BADMINTON

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 18, 20 July 1935, Page 26

BADMINTON

GROWING POPULARITY

PROGRESS IN WELLINGTON

CHAMPIONSHIPS NEXT MONTH

(By "Battledore")

' •'■■■■ '• FIXTURES. ,- August. 12. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17.—Wellington championships. August 28; 29, 31.—Otago championships, at Dunedin. August 29; 30, 31.—North Island championships, at New Plymouth. September 4, .5, 6, 7.—New Zealand championships, at Auckland. Badminton has" long outgrown its battledore and shuttlecock days. It has been speeded } up to suit modern conditions, and today is one. of the most strenuous of racket games.' There is no better indoor sport for keeping fit during the winter months. The game has made remarkable progress in Wellington during the past eight years. In 1927 there were only two clubs in existence with a membership of about twenty. Today there are 1 approximately thirty clubs affiliated to the Wellington Badminton Association, and over 1000 players taking part in club and inter-club matches. 'Badminton owes its existence in Wellington to'the enthusiasm of a lady who had played the game in Ireland.' She gathered a number of tennis players together and taught them how to play. The Wellington Club was formed in April, 1927, and the Kelburn Club i was formed shortly afterwards. At that time there were one or two clubs'in Auckland, and the game was also played in Wanganui and Napier. The Wellington Badminton Association was formed in 1932 with a membership of only eight or nine clubs, and since then has gone ahead in leaps and bounds. The game is well controlled, and the association is now in a good financial position. . . A 'national organisation—the New Zealand Badminton Federation—controls over 4000 players throughout the Dominion. The game is pfayed in Auckland, the Waikato, Taranaki, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Kawke's Bay, Canter- • bury, and Otago. The first New Zealand championships were held in Wellington in 1931, and attracted players from Auckland and Wanganui, but none from the South Island. These few historical details give some idea of the widespread popularity of a game which many people still associate with the sedate and old--fashioned battledore and shuttlecock. Badminton players will have' something to look forward to in 1937 if the New, Zealand Federation is successful in its efforts to arrange a visit by J. F. Devlin, of Canada, who has been world's champion for the last six' or seven years. It is suggested that he should tour the Dominion, playing exhibition matches and giving lectures on the game. Tennis players have realised the value of badminton as a -means' of keeping fit in winter, and amongst prominent Wellington players who wield a racket are N. R. C. Wilson (now of Hawke's Bay), E. A. Roussell, H. D. Reid, and Miss Dulcie Nicholls. D. G. France and T. Rhodes Williams were early -converts , to; the game, but have now given it up. " Nearly 200 players competed in the Wellington championships last year, and it is expected that there will be an equally large entry next month. The championship and handicap tournament will begin on Monday, August 12, :andend on Saturday, August 17. ' Entries close on. August 5. All the games will be played on the Winter Show Club's courts/This year it'has been decided to play only handicap events on" the first two days. There were some interesting games invthe A and B grade inter-club competition, which was continued on the Winter Show Club's courts last Wednesday. An eagerly-awaited match was that between Miss N. Morgan (Wellington South) and Miss C. Phillips (Wellington). Miss Phillips won 15-12.. She settled down quickly, and scored points through Miss Morgan's tendency to play too many clearing shots. The holder of the North Island singles title did not seem so quick on her . feet as usual, and was beaten several times by Miss Phillips's cleverly-angled drop-shots. H. D. Reid (Wellington), the Wellington champion, did not.have things all his own way against N. Hull-Brown (Wellington South). He won 21-15, but Hull-Brown was on even terms until his clearing shots began to lose their accuracy, and he left himself open to Reid's powerful smashes. In the early stages HullBrown executed some nice cross-court drop-shots. . ' J. Vaughan, one of the most stylish and spectacular players in Wellington, proved' too good for C. Evans-Scott (Wellington), whom he beat 21-8. He started off with quietly-played angled shots,- and ran out the winner with perfectly-executed smashes which left Evans-,Scbtt standing. Miss Dulcie Nicholls had an'easy win by 15 points 1o nil over Miss Vrede in the B grade. She played some very nice backhand shots. The , doubles match between Reid and Miss Phillips and Vaughan and Miss Morgan was expected to be keenly contested, but the former pair won 21-8. Vaughan made some brilliant smashes, and kept his opponents active with his clearing shots, but Miss Morgan seemed off form. She hit out frequently, and made a lot of errors. Reid and Miss Phillips showed better combination nnd nlaved steadily.