Louth Badminton Association

Following what seems like an extremely short summer break, the County Louth Badminton Association has kicked in to gear readying clubs and players for the coming season. Summer clubs run in Drogheda and Dundalk attracted new players to the scene, and these will provide new competition and team entries to the league and cup.

Last week, the first meeting of the new season saw the grading of new players and the re-grading of existing players in reward for improved performance through the years. This year, the league will be starting earlier to allow for more teams in divisions and the committee has set a date of the 15th of September for the submission of teams to the league.

Anyone interested in joining a club, now is the time. Visit louthbadminton.com to find out where your local club is or contact them through the website.

An additional boost to the start of the badminton season is the European Seniors Badminton Tournament which is taking place in Dundalk at the end of September. This tournament sees the top players from around Europe compete during the week long competition across age groups from 35+ in male and female singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Oriel Park, home to Dundalk F.C. are providing the facilities in their new state of the art indoor training arena. The first item on the calendar is the Opening Ceremony, generously supported by the Marshes Shopping Centre. This takes place on Sunday the 26th September at 2.30pm in the Marshes.

Conor Doyle, Tournament Director, spoke to the Louth Badminton clubs at the AGM in May. Conor called for volunteers from local and county clubs to sit as lines people. This is a fantastic opportunity to see up close the behind-the-scenes work involved in a large international tournament of this standard. Training is provided, and this can be a considerably small price to pay for the best seats in the house. For contact details and more information, visit the website euroseniors2010.com