The British Championships, a two day singles & doubles event,
attracted 52 entrants, 46 men and 6 ladies, with Natalie Lawrence once
again competing with the men, although this time in class 'B'. In
competition were men's singles classes 'A' to 'C', under 21's, under
16's, over 45's, over 55's, men's doubles, mixed doubles & ladies
singles...phew!

The Dudley venue & court layout was again good for Racketlon, with
glass backed squash courts that overlooked the majority of the other
courts being used in competition, and a small walkway area in-between
that doubled as a spectator gallery.

The majority of the competitors had seen competition before, so mainly
repeat offenders, although there were a few new boys in evidence, most
promisingly in the junior ranks, looking to give the now infamous (see
later) Oliver brothers a run for their money.

In the men's 'A' the 'new kid on the block' from the Bristol Racketlon
Open, Jermaine Manners (9th), was narrowly taken out of the running in
the first round by the seasoned Mark Jackson (21-18; 13-21; 21-8;
19-21). At the same time Gareth Shaw was performing a miraculous
'Houdini' style escape. Pitched against Ray 'Ming the Merciless'
Simpson (10th) , Gareth lost table tennis 21-4 & badminton 21-11. A
21-12 squash result in Gareth's favour kept him in the game. Needing
to limit Ray to no more than 3 points in the tennis, he succeeded,
reaching 21-3 & then winning on a 'gummiarm'.

Both Mark & Gareth then plotted a course to the men's 'A' final. Mark
took the table tennis 21-5 & strengthened his position by narrowly
taking the badminton 22-20. Mark then romped to victory by taking the
squash 21-12. Frederik Floether, also entered in the under 21's,
produced a creditable third placed. Other notable performances from
men's 'A' included Alexander Oliver's third round win & Ollie Close
for just being in there on the Sunday (more of which later).

In the ladies competitions, Lorna See took the 'A' singles & the over
45's titles, beating Fione Sime (2nd in both) (10-21;21-3;21-11;5-4)
in the effective decider for both titles. Dominique Ford was third in
the 'A' singles & Judy Oliver third in the over 45's. All were then
active in the mixed doubles with the addition of Natalie Lawrence &
Maureen Thompson & their respective partners, thus producing a six-way
competition. The pairing of Gary Jackson & Lorna See proved the
ultimate team & they took the title with Natalie & partner Rob Watkins
in second place & Gareth Shaw & Dominique in third.

Men's 'B' saw Natalie Lawrence once again taking on the men. In the
first round Natalie only narrowly lost out to eventual finalist Paul
Calland (7-21;21-12;21-12;11-21), but then went on to finish 9th after
a second round bye & third & fourth round wins. Meanwhile Owen
Collingbourne was quietly progressing his way to the final, beating Ed
Qualtrough (11th) , Rob Watkins (5th) & Russell Hays (3rd). Paul's
path saw him next beating James Trueman (8th) & Robbie Wong (4th).

In the Men's 'B' final Owen edged the table tennis 21-13, then took a
commanding lead, taking the badminton 21-4. Paul then came back into
the match, taking the squash 21-8, but Owen took the tennis 21-13 &
with it the the men's 'B' title.

The men's 'C', with only 8 competitors, meant that the first round
match winners entered a round robin group for places one to four,
whilst the losers played off for places five to eight. Jonathan Healey
took the title winning all his group matches, with Adam Sandford in
second place, only having lost to Jon and Peter Allen in third.

The Men's Doubles title went to the formidable pairing of Tom &
Richard Whitehouse in a final against Keith Lesser & Gareth Shaw, with
Russell Hays & Rob Sampson in third. This was Russell's second third
place of the day, after his success in men's 'B' & following a move up
from men's 'C'.

The junior & senior event's saw some new & old faces in competition.
In the under 21's, Frederik Floether sealed the title with a win over
Rhodri Oliver (2nd) with Jeremy Green in third. In the under 16's,
Alexander Oliver triumphed with Chris Perrin second & James Perrin
third. In the men's over 45's, Robin Chipperfield took the title from
Richard Whitehouse (2nd) with Ray Simpson in third. Richard then
triumphed over Alan Collingbourne (2nd) in the over 55's with Dave
Sutlieff in third.

The presentation ceremony duly arrived with all the winners, first,
second & third in each category receiving trophies & prizes courtesy
of the Carlton & Dunlop sponsorship. Player of the tournament went to
Gareth Shaw & special mentions should perhaps also go to Frederik
Floether, Russell Hays & Richard Whitehouse. The Saturday morning
start might also have been disrupted by the appearance on TV of Rhodri
& Alexander Oliver, explaining Racketlon to BBC Sportsround's Lizzie
Greenwood-Hughes. They then took the game to Lizzie & won
convincingly, although Lizzie put up a valiant effort & has since
reported back how much she enjoyed Racketlon.

The two day event meant that Saturday night was a great opportunity to
get to know each other, with many of us squeezing into shared rooms &
perhaps the more astute settling down at the next generation club,
where ten rooms are available. Dudley nightclubs & casino's were
witness to the Ollie Close show, a one man whirlwind & now a legend in
all of our lunchtimes. Seeing Ollie deteriorate through the night,
come back from the brink & then roller-coaster through Sunday's
competition was worth the entrance fee alone. Now what did I do with
that YouTube video?

Finally, It only remains to say thanks to all of you that attended the
Carlton & Dunlop British Tour National Championships (2008) & made it
such a great event. Please look out for the next few tournaments
starting with the British Open at Ipswich Sports Club, a World Tour
Challenger event, on the 17th/18th May 2008. This will be for many the
first chance to acquire a World Ranking & will likely have an
International flavour, attracting many overseas players. Next up will
be the Letchworth Open on the 21st /22nd June 2008.

Once again, congratulations to all the winners and commiserations to
all the losers, and finally.....show me a man who is a good loser &
I'll show you a man who is playing Racketlon with his boss!

Gary Tovey - Racketlon Loafer


Official Website of the International Racketlon Federation:
http://www.racketlon.net

Internet Home of International Racketlon since 2001:
http://www.racketlon.com

Official Homepage of the British Racketlon Federation:
http://www.racketlon.co.uk

Facebook Racketlon Group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9495401163

Yahoo Sports Group:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK_RACKETLON/

Racketlon Chat:
http://www.freebok.net/books/Racketlon_Chat/view.html

Racketlon Video's:
http://video.aol.com/video-search/query/racketlon