Caithness juniors turn out in force at Highland Badminton Group’s Silver U15 and U19 event
Sixteen Caithness juniors took part in Highland Badminton Group’s annual Scottish Badminton Silver U15 and U19 tournament in Inverness Leisure, making up almost half the entry of 33 players. Others came from all over Scotland.
The under-15 boys’ singles competition was played in knockout format, and if players lost their first match they would proceed to the consolation.
Liam Sinclair, Dhaill Mackay and Angus Mackay all made it through the first round to the quarter-final stage. The consolation final was between Rory Nicolson (Caithness) and Drew Murdoch (Moray), with Murdoch winning 21-8.
The U15 girls’ singles event was played in two groups, with the top player from each section meeting in the final.
Sophie Mackay (Caithness) topped Group A after winning both her games against fellow Caithness players Lexie Mackenzie and April Steven.
Josie Columbine from Fortrose topped Group B, beating Caithness’s Sophie Sinclair and Erna Thain to put her in the final against Sophie Mackay. Columbine won it 21-19, 21-11.
The U15 boys’ doubles featured a round-robin format with each of the five pairs playing each other. Topping the table after winning all their matches were Murdoch and Kaliq Rafiddi, while the runners-up were Murray Clark (Orkney) and Dhaill Mackay (Caithness).
Third place went to Liam Sinclair (Caithness) and Jai Wilkes (Moray).
Also playing doubles were Angus Mackay and Rory Nicolson as well as Finlay MacDonald and Finlay Nicolson.
There was also a round-robin format for the U15 girls’ doubles. Topping the table, having won all their matches, were Columbine and Sophie Mackay, while the runners-up were Ashlyn Gunn and Sophie Sinclair (both Caithness).
Third place went to Caithness pair Lexie Mackenzie and Erna Thain.
The U15 mixed doubles competition was played in two groups, with the top pair in each group meeting in the final. First place in Group A went to Aarav Sinha and Sophie Mackay after they won all their matches, while Group B was led by Murdoch and Columbine.
The final was won by Murdoch and Columbine 21-11, 21-10. Three other Caithness pairings took part.
The U19 boys’ singles featured two groups, with the top player from each meeting in the final. Matthew Cook and Brody Mackenzie (both Caithness) both took part but did not progress out of the group stages after some tough games.
The U19 girls’ singles contest was played in a round-robin format with the four players taking on each other. The last match between Shannon Leslie (Orkney) and Chloe Mackenzie (Caithness) was the decider for the title, and Leslie took it 13-21, 21-19, 21-13.
Ava Cook finished third after winning one of her three matches.
There was also a round-robin format for the U19 boys’ doubles, featuring five pairs. Matthew Cook and Brody Mackenzie played together and had some good matches.
The U19 girls’ doubles saw a straight final between Leslie and Mackenzie and Ava Cook (Caithness) and Kaiya Wilkes (Moray), with Leslie and Mackenzie winning 21-7, 21-4.
The U19 mixed doubles competition was a round-robin with some great games. Winning all theirs, and taking first place, were Sam Groundwater and Shannon Leslie and the runner-up spot went to Callum McWhirter (Moray) and Chloe Mackenzie. Matthew Cook and Ava Cook were third.
Caithness Junior Badminton Club’s Kerry Mackenzie said: “A massive thank-you to all the players. It was great to see so many Caithness players travelling down to take part.”