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We have lots of new content, articles, videos, torunament and match reports to come for the 2009 / 2010 season, please bear with us as we move to the new site - in the meantime here is the table of titans and a reminder of some of last years news.

The RVBA supported by Memory Lane Cakes’ had three players in this week’s Bulgarian Badminton Open. The event was played in Sofia from the 1^st to the 4^th of October and makes up part of the European Badminton Circuit. Sarah and Rachel Thomas both had difficult matches against qualifiers in the ladies singles, and a tough opening ladies doubles match versus the Turkish first pair. While Sarah Thomas and Richard Vaughan had a tough opening game in the mixed doubles against the top Swedish badminton pair.

Badminton Wales

            The tournament started with the ladies singles and Sarah Thomas against qualifier number five Sorokina from Kazakhstan. In a tough encounter the more experienced player came out victorious  with Sorokina taking the match 10-21, 22-24.
Older sister Rachel Thomas repeated her first round tie of the Russian Challenger Event with a first round match against promising Russian Polikparpova. In a tough match the Badminton Wales doubles specialist went down 8-21, 5-21.

The mixed doubles saw the toughest opening round match against top Swedes Foo, and Kuikova. Both sets started off close with the Swedish pair taking control taking the match 12-21, 10-21.

In the ladies doubles the Thomas sisters were up against Turkish top pairing of Bayrak and Kurtulus.      A really tough match saw the Welsh girls lose the opening set, but the Badminton Wales pair came out victorious 16-21, 21-13, 21-17. A great win. The second round saw the Thomas sisters play local Bulgarian National Team players in Nikolova, and Lungova who they beat 21-7, 21-9.

The quarter finals took place on Saturday 3^rd October with the sisters up against the tournament top seeds of Canadian Reid and German Gethrer, recent semi finalist of the China Badminton Super Series Event. In a good start t the match the Badminton Wales pair was narrowly down at the half way point in the first set 8-11. The top seeds showed their experience in the latter stages closing it 13-21. The second set followed in a similar fashion with the tournament favourites taking it 9-21.

RVBA Head coach Richard Vaughan said “The highlight of the tournament has been the ladies doubles. The girls had a great win over the Turkish in the first round, and have played well today against the top seeds. The previous tournament the girls have shown a considerable improvement but have been unlucky to lose in close games, so it is great they have a result to show their improvement. The mixed was the most disappointing as it was a game we could have won and lost rather easily.”

Also this weekend RVBA u17 player Aimee Moran took part in the Swiss u17 Badminton Championships in Lausanne. In a tough group with the second seed Aimee was unable to qualify through to the latter stages.

Next up for the RVBA is the Cyprus Badminton Open next weekend in Nicosia.

Wales Badminton RVBA

The RVBA supported by Memory Lane Cakes is an elite group of young aspiring Olympic Badminton players coached by former World No 7, European and Commonwealth Medallist Richard Vaughan from Cardiff, Wales.
The RVBA is supported by former Irish Olympic Coach Donal O Halloran, World No32 Dr Piret Hamer, and top British junior Liam Ingram. Top Sports Physio Leon Vaughan provides physio support.

RVBA players Tim Stranks, and Sarah Thomas won the British u17 badminton singles titles in 2009.

The RVBA is proudly supported by Memory Lane Cakes and would like to thank them for their continued support. Additionally the RVBA has established numerous partnerships with Caerphilly County Borough Council, Glamorgan University, Physio4Motion, FD Systems, Catalan Badminton Association and others which have enabled the RVBA players to benefit from numerous opportunities. The Cardiff 10kmis a regular RVBA (Memory Lane Cakes) fund raising event for various charities.

www.rvba.co.uk  & www.richardvaughan.net

Mid-Glamorgan 1st's vs Berkshire 3rd's

Last weekend saw the Mid-Glamorgan badminton shuttlers visit Berkshire, in what was seen as a top of the table clash � both teams fielded strong squads in preparation of the days play.

First up was MG men's singles #1 Andrew Woodland vs Berkshire's James Cooper, in what was a fiercely contested match, it was the MG player who dominated play throughout the tie, and cruised to victory in 2 straight sets 21-9, 21-12, at the same time MG men's singles #2 Gareth Day was embroiled in a battle with Berkshire singles #2 Gareth Jones, both players pushing each other to their limits during the tie, it was the MG player who emerged victorious in straight sets 21-11, 21-17, giving MG a welcome 2-0 lead.

Gareth Day commented 'I am happy with my singles match today, my opponent was left handed and generated some very unusual angles which caught me out a few times, I wish there were more left handers to practice against during county sessions, that said I felt I was in control of the match and was confident of the victory. When I looked over on Andrews court it looked like he was in total control of his match'

Next on court was MG women's singles #1 Vikki Jones vs Berkshire's Frances Ward, in what was a one sided affair for the most part, it was the MG Welsh International shuttler who took the match in 2 convincing sets 21-6, 21-6, a short time after MG women's #2 Nicole Walkley stepped on to court, in another comfortable tie the MG shuttler cruised to victory in 2 sets 21-10, 21-8.

Vikki commented 'My and Nicole matches today were good games, fortunately we had enough firepower to gain another 2 points for the team, the girls from Berkshire were some of the best we've played so far in the ICC, the standard of games is improving all the time'

After the singles, Mid-Glamorgan lead by 4-0

The much anticipated Men's Doubles was next on court, with the new pairings of Craig Walkley and Gareth Gooding taking on Berkshire's finest of Gareth Jones and Gareth Davies, and County debutant Vaughn Tovey and Simon Rowe taking on James Cooper and Kirk Lim in the first set of rubbers.

Craig and Gareth's first rubber started out at a furious pace from both pairs, with both pairs never giving up the rallies it made for an extremely entertaining match, unfortunately the Berkshire shuttlers proved to be a fraction to strong and came out on top in 3 very close games, 21-17, 17-21, 16-21, in the second rubber Vaughn and Simon were also up against a barrage of power from the Berkshire pair of Kirk Lim and James Cooper, the rallies were fast and furious - but the MG pair kept in the games with some smart tactical play by setting up rallies for Simon to use his powerful smash from the rear court to gain weak replies which Vaughn disposed of with ease at the net, the MG pair come out victorious in 2 straight sets 21-18, 21-19.

The second set of men's doubles rubbers commenced soon after, and much like the first set of Men's Doubles the pace was very quick for both sets of matches, Craig and Gareth played excellently once more, but unfortunately went down to in straight games to Cooper/Lim 15-21, 16-21, Vaughn and Simon started out well and took the opening set 24-22, during the 2nd/3rd sets the Berkshire pairing changed tactics which paid dividends against the fatigued MG pairing, eventually going down 17-21, 13-21 in the remaining sets.

During mid-way through the Men's Doubles, the Womens Doubles started their battle on adjacent courts, with 2 top quality women's doubles pairings available, MG were confident these matches would be won swiftly, Current Welsh National Womens Doubles champions Vikki Jones and Nicole Walkey took on Gill Newton and Clair Slott, and Michelle Smith and Sally Massey took on Frances Ward and Kim Rhodes.

Vikki and Nicole started reasonably, and kept control of the match throughout the first set winning by a slender margin of 21-17, in the second set it was a different story as the MG shuttlers stepped up a gear to dominate comfortably winning 21-9, Michelle and Sally were also in control of their match, and never looked phased by the Berkshire ladies play, eventually winning 21-10, 21-12, during the second set of rubbers Vikki and Nicole disposed of the Berkshire 2nd pair by 21-7, 21-9 in a truly awesome display, and never looked like losing. Michelle and Sally on the other hand had a much harder match, and fought for many points, but the high quality play of the MG pairing shone through to win 21-16, 21-15.

Michelle commented 'The doubles games today were of very good quality for the men's and women's, some of the hardest games we have had to play as a county, many of the points were fought for extremely hard, but overall I think MG deserved to take the spoils'

After the doubles, Mid-Glamorgan lead by 9-3

Last on to court during the days play was the Mixed doubles, with a MG victory already guaranteed, it was all about getting to the magic 10 in order to get the extra bonus point.

Established pairing of Andrew Woodland and Michelle Smith took on James Cooper and Frances ward, in what was a very entertaining match with lots of tactical, precision and power play it was the MG pairing who came through in style to win the match in straight sets 21-15, 21-15, on adjacent courts The Walkley siblings took on Gareth Davies and Gill Newton, in what turned out to be match of the day, the MG pairing played excellently and was easily on par with their Berkshire opponents, with a relentless pace the game was highly contested, unfortunately the MG pairing couldn't quite take the final game and went down 21-11, 16-21, 18-21, the last mixed of the tie was to be played was Vaughn Tovey and Vikki Jones up against Kirk Lim and Kim Rhodes, the MG shuttlers controlled play comfortably and cruised to victory in two straight games 21-8, 21-15, and with it a well deserved Mid-Glamorgan away victory.

Simon commented 'The standard of the games today were breathtaking, this is by far the hardest team we have played since joining the ICC, and fortunately we came through with not only an away win, but also the crucial bonus point for getting to 10, all the players selected today played magnificently and showed true grit and determination, and was proud to represent Mid-Glamorgan County Badminton, our next match is another top of the table clash against Devon, we will all need to have our wits about us for that match as Devon have also beaten Berkshire a few weeks back'

End result: Mid-Glamorgan 11, Berkshire 4

Match report written by Vaughn Tovey

Hungarian Open Quarter Final for RVBA

Richard Vaughan and his partner, fifteen year old Sarah Thomas of the Memory Lane supported Badminton Academy reached the quarter Final of the Hungarian Open this weekend in Budapest.

The Hungarian Open was once again a very well supported tournaments with teams from all over Europe including parts of the Russian first team, England, Denmark, and Germany.

The pair who started off in qualification beat Hungary's Szent and Varga 21-9, 21-6, and then the seeds Smrek, and Sopkova of Slovakia 21-12 21-14.

In the main draw the pair faced a tough Austrian first partnership of Zirnwald, and Riedl winning 21-17, 14-21, 21-18. Then they beat Russians Shumilkin and Golovanova. Before losing to Russian No1 pair Vislova and Durkin 13-21 10-21.

In other events Sarah Thomas lost first round in the qualification event to Slovenian Koncut 21-18, 16-21, 11-21. Rachel Thomas won her first round against an Hungarian 21-14, 17-21, 21-14, before going down to Poland's Pocztowiak 11-21 11-21.

In the main draw of the ladies doubles Sarah and Rachel Thomas lost to the strong German partnership of Vogelsgang and Hoffman 13-21 18-21.

The tournament also featured Raj Popat, Harriet Johnson, and Carissa Turner of Wales.

Vaughan commented;
"Over all it was a very positive experience. We faced tough draws in all events due to the lack of ranking so none of the games were easy. In the ladies singles the girls were very competitive in matches that hopefully they will next time. In the ladies doubles, Rachel in particular played very well against a strong German pair. The mixed was a great learning experience for Sarah and we had five good matches. The wins in the main draw against both the Austrians and Russians were very good (Golovanova of Russia was the finalist in the ladies singles), and for spells of the quarter final match we were very much equal. Durkin and Vislova are formally a world top 20 pair. That's not bad for a 15 year old".

Next up for the RVBA players is the Strong Norwegian Challenger event in Oslo starting the 13th November.

The Richard Vaughan Badminton Academy along with Memory Lane Cakes, once again supported the Cardiff 10K race in support of Kidney Wales Foundation. A charity dedicated to tackling Kidney Disease and investing in patient care and well-being in Wales. All proceeds from the 10km went to the Wales Children’s Kidney Centre.

This is now an annual event for the Academy and Welsh based Memory Lane Cakes. All 6 RVBA runners turned out good performances in the bustling streets of Cardiff.

From left to right - Geoff Thomas of FD Systems, Sarah Thomas, Amy Moran, Rachel Thomas.

The times of the RVBA runners in the 10km were (Shown with time and ranking at the finish) ;

1. Gareth Day : 41.14 (143)
2. Jonathan Day : 43.10 (196)
3. Sarah Thomas : 49.39 (455)
4. Rachel Thomas : 54.42 (736)
5. Geoff Thomas : 56.59 (886)
6. Aimee Moran : 57.37 (887)

Richard Vaughan said "I was not going to post the times as I know a few of the runners were taking it easy at the start, but I thought they would like the challenge of beating them next year!"

A lot of the coaches learned their lessons from previous years (No names Don, Liam, and Simon - plus Mid Glam Treasurer Andy and Chairman Huw Wilson !), they have done their time.

Once again Richard Vaughan was illusive in his absence as he was out of the country conveniently for the 10km. He has promised his attendance next year as long as the female player in the Academy promise not to beat him!

The Academy players raised over £300 between them for the charity and this contributed to a much larger figure raised once again by Memory Lane Cakes. Well done to everyone.

www.richardvaughan.net
www.finsburyfoods.co.uk

As you may or may not be aware - Saturday 6th September is D-day for local business to committ to sponsiorship deals.

We are submitting our forms to the sports council this week for matched funding from what was provided by business last year, and for the forthcoming year, it is hoped that this funding will help launch another team for the 2009 / 2010 season.

Additionally we will look at supporting both development in the Junior and Veteran arena - which is epsecially important for the links of RRW ! :)

Mars Refuel is giving sports clubs the opportunity to access additional funding with the help of the MARS Refuel Fund.

The fund, which launched on July 1 and runs until December 31st 2008, has up to £10,000 to donate each month, with a maximum of £500 per applicant and it is hoped Mid Glamorgan County Badminton Association will be one of the lucky recipients.

Whatever your team or club might need, the MARS Refuel Fund is offering support with anything from equipment costs, to improving training grounds and club houses.

You don't just have to be part of a team to benefit. The fund will also give support to individuals raising money for charity through sporting activities, such as bike rides, mountain climbing and parachute jumps.

Applications can be made online at www.marsrefuel.com

Applicants must be 12 years or over and only one application will be accepted per person, club or organisation.

Watch this space for more sponsor detials !

A big thank you to West Glam for bringing a team to play last night, it was a great match, with nearly a full set of games played. In the end Mid Glam eased ahead with a score of 11 games to 3, the second ladies reversed was not played due to lack of time.

Missing from the West Glam side were Jo and James, although James has now I believe moved to Avon - Mid Glam wish him all the best in his new county and hope to see him on the circuit.

Interestingly enough whilst I was writing the new Cardiff and District Badminton League site the other day (not finished yet but your welcome to have a poke around), I came across this picture on the Vale Badminton Club site, which proves the West Glam lads are every bit as mad us us Middies - good on ya lads ! :-

More details of James and Barrys' fun can be seen on the Radio 1 section of the bbc site here

It is hoped that this fixture can become a permanent one for pre-season. It certainly seemed to be ejnoyed by all concerned and the games were excellent, I would also like to thank the Mid Glam team for perservering with what was intended to be 1 game each, we didn;t anticipate reversing the doubles.

I for one am looking forward to the new season and the upcoming WSS tournaments, see you all soon.

Where are we going wrong in Wales if England says Badminton is the top raquet sport and we have 5 a side football as the main interest of sports centers and players seem disalussioned with current plans.

It is clear that the infrastructure in place in England far outstrips that in Wales, after the production of players such as Richard Vaughan ,Kelly Morgan, Martin and Michael Lews, Joe and James why are we not churning out more Super stars.

True there is ample talent in todays Welsh players but somehow it seems this is not being capitalised upon by our current governing body. I am not looking to point fingers, that helps no one, there are people doing a great job within our National Team but it is clear from the comments being made around the circuit that current players are not happy and something is not quite right. Once the players lose the belief that they are being pointed in the right direction you are already lost.

Bad luck or bad choices ? If the latter then I think its time to set things right by putting in place the correct coaches or vision. What seems strange is we have already had the correct mix and we seem to have thrown it away.

I am impressed that Joe and James for instance both support their county as well as helping to run development centers. This gives players something to aspire to. This is one step in the right direction for Welsh Badminton, county structure is and should always be seen as a stepping stone from Club to National level. South Glam, you have the players, you have the talent, you have the national sports center come on, someone pull it together and make South Wales once again a talent churning machine.

We still have this expertise in house - maybe its time to go back to grass roots and use this knowledge combined with what players such as Richard, Kelly, and co have already learned about todays international circuit.

Of course it is easy for me to sit back and write this article, its always easier to sit on the sidelines and judge others, and people are always happy when things are running smoothly. My reason for writing this is only that I have heard many young National players disallusioned with what they are currently being offered. I certainly have no silver bullet for Badminton in Wales but I think an anonomous survey of current players would be of benefit to see if there is a common theme.

Article written by Simon Rowe.

* Please note the article expresess Simons personal views and should not be taken as those of the Mid Glamorgan County Badminton Association

** This article was prompted from an article taken from from www.badminton-information.com which discussed Englands favourite raquet sport. It can also be read here in full.

Mid Glamorgan Badminton Has topped up its supply of feathered shuttles to last the 2008 / 2009 season after reading this email from one of the major Sports Houses.

I was in China about six weeks ago and the shuttlecock situation is very serious, I detail below a few bullet points to summarize the current situation:-

Shortage of goose feathers, the May 2008 harvest was about 30% less than expected and required to satisfy demand. It would appear that several of the smaller shuttlecock factories have switched production to duck feather. Whilst, the factories still using goose feathers have allegedly agreed to reduce their production to cater for the reduced supply of feathers. Other factories have simply closed, unlikely that they will reopen the near future.

Changes in the eating habits of the Chinese people, who now prefer to eat duck rather than goose. The need to farm geese has reduced and also been hampered by severe weather conditions. Also the land can be used more profitably to produce alternative crops.

The price of a cut feather (16 are required for one shuttlecock) has increased by over 100% during the last 3 years.

A shortage of labour in China! After Chinese New Year many of the workers didn't return to their jobs in the shuttlecock factories.

There has been a 20% increase in wages in the past few months.

New employment laws in China that are financially difficult for employers. An employee can decide to leave after say 5 years service and must be paid 5 months salary.

The huge increase in the price of crude oil has resulted in an increase in transport costs. But the Chinese are now using corn oil as an alternative fuel, so corn which is used to feed the geese has also increased in cost.

The Chinese Renminbi (Rmb.) has appreciated in value against the US$, 10 months ago the rate was around 7.75 Rmb = 1 US$ today it is 6.84Rmb = 1 US$. This equates to a 14% increase in our purchasing cost, which is totally outside our control or that of the manufacturer. Currency forecast are not encouraging, the rate could drop as low as 6.80Rmb = 1 US$. Manufacturers refuse to give fix price quotations and adjust the rate at the date payment.

A direct quote - "I have been in this trade for over 20 years and never known the situation to be so bad, clubs are in a for a massive shock this season."