway it was good to have a look at the latest rankings. My prediction of a fast rise up the positions by our young Sussex star Dean George looks to be coming true. Pleased to say that my average is better than his at the moment but that will change within the year I have no doubt. If any of you are playing any of the same tournaments as me then let me know, especially if you are a doubles player looking for a partner, even if only for that event. I am not the greatest at doubles but it is better to play than to sit at home.
hiya slanter - i'm going to th hull open - got no mens partner tho. i only started on the satellite at Northumbria late last november. adn got pasted my stephen mumby in the first round. if ur going i'm up for the doubles with ya Seeya Neil
Lancashire open Anybody make it to the lancashire open today? what was the standard? i would have gone - it being my home Satellite and all but my ankles are still giving e trouble and the doctor won't refer me to a physio. ROll onearning enough cash to go private grrrr Neil
Website Hi all, I am hoping on my new website i have just put up to be able to provide results to all the tournaments going on around the uk. Please go and have a look. Cheers Neil Badminton-Zone.co.uk
nice site neil, (that makes three neil's on this board from the UK) Keep ur eye on this board as you'll find a vast amount of info on results, vids, training techniques and such like. Neil
unlucky m8, it seems the standard has bounced up in the second half of the season. spose i'm lucky i'm still injured - not thrashings to endure Neil PS - do you know where the results are posted for Notts and Leics?
Interesting results at Notts, good link Neil. Had a shocking draw at Notts. Just played pants at Leics. I agree about the standard though, I don't feel as if I am getting any worse but have lost 1st round in two Satellites since Christmas and I have never done that before. Might be down to the draw I suppose but I think Leics was a strong field. Back to the usual moans. Predictably the ranking have not been updated for well over a month now. Perhaps the BAofE will get around to it next time they bring out a new website? Or maybe when they just change the layout of their existing one, anyway.
Hull 11-13 April Anybody going? wish i was if anybody does could they post the results here cheers Neil
Bit too far out for me mate. Nothig left to do this season now except let the injuries heal up ready for summer training. Thought you were going to play?
STILL INJURED unfortunately i'm still injured - looks like i'm going to be out will at least the end of june Neil
I'm going to Hull (MS) - there's been a low turnout in general apparently New BAofE rankings are out !
I suppose the low turnout is exlpained by the Grand Slam being on at Burgess Hill... grrrr, hull would have been ideal to get some points before the end of the season - bloody doctors - ah well it's not all bad - finally got referred to the physio - shouldn't be long now Neil PS good luck Neil PPS, it looks like the Grand Slam is pretty quiet as well - lots of bye's some names missing there as well - Colin and Aamir are both playing tho - wonder where Andy SMith, Mark Burgess and the rest are?
yes and no - it's now both ankles and my back, i went back on court 6 weeks after spraining the left one - and i've been having minor back pain and pains in my left leg all season. the doc said just to take anti-inflammatory's for my back and rest. Anyway after going back on court a couple of weekends on the trot - just knocknig about with the juniors - nothing too strenuous i began getting pains in the right ankle and the last time i was court - about 4 weeks ago i felt something in the bottom of my back pull, followed by excrutiating pain and an inability to bend forward or backwards a lot. Needless to say i've not been back on court since and i've even resorted to going on crutches for my right ankle which i was unable to walk on properly for two weeks - it's getting better now - but this is the longest time i've been out with a recurrence. My doc in manchester was useless and difficult to get to so now that i've moved back home to preston i've changed doctors to my previous one. he sorted my back out last time and after some carefully chosen words and goading i convinced him to send me to physio - he's more bothered about my ankles than my back tho. so with any luck i might finally get full movement back in my right ankle after being unable to do full rotations with it since i sprained it in 96. I'm planning to stay off court until late june, and i will resume fitness and strength training as soon as the physio says i'm okay for it. I'm hoping this is a new beginning for me since i'm well positioned now to play in division 1 or two in the local district league, and with any luck get into Blackpool Town team, and maybe if i train hard enough squeeze a lancashire squad place Neil
Coops hope you recover quickly. Grand slam draw on bae site, quite a lot of the top players are absent due to far east tour.
Just to let you know.. I'll be on the satellite scene come the new season, hope to see some of you...
I understand that the Korean was moved which ruled out about 8 top players from the GS but why was the GS date also clashing with the euro juniors, not to mention the Hull. The standard of a lot of the first round matches was as low as open, the womens draws were only half full with byes to qtr or even semi in the doubles. Hopefully the replacement for the grand slams next year will work better.
