Louth Badminton Association

Reminder: Connacht U15 Open 18/19 February - Closing date 10 February

Badminton Ireland Sports Internship

Do you want to gain firsthand experience in an Olympic sport administration? Do you have a passion for sport?

Badminton Ireland would like to wish all their members and friends a very Happy and Peaceful Christmas. Please note the office will be closed from 1700 Friday 23rd December until 0900 Tuesday 3rd January.

As 2011 draws to a close it is a good time for a update from myself, after four months as CEO for Badminton Ireland.Well it has certainly been a busy four months, I have been lucky enough to meet all Branch boards, as well many of the Badminton Ireland membership and this has certainly been very beneficial.

 I firmly believe this interaction provides a great opportunity for both local and national issues to be discussed and for nationwide communication to be kept at a healthy level. To this end we will hope to expand the number of Badminton Ireland National events during 2012 where all interested stakeholders can get together and share good ideas and views.

URGENT REMINDER : Any member not fully registered with Badminton Ireland on January 1st 2012 will not be eligible to compete in any Intercounty, Interleague, National or Interpro event.

Badminton Ireland and the Irish Institute of Sport are working together closely to improve the fitness components of Ireland's elite players.

Badminton Ireland and Ulster lost one of its leading administrators last week when David Gourley passed away.

Amsterdam in Holland is the location that will set the scene for the ever exciting European men’s and Women’s team Championships held from the 14th to the 19th of February 2012.

The Final Coaching Clinic before the festive holidays made its way to the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny County Donegal.

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE MONTH: CHLOE MAGEE (Badminton): IT’S BEEN a dizzying conclusion to 2011 for more than a few of our sportswomen, among them the Murphys, swimmer Gráinne and sailor Annalise, who have both qualified for next year’s Olympic Games.

And, of course, there was Fionnuala Britton (last December’s nominee) bringing home gold from last Sunday’s European Cross Country Championships.

While those achievements don’t fall into the timeframe for this year’s overall award - which covers December 2010 to November 2011 - all three sportswomen are certain to be contenders in 12 months’ time, not least if they maintain their progress at the London Games.

And joining them in that 2012 Irish team will - more than likely - be Donegal badminton player Chloe Magee who, in November, edged ever closer to Olympic qualification by reaching the final of the Norwegian Open, despite being seeded just four for the event. And, to complete her weekend, she won the tournament’s mixed doubles title with her brother Sam.

Magee all but sealed her place in London by making it to the quarter-finals of the Irish Championships in Lisburn last week, where she lost to former world number three PI Honygan, 17-21, in the deciding set. She will, though, have to wait until the end of the badminton season, in April, for her qualification to be officially confirmed. But it looks good.

“I’m just delighted, basically that’s it sealed and delivered now,” she said in Lisburn. “I have had 10 good tournaments so it’ll only be an injury that will stop me. All my focus now will go into training for the Olympics.”

If she makes it to London it will be Magee’s second appearance in the Olympics. Back in 2008 she beat Estonia’s Katie Tolmoff in the first round in Beijing, a player who was ranked 28 places above her. Korea’s Jun Jae-Youn, ranked in the world top 10, proved too strong, though, in the second round.

Magee (23) has since risen 28 places in the world rankings, now at 46, having had her most successful year on the circuit. Back in June she won her first senior title beyond these shores when she took the Lithuanian International Open, playing 10 matches in three days. She also won the mixed doubles title with Sam.

There were plenty of other highlights through the year, including her defeat of the Indonesian number one at the World Championships in August.

In all, she reached the last eight in seven events that counted towards Olympic qualification, her runners-up spot in Norway earning her 3,400 ranking points - her highest yield of the year.

All going well, then, Magee’s reward for an excellent year’s work will be a trip to London next summer.

2nd - 9th January 2012, Dundalk Badminton Club

The Senior players ranking is now operational. The ranking system will be used for the purposes of seeding all qualifying tournaments. Updated National Ranking with the addition of Mens, Womens and Mixed Doubles...

4th & 5th February, Baldoyle

17 – 19 February 2012, Scotstoun Sports Centre, Danes Drive, Glasgow, G14 9HD

Players from England dominated the final day at the Yonex Irish International Badminton Championships, at the NBC, Lisburn with representatives in four out of the five finals.

The home favourites have failed to make it through to the semi finals at the Yonex Irish International Badminton Championships but Irish number one Chloe Magee managed to secure her Olympic qualification for London 2012.

Friday evening at the Irish Open saw Sam and Chloe Magee score a trio of important victories.