Nottinghamshire Junior News

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14th April 2010

Worksop Falcons help the children of Haiti

On Saturday 20th February 2010, Worksop Falcons Junior Badminton Club held an all day event to raise money for the children of Haiti. The day included a sponsored singles badminton tournament in which 30 children took part across four age groups – with some very close games the eventual winners of each category were Catherine Elliot, Jordan Miller, Oliver Jackson and Adam Milner.

One of the guests on the day was Donna Kellogg, the former Team GB Olympian who took part in games with the kids and also signed autographs. Also present were Frank Hardy one of the founders of the Falcons club, and Rod Tyler the Badminton England Officer for Bassetlaw.

Also during the day, three of the older members of the club, Ben Wheatley, Thomas Moore and Liam Golds and the head coach, Richard Gilham, took part in a Marathon Doubles match. Starting at 8:30 in the morning, the four were to play a game non-stop up to 501 points – based on previous research on past games this would mean that the four would each cover approximately 48 miles of court during a game that could last more than 6 hours. After some extremely close scoring with never more than ten points between the two pairs, some tireless rallies and more than 6 hours and 10 minutes played the game was evenly poised at 496-496, but some inspired play from Ben Wheatley - who had looked to previously be struggling with tiredness and cramp – meant that Ben and Liam were able to close out the match with the score finishing 501-496.

Terry Gilham – Club Chairman and coach - thanked everyone for their incredible support for such a worthwhile cause, and in particular the junior members for working so hard to get such a high level of sponsorship. Our parents also gave their time and support in helping the day run so smoothly, baking for a cake stall, making teas and coffees – and washing up – selling raffle tickets, and assisting the coaches in keeping the tournament games running smoothly.

The whole event was a huge success and with local press coverage in the Worksop Guardian and on Trax FM, support from Cadbury UK, donations from other local clubs and raffle prizes from Sainsbury’s, the club was able to raise in excess of £1500. This will be donated to the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund for Children through the Save the Children charity.

Our picture shows Worksop Falcons Junior Badminton Club members, together with Donna Kellogg, Club Coach and Chairman Terry Gilham, Head Coach Richard Gilham, Coach Kerry Wheatley, Club Secretary Penny Miller, Founder of Worksop Falcons Frank Hardy and Rod Tyler Badminton England Regional Officer for Nottinghamshire & Lincolnshire.

Picture by Mark Fear - Worksop Guardian

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