Inter County Championships - Premier A
Essex managed a crucial 6-4 win over Hertfordshire in the latest round of the ICC Premier A competition last weekend, leaving the team precariously placed at the head of a gaggle of struggling teams.
The competition is led by unbeaten Yorkshire and Surrey with the deciding tie scheduled for the final weekend. Warwick, Hertford and Notts look to be safe in mid-table but Essex are just ahead of Cheshire, Middlesex and Glasgow with Avon looking doomed. Essex have to play Yorkshire, Cheshire and Avon on the final weekend with a win over Avon being the minimum required.
Essex won the first six ties against Hertford but Gail Emms starred in a late fight back as the Ladies Doubles and Mixed ties all went to Hertford. The scores appear to reflect the dead nature of the tie.
Earlier Essex tied with Glasgow & NS; the Women's Singles and Men's Doubles going to Essex while Glasgow took the Men's Singles and Women's Doubles leaving everything down to the Mixed. Joel Gayle and Viv Gillard won the top tie in three sets but Ben Barber and Nicola Waller lost out in the second to level the match. The first match of the weekend also ended in a draw against Notts this time; Ben Barber, Atu Sagita and Helena Cable won their singles, the level doubles were both halved but the Mixed went to Notts.
Inter County Championship - Premier A
The first ICC Premier A weekend took place in Guildford last weekend with Essex struggling to get two draws before suffering a thumping 10-0 defeat at the hands of a strong Surrey team.
For those not familiar with the way the top level of country badminton works, the Premier A and B divisions are played over 3 weekends where the teams get together to play a series of ties. This year the other weekends will be held in York and at the National Badminton Centre, Milton Keynes.
The Essex squad was strengthened by Indonesian international Atu Rosalina Sugita who now lives in our area and coaches at the Ipswich Performance Centre. She won all her ties on the first day in the draws with Middlesex and Warwickshire and the team missed her experience on the Sunday as they were unable to win anything.
News from Essex Badminton
Several Federation players are representing the County this season. In the Senior section Joe Skornia of Stanway has been selected for the Senior 3rd Team, who will have a tough season after consecutive promotions and now face predominantly Second Teams and even one First Team. Catherine Bailey of St. Mary Mag has represented the U17 team in all four of their matches so far this year and the team is currently unbeaten, including an excellent victory over near neighbours Suffolk where the Girls were key to the victory.
In the Veterans section the O40 team has started with convincing wins over Buckinghamshire and Cambridgeshire including Trevor Rogers and Simon Gilhooly while Ross Ranson of Earls Colne has helped the O50s overcome the same opponents. Jane Noremburg and Kevin Martin of Garrison are in the O55 squad with Roger Baldwin from Monkwick St. Peters representing the O65 team again this year. Veterans results can be found at the Masters page on the County Website.