U16 Moderates report

The medals were well spread amongst the players entering the Under 16s Moderates Tournament held at the Blyth Jex Sports Centre. Playing in the semi-finals of the boys singles, Carl Bell and Thomas Wharton reached the magic "sudden death" scoreline of 29 all under the new points system, only for Bell to squeeze into the final 30-29. His opponent in the final was Matthew Browne, who had had a more comfortable 21-10 victory over Ben Wymbs in the other semi-final. Browne then moved on to win the title 21-14, with Bells earlier exertions taking their toll on his back, causing him also to withdraw from the doubles competition. In the plate final, Daniel Harvey beat Andrew Smith 21-19 in a closely contested match full of long rallies.

The winners of the boys doubles were Andrew and Ben Plumb who beat Daniel Fuller and Thomas Warton in a final which produced some fast and powerful play, with excellent smashing and defence. The losing semi-finalists were Ben Wymbs and Luca Ferrera and Andrew Smith and John Venier.

The girls singles was played in one large group, giving the competitors plenty of games, with all the girls winning at least one. The eventual winner was Stephanie Burt who won all her games. Hannah Codling-Thomas took second place, only conceding one game to Stephanie.

Sophie Hill and Sophie Connors were convincing winners of the doubles event, not allowing any of their opponents to reach double figures. Stephanie and Nichola Burt were runners up, beating Hayley Allen and Sarah-Jane Williams 21-18 in the deciding game, whilst Catherine Swanepoel and Daniella Newman finished in fourth place, narrowly losing out 21-20 to Hayley and Sarah-Jane.

* With three players making their debuts, the Under 15s county team still had a very comfortable 18-2 victory over Cambridgeshire in the latest round of Shires League matches.

The three debutants, Adam Simmons, Ed Allen and Annie Giles won every game they played, the majority by a convincing margin. The boys managed a clean sweep of both singles and doubles, without dropping a set. The other team members were: Mark Robinson, Luke Cox, Sophie Piper, Louise Thacker and Lauren Read.

The Under 17s were also involved in an 18-2 match but, in their case, against high-flying Nottinghamshire, whose all-round quality and strength proved unbeatable. Norfolks two wins came from Kurtis Lefevre in the singles and Chris Piff and Lee Robinson in the doubles. The other team members were: Lucas Lefevre, Charlotte Crosby, Briony Lund, Stephanie Rowland and Louise Thacker.

* The next county moderates tournament will take place on March 16th at Easton College Sports Centre, starting at 10.00am. Further information and entry forms are available from Simon Piff on 01603 414919 or at simonpiff@ntlworld.com

* There are still a few seats available on West Norfolks trip to the Yonex All England Championships at the N.I.A. Birmingham on Friday, March 7th - quarter-finals day. The coach will leave Kings Lynn at 10.30am and return in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The cost, including coach and admission to the arena, is £27.00 Further information is available from Roger Cetti on 01553 761502 or at cetti@btinternet.com.