The West Cumbria Badminton League has teams entered from five clubs in the area – Seascale, Solway, Abbeytown, Cockermouth and Marchon.
These clubs all entered teams into the different Leagues and Cup competitions.
They compete in two Mixed Leagues, a Men’s League, a Ladies’ League, a new Doubles League and the Peeney Cup Competition.
Clubs and leagues play between September and May each year with some clubs playing all year round.
The first match of the new doubles league and format saw Marchon thirds taking on their first team.
The firsts came out firing on all cylinders, taking all five of the first games.
One of those games went to three ends, with Isaac Madrick and Callum MacLeod taking on Kamran Billah and Oscar Ayres.
Madrick/MacLeod took the first end convincingly 21-6, however Billah/Ayres fought back in the second winning 24-22, only to lose the 3rd end 21-12.
It was closely contested between Keith Herbert/Ayres against first teamers Connor Wright/MacLeod, but the third team pairing went down 20-22, 15-21.
In the sixth game, Ayres this time partnered by Andrew Aleksandrous for the 3rd team, took on MacLeod with skipper Matthew Branthwaite.
The 3rd team pairing won the first game 21-17, but MacLeod/Branthwaite came back to take the second end 21-17.
In the deciding end Marchon 3rds came out on top 21-15 to secure their only game of the match in a 5-1 defeat.
The change of leagues meant Marchon’s old Ladies 1st team moved into the doubles league, and paved the way for Marchon 2 from last season to fly the flag for the Ladies team this season.
Their first trip was down the road to take on Seascale 1.
The opening game saw Sue Alderson/Lyndsay Carver take on Becka Steven/Issy Ritchie and the visitors took the first end 21-18.
Seascale came back to take the 2nd 21-16, and continued in the 3rd by winning it 21-18 to secure their first game.
The second game saw Rhona Daniels/Tara Stewart take on Frances Mounsey/Katie Ritchie, which provided another good three-ended contest.
The first end was taken by the home team 21-18, but Marchon fought back to win the second and third ends 21-12, 21-11.
In the second round of games, again Seascale’s top pair were too strong, wining 21-16, 21-14 against Mounsey/Ritchie.
But Marchon’s top pair also won, 21-18, 21-16, meaning it was now 2-2 and all to play for in the change over games. Alderson/Daniels took on Steven/Mounsey, with the home side just edging the close fought game, 22-20, 21-19.
It meant Seascale were ahead 3-2 with the final game left to play, Carver/Stewart took on the youthful Ritchie sisters, and the Marchon pairing proved too strong, coming out 21-7, 21-7 winners for a 3-3 match result.
Marchon were on the road again when they followed-up at Cockermouth.
Their hosts were without some key players but they still fielded an experience side mixed with youth.
The first game saw Olivia Harrison/Holli Coulthard taking on Becka Steven/Issy Ritchie and the opening end could have gone either way before the visitors won 21-19.
They carried on to take the second end 21-16.
In the next game Katie Ritchie had experience on her side playing with the youthful Frances Mounsey, up against the two youngsters Carole Buglass/Gail Pickering, with Marchon taking the spoils 21-13, 21-15.
In the next game, Harrison/Coulthard were unlucky not to win a close three-ender against Mounsey/K Ritchie.
They only just lost out 17-21, 21-19, 18-21 in what was the closest game of the night.
In the reverse games, Harrison partnered Buglass and they came out winners 21-17, 21-14 against Steven/Mounsey.
However the Ritchie sisters were at it again, coming out winners 21-11, 21-10 against Coulthard/Pickering.
It meant Marchon came out on top with a 5-1 win on the road.
It was good to see Gail back playing league games after a few years out, and also to Holli who only started playing last year, getting some good results and improving each week at Cockermouth.
Cockermouth travelled to Seascale for this season’s first Division 1 Mixed game of the season without their star player Maximus Statterus.
The first two games were very closely contested with the home team of Sue Alderson/Andrew White against Stacey Wilkinson/Henry Taylor and taking the first end 21-18.
However Cockermouth came back to win the remaining two ends, 21-18, 21-14 and take the first game.
The other game also went to three ends, with Lucy Carver/Richard Smith losing the first end to Cal Williamson/Corey Stewart, 12-21, but fighting back to take the 2nd end, 22-20.
The away side proved too strong in the third end winning 21-10 for a 2-0 lead. Cockermouth proved too strong in the next round of games to go 4-0 and secure the win for the team with the remaining change over games to go. Alderson/Smith lost out 21-10, 21-12 to a strong Wilkinson/Stewart partnership, but it wasn’t all bad for the home side, with the experienced Alderson/White teaming up to take on Williamson/Taylor and winning an epic three ender.
They won the first end 21-16, then lost the second 16-21 just to keep the scores matching, but came out winners 22-20 in then decider and earn a game for Seascale.
However it was the away team who come out on top, winning the match 5-1.
