Uphill Badminton Club’s A team start the season with a whitewash of Nailsea and Backwell.

UPHILL A and men’s teams were in action this week, with the A team winning and the men’s losing.

The A team were away to Nailsea & Backwell A and started the new season as they finished the last, winning 9-0. The Uphill team was the same as last season and consisted of Paul Edwards, Becky Matthews, Mark Edwards, Nicky Mills, Christy Langford and Matt Cole.

The team played well winning all the rubbers but one comfortably in straight games. The only rubber to go to three games was between Becky and Nicky and Sharon Quantick and Nicola Caulfield, which the Uphill pair won 21-9, 22-24, 21-10.

The men’s team were away to Wells A and lost by four rubbers to two. The Uphill team of Paul Wright, Fred Brown, Nigel Judge and captain Bill Ponting started the evening well with Paul and Fred winning the first rubber convincingly 21-11, 21-12.

The second rubber produced many long hard fought rallies before Nigel and Bill went down 15-21, 19-21. The next two rubbers were evenly contested with both going to three games.

In the first, Paul and Nigel won 21-15, 16-21, 21-10. The next was lost by Fred and Bill 17-21, 21-18, 13-21. The match was then poised at two rubbers each, but in the final rubbers the Wells players proved marginally better winning both.

? UPHILL Badminton Club has been furthering social badminton in the local area since 1978 and has over 30 men and over 20 lady members.

It is the pre-eminent badminton club in the North Somerset League, having won its 1st Division mixed for the past seven years.

With other teams in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Divisions and two further men’s teams, one in the North Somerset League and one in the Bristol Leagues top division, club members have a wide range of teams in which to play league badminton.

The club also has one of the largest junior sections in the South West, with over 80 children from five to 17-years-old, who, as they develop, feed into the senior club with members aged between 17 and 76.

The senior winter season has started and meets at the Hans Price Sports Centre where they have four courts. The senior club nights are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-10pm and Saturdays at 5.45 pm for home league matches.

The junior section has also begun at the Hans Price Sports Centre and runs from 2.30-5.30pm. This is split into three separate one-hour coaching sessions for the different ability levels.

This friendly club always welcomes new members and organises a variety of social events throughout the year. Anyone interested in joining the senior club should visit its website (www.uphillbadminton.co.uk), or phone Paul Edwards on 07866 946422. For junior membership they should contact Caroline Poole on 01934 418120.