As Christmas approaches, daily life starts to wind down. Not for the badminton players of Mapperley Park. A busy pre Xmas schedule to round off the 1st half of the 2015/2016 season (with the Xmas party somewhere in the middle)

After a narrow defeat in their opening fixture, the 1st men’s travelled to Rolls Royce Derby (a familiar theme this season) to face last season’s Premier division winners. Steve Smith was unavailable and replaced by Paul Holmes. It was a tough night, the team not really doing themselves justice, winning only two games in a 9-0 loss.

The 2nd men’s played their first match of the season against Rolls Royce, away in Derby. With a new captain and a new look team, they were looking for a strong start in their quest to get back to division 1. Solid performances by the two youngsters, Harry and Adam anchored a hard fought 5-4 win. After a battling performance in their opening fixture, the 3rd men’s faced two strong sides in Rolls Royce and Chilwell. Losses of 8-1 and 9-0 were hard on the team, considering the players that were missing.

The 4th Mixed lost a tough one 8-1 to Chilwell, but then bounced back to beat Boots 6-3, Andy Waplington and Kara Gokova taking a maximum. The 3rd mixed haven’t really got going yet, after their opening fixture was postponed they have suffered back to back defeats against a strong Chilwell side (8-1) and Bingham (6-3) despite Lisa Crouch and Con Truong taking two. The 5th Mixed opened their season away at Beeston Valley, with a completely new look team. An impressive 9-0 win giving real hope they can at last get out the division.
After losing the opening match of the season, 2nd mixed have been flying. Two 8-1 victories against Boots and the University, giving them a fighting chance of promotion to division 1, going into their last match vs East Leake in January. The 1st Mixed recorded two convincing wins in the space of a week. A 6-3 win at home to Bingham followed by an 8-1 win away at Byron. This maintains their division 1 status, but with three matches left could they make a push for promotion to the Premier division?

The 1st ladies suffered a tough 5-4 loss away at Forest, but bounced back well to beat Bingham 5-4 at home. A good team effort. Nat Wright and Jodie Smee taking two, with Jackie Thompson and Lisa Straw also taking two. This victory secures the 1st ladies team in division 1. The 3rd ladies team split their November results; a 9-0 win away at Trent University was followed by a 7-2 loss to St Giles. Despite this loss, they will still be in with a chance of promotion come the season finale.