East Midlands National Badminton Competition 2024
Brief Medal Summary
10 x Gold (twice the number of last year), 8 x Silver (3 more than last year), and 5 bronze (1 more than last year)
In terms of East Midlands Region / Derbyshire Allstars Badminton Club, we did rather well, especially taking into account that 2 of our number had never been to a competition before, and have only been Allstars club members for a few weeks. In terms of medals we managed to achieve a total haul of 10 x Gold (twice the number of last year), 8 x Silver (3 more than last year), and 5 x Bronze ( 1 more than last year), with every member of our team winning at least two medals.
In the Ladies Division Two Singles, Laura Sandercock emerged as the champion, winning all five of her games and securing the Gold medal. Danielle Booth won Silver after winning four out of five games, only losing the fifth to Laura in a closely fought match, whilst Vicky James was narrowly edged out of the Bronze position and finished in fourth place.
Another of our new players, Mahek Abis managed to secure a Silver medal after winning 6 out of 7 games on Ladies Division 5, a really good performance for someone who was playing in their first competition. Moving on to the Men's Singles Division 6 James Cawdron-Nelson exhibited an excellent performance by winning all five games and a subsequent Gold Medal.
Meanwhile, Corey Sandercock dominated Mens Division 5 with a remarkable record of winning all seven games - a very creditable performance, again for someone who had never attended a competition before. Nathan Harris was edged into Silver after a close final with Corey, whilst Daniel Warren took Bronze after winning 5 of his 7 games and Adrian Hernandez-Odjea finished in Fifth position. Rob Copeland took Silver in Men’s Division 4 after winning five of his six games and Matthew Platkiw came away with a Bronze after winning five of his seven matches.
Moving onto doubles Men’s division 2, this saw a repeat of last year’s result with Matt Platkiw and Rathanan Pathmanathan winning a well earned Gold medal after winning all four of their games.
Corey Sandercock & Dhruv Anand won all four of their games in Men’s Division 4 to win Gold, whilst Rob Copeland & Joe Beard took Silver and Daniel Warren and Nathan Harris completed a hat trick for Derbyshire Allstars by winning Bronze. In Men’s Division 5, James Cawdron Nelson partnered with Adrian Hernandez-Odjea to take yet another Gold.
In the Ladies Doubles Laura Sandercock & Vicky James took Gold after winning all four of their games whilst Danielle Booth partnering with Briony Johnson, had to settle for Silver after a close final. Finally, in Ladies Doubles Division 3 Mahek Abis & Claire Mann partnering for the very first time managed 4th place after being narrowly edged out of Bronze position. In the Mixed Doubles Division Three, we continued our great success with Matt & Danielle winning Gold and Joe partnering with Briony taking Bronze in Division 3.
In Division 4 Nathan Harris won Gold partnering with Georgina Scott, winning all five of their matches whist Daniel and Laura took Silver after a narrow defeat in the final, and Rob Copeland & Vicky James,partnering for the first time took the Bronze in the same division.
Finally, Mixed Doubles Division 5 was won by James Cawdron-Nelson partnering with Lisa Adamson - making him a total of 3 Gold medals from the competition. Corey & Sarah Hetherington were narrowly beaten into second place Silver position, and whilst Adrian & Mahek were narrowly edged out of Bronze position, they still managed to finish a creditable Fourth.
All in all, it was our most successful competition to date.
We are already working on an even bigger and better event next year and dates have been confirmed as 25 & 26 October. We are also pleased to say there is a big expresion of interest for next year. Further more, we plan to include more teams from Ireland, Scotland and a larger team from Isle of Man plus other regions that were unable to attend this year.
We donated cups for the Open Division singles and Doubles competitions entitled "The Derbyshire Freemasons' Charity Trophy". It is hoped that these trophies will be a lasting legacy to the support that Derbyshire Freemasons have given us over the last 3 years.
We are extremely grateful to Philip Bowler who found time in his busy schedule to present the trophies and medals on Sunday 27th, and also for the time he spent with each and everyone that attended the event.
To conclude, this event underscores how vital sport is, not only for physical health, but also fostering teamwork, determination and resilience. It’s a testament to the invaluable benefits that sport brings to our athletes and the community at large. Our thanks to everyone who helped to make this event such a success - SOGB, Coaches, Volunteers, Parents and above all the Athletes themselves. Anthony, James & Steve.
Below are just a small selection of the messages we received after the event:-
Good afternoon Anthony, Firstly can I thank you and James for the great show that you put together, we have discussed about next year and yes we would love to come and I have a least 4 maybe more people who will come and you can tell James I have set in motion about holding a tournament in the isle of man, but enough about that , I can't thankyou enough, Firstly for the invite and giving the Badminton team the opportunity to be able to play other players of different abilities. All my players enjoyed their time in Derby and are looking forward to next year
Kind regards David Hudson Head coach @ Special Olympics Isle of man Badminton
Hi Anthony, The feed back from Dhruv and Rathanan has been very positive. Thank you for a very well organised tournament! I have put the dates in my diary and hope to bring more players next year. Best wishes Lorraine
Well done everyone
Daniel Warren
Fab weekend. Well done everyone xx ~
Sam Harris
Great weekend, you all did brilliantly xx
Naomi Platkiw
Well done to all, brilliant weekend, some fantastic games x
Lisa Sandercock
Well done everyone - a great weekend. Thanks to Anthony and James for putting it on and a huge shout out for Steve who worked tirelessly in the background
Steve Platkiw
Anthony you've did brilliant to organising badminton event.
That's what fantastic. Our team are impressed.
Vicky James
Thank you Our athletes certainly had a good time and came home buzzing. Thank you for all your hard work in organising the tournament
Christine Hooper
Hi Anthony, Thank you for a great weekend our athletes had a great time!
Jane Robert’s North Shropshire
Thanks for the weekend everyone had a great time.
Angela Walker Bryan Specials
The best tournament I’ve ever been to with Special Olympics
Josh Gratton
Thank you On behalf of Special Olympics Lincolnshire athletes and SO East Midlands thank you for putting on an excellent badminton weekend. It sounds as if everyone had a great time. Well Done also James on your SOGB appointment for badminton.
Angy Morley Special Olympics Lincolnshire
Hello Anthony, Thank you for organising the tournament, it was a lovely experience.
Smita Anand
Hi Anthony, I just wanted to take a minute to drop you a line, to thank you and your team for a great weekend. Our Athletes came home happy and determined to take part next year. It was a great successful badminton competition. Can you send on our thanks to Derby County Football Club for a great Saturday night, the disco and food as well as the venue were great. Hope to see you all next year.
Terence Flynn Special Olympics Connaught Loughrea
East Midlands Regional Badminton Championships 2023
Brief Medal Summary
5 x Gold, 4 x Silver and 4 x Bronze
Detailed Summary
In the Ladies Division Two Singles, Laura emerged as the champion, winning all six games and securing the Gold medal. Vicky, on the other hand, won five out of six games, only losing the sixth to Laura from our team with a close score of 15-13. As a result, Vicky won the Silver medal.
Moving on to the Men's Singles Pool 4A, Daniel exhibited an excellent performance by winning all three games. Meanwhile, Nathan dominated Pool 4B with a remarkable record of winning all four games. In the semi-finals, Daniel triumphed over Kraig Bayliss with a score of 15-12, and Nathan secured a victory against Ibrar Hussain with a score of 15-9. Consequently, Daniel and Nathan faced off in the final match, with Nathan emerging as the winner with a score of 15-12, clinching the Gold medal. Daniel, who showcased excellent performance throughout, earned the Silver medal. James, who won only one out of three games, received a participation medal, while Adrian, who won two out of four games, also earned a participation medal.
In the Men's Singles Division Three, Rob won four out of five games, with his only loss being against Joe from Lincolnshire. Joey won three games while losing two, one to Rob from our team (with a score of 15-10) and one to Joe from Lincolnshire (with a score of 15-7).
Moving on to the Men's Singles Division One, Matt won five out of six games, with his only loss being against Rathanathan, who secured the Gold medal with a score of 15-7. Matt, with his outstanding performance, earned the Silver medal.
In the Ladies Doubles Division Two, Laura and Vicky displayed their dominance by winning both games with a score of 2-0 against Gemma and Becky, as well as Lucy and Georgina, securing the Gold medal.
Continuing with the Men's Doubles, in Division 4, Daniel and Nathan demonstrated great teamwork by winning both games with a score of 2-0 against Jack and Darren, earning the Gold medal.
In the Men's Doubles Division Three, Joey and Rob dominated their first game against Rob and Joe with a flawless 2-0 victory. The second game, however, ended in a draw, culminating in a 1-1 score. They continued their winning streak by triumphing over Adrian and James with another impressive 2-0 score, ultimately earning the Silver medal. On the other hand, Adrian and James secured the Bronze medal with a record of 1-1 against Kevin and Damon and losses against Joe and Will, as well as Joey and Rob.
Moving on to the Men's Doubles Division One, Matt and Rathanathan faced tough competition throughout. They suffered defeat in both games by James and Stephen, with a score of 2-0 each time. Nonetheless, they managed to emerge victorious with a 2-0 score against Cameron and Lewis, earning them the Silver medal.
In the Mixed Doubles Division Four, James and Lisa showcased their impressive performance, winning their first three games flawlessly with a 2-0 score. Their last game ended in a draw, concluding with a 1-1 score. With their exceptional performance, they were able to secure the Gold medal.
Meanwhile, in the Mixed Doubles Division Three, Daniel and Laura proved themselves to be unbeatable, triumphing in every single match. They emerged victorious with a flawless 2-0 score against Adrian and Becky, Georgina and Kevin, as well as Ibrar and Joanne. They also had draws of 1-1 with Lucy and Adrian, Gemma and Joe, and Vicky and Joey.
Unfortunately, Adrian and Lucy had a challenging run, losing all but one of their games with a 2-0 defeat against Nathan and Becky, Kevin and Georgina, Joe and Gemma, and Vicky and Joey, with their only victory being against Ibrar and Joanne.
On the other hand, Joey and Vicky displayed their exceptional skills by securing 2-0 victories over Ibrar and Joanne, Adrian and Lucy, Becky and Nathan, and Kevin and Georgina. They also had a 1-1 draw with Laura and Daniel. Despite their efforts, they settled for the bronze medal.
Turning our attention to the Mixed Doubles Division Two, Matt and Danielle displayed a mixed performance. They exhibited their dominance against Katie Day and Adrian Brown, securing a convincing 2-0 victory. However, they faced defeat in a 2-0 loss against Lucy and Darren. Undeterred, they quickly recovered and clinched a well-deserved 2-0 win against Briony and Matthew. Additionally, they faced a closely contested 1-1 draw against Kelly and Ross, ultimately securing the bronze medal for themselves.
Great North Run 2023
Huge congrats to Athlete Leadership Team member, Special Olympics athlete and coach James Wyatt on completing the Great North Run!
James completed the event for the first time in 1 hour 52 minutes 
Coaching Session
“A very productive session Wednesday evening at Springwood Leisure Centre with James, Anthony and guest coach Abbie”
James Selected For Special Olympics Role
“Very proud to include this latest news from our coach and athlete James.
Hopefully this will increase awareness and promote our status as a club”.
National Summer Series of Sport 2022
Brief Medal Summary
4 x Gold, 4 x Silver and 3 x Bronze
Detailed Summary
On the weekend of August 20/21 a team comprising of 7 players from Derbyshire Allstars Badminton Club linked up with 2 players from Lincolnshire to represent the East Midlands region at the National Summer Series of Sport tournament in Walsall.
The team had previously had the opportunity to take part in 2 training sessions prior to the competition with over 80 players taking part in the tournament representing the regions of West Midlands, East Midlands, North West, South West including (Channel Islands), Eastern region and Wales.
Our players took part in a series of Singles (mens & ladies), Doubles (mens & ladies) and Mixed Doubles, on both the Saturday and Sunday.
Unfortunately one of our 2 Lincolnshire players, James Hemsley was injured and had to retire from the competition and one of our regular Allstars players Matt Platkiw was able to replace him in the Mixed Doubles.
Despite having never played together before, the new pairing Danielle & Matt proved to be a successful partnership and went on to win the Gold medal in the Mixed Doubles event.
In the Ladies Singles competition Danielle won bronze whilst Vicky from Derbyshire Allstars took Silver.
They teamed up again for the Ladies Doubles and finished in second place taking Silver having narrowly missed out on the Gold medal by a single point.
Our other Derbyshire Allstars players continued the successful campaign with Nathan Harris and Daniel Warren finishing with a gold medal in the Mens Doubles Division 6 without losing a single match.
They continued by winning their own Singles competitions respectively with Gold medals in Division 7 and Division 8 - a great performance having each only been playing badminton for approximately 12 months.
Even then, we were not finished as a region and Vicky James (Derbyshire Allstars) continued a Silver winning performance in the Ladies Singles Division 3 and also the ladies doubles Division 2 where she partnered again with Danielle Booth from Lincolnshire and narrowly missed out on another Gold medal by one point.
Vicky teamed up with Joey Courchene (Derbyshire Allstars) for the Mixed Doubles where they took Silver losing narrowly in the final whilst Adrian Hernandez-Odjea and Vihaan Gupta (both Derbyshire Allstars players) were awarded a bronze in their Mens Doubles competition Division 5 - a very creditable performance for the youngest player in the competition.
Adrian also completed a successful day with another bronze in the Mens Singles Division 6 making a total medal haul of 4 Golds, 4 Silver and 3 Bronze not bad for a team comprising of only 9 players one of the smallest teams in the competition.