Edinburgh Inter-Area team wins SSBU Primary Tournament with Dominant Performance!!
The Edinburgh team, consisting of Vibha Raman (St. Georges), Ishbel McCallister (Bruntsfield), Deepti Vijayakumar (St. Georges), Freya Pryce (Bruntsfield), Rhona Pryce (Brunstfield), Ross McCartney (Dalmeny), James Miller (Flora Stevenson), Conall Thomson (Flora Stevenson), Mitchell Spiers (East Craigs) and Thomas Ross (Sciennes), travelled to the wonderful facilities at Ravencraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell for the 2018 SSBU Inter Area Junior tournament on a blustery and decidedly Siberian ‘spring’ day on March 17, 2018.
They faced teams from Glasgow, Renfrew, Mid & East Lothian and Lanarkshire. The format was 10 matches, with 2GS, 2BS, 2GD, 2BD and 2XD per match-up, with best-of-three games to 21. Ross and James played the boy’s singles, with Vibha and Ishbel splitting duties for GS1 and Deepti playing all the GS2. Deepti and Vibha paired up for the GD1 while Ishbel paired up with Rhona for GD2. James and Connell teamed up for the BD1 duties while Mitchell and Thomas did BD2. Ross teamed up with Ishbel or Vibha for the XD1 while Freya and Connell did XD2.
They started their campaign against one of the stronger teams in the pool, Renfrew, but a strong start saw them win 10-0 to set the tone.
Next, they faced Glasgow and an equally strong showing saw them win 9-1, with some close three-setters. After the lunch break, they faced neighbours and several familiar faces in East &Mid-Lothian. Another strong performance against the eventual runners-up saw them win 10-0 in all straight sets. The last match was against a spirited Lanarkshire side saw a 9-1 victory, securing the impressive looking Harry A. Crochars Shield.
Huge thanks to coaches, Robert Mackay and Gayle Moffat, for their untiring effort and constant support to the young shuttlers. The coaches were particularly appreciative of the excellent spirit in which the games were played by the Edinburgh team.
Well done, Edinburgh! Onwards and upwards.
Written by and Images Courtesy of Sethu Vijayakumar.