Badminton Wycombe is celebrating the news that three of our Wycombe performance players have been selected to represent England at the European Team Championships to be held in Kazam Russia, from February 13 to 18.

Congratulations to David Jones (19), Abigail Holden (18) and Freya Patel-Redfern (17).

This great news even made the last edition of the Bucks Free Press.  You can read the article by clicking on the button below.

On Saturday, July 2, we will be holding our second Badminton Wycombe Singles Tournament.  The tournament is open to all Centre Members and gives you the opportunity to play against the likes of EPT players and Performance Centre Head Coach and current National Badminton League Champion, Gary Fox.

Wycombe EPT player Oliver Thompson won the English national U19 singles title this past weekend (12-14 February 2016), which took place at the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes.

In the men's singles final, Oliver defeated fellow Wycombe EPT player David Jones.  David Jones has now finished runner-up two years in a row, only loosing out to top seed Oliver in a hard-fought contest over three sets.

In the Women's singles, Kirby Ngan won her second title, beating Abigail Holden, another Wycombe EPT player.  Wycombe EPT coaches George Bevan, Gary Fox and Daryl Jacobs are delighted with the performances of all the EPT players as they lead the field in the National U19 Championships

EPT players David Jones, Freya Redfearn, Abigail Holden, Charlie Castle and Gauri Shidhaye continue to not only demonstrate their great skills at and dedication to Badminton but also the continued success of our EPT programme here at Badminton Wycombe.
You can read the full stories by clicking on "Read More". 

The England Performance Training (EPT) squad started 2015 with a focus on personalised athletic conditioning with an aim to learn more about the athletic characteristics of world-class badminton players and their own individual needs. This increased awareness has helped players to integrate their strength and conditioning programmes into their weekly schedules so they can train as all-round athletes.  With support from Evan Jenkins at Bisham Abbey and Matt Jaggard in Lightwater, players are starting to see the hard work paying off with good physical development, and transference from the gym to the court.

It has been fantastic to have the international experience and input of EPT assistant coaches Gary Fox and Daryl Jacobs who have helped to inject an extra intensity into sessions whilst also providing one to one support to players throughout the week when possible.  The coaching team is working well together and is learning lots with the players by adopting a personalised and flexible approach to progress.

Players at the top end of EPT are starting to make a transition to senior international levels and with that, I am really happy to see them taking more responsibility for the quality, consistency and progress of their own training. The group is working well together, encouraging each other to maintain purpose and high standards within supportive, enjoyable environment.

There have been some good recent performances at gold star tournaments, U15 8 nations, and Senior and U19 nationals. Special congratulations to:

• Freya Redfearn who helped the England U15 team win silver at the 8 Nations last month
• Amber Lam for winning her début Senior Silver title at the Middlesex Senior Silver
• David Jones who got to the final of U19 Nationals and has also been selected to represent England at the European Junior Championships at the end of the month. 

The players are now preparing for their junior age-group nationals. They are all looking forward to challenging themselves and using their newly learned skills to win rallies, matches and medals. Please feel free to pop in and wish the players luck as they prepare for nationals and European championships!

To follow results please visit http://be.tournamentsoftware.com

Surrey Smashers, our local National Badminton League team, have not only taken a commanding lead at the top of the table but achieved this through the first perfect 5-0 result of the League.

Highlights

• Carl Baxter beat Rajiv Ouseph 3-0 for the first time in a competitive match after 10 years of trying (now that's determination)!
• Matthew Nottingham and Gabby Adcock won 3-1 against Martin Campbell and Gail Emms (click here see the photos of when Gail was at Badminton Wycombe December 2014).

On a slightly separate note, we are delighted that Gary Fox, who is the Assistant Coach here at the Badminton Wycombe EPT, maintains his 100% winning record in the NBL - one of only eight to do so.

Gail Emms MBE and Marcus Ellis came to Badminton Wycombe for a Yonex Exhibition Event just before Christmas.  They put on some great exhibition matches with our resident coaches, and both the EPT and long standing Centre Members.

If you couldn't make it or whether you wish to re-ignite your memory of putting a smash past Marcus or a net shot beyond Gail we have put up some of the best photos from the event.

The squad have had a productive summer training, which has given them the fitness and confidence to perform.  So far this season the EPT squad has collected 12 gold, 7 silver and 8 bronze medals.  Particular congratulations go to:

• Abigail Holden for reaching the final at the School Games, winning the Swiss International, the Duchy of Cornwall senior and the MK gold star titles;
• David Jones for winning his first senior title in Cornwall and then winning both singles and doubles titles at the Danish Cup and at the MK gold star.  

There have also been many other great performances, which you can read about in the full report.

We are also delighted to announce that Gary Fox has joined us as EPT Wycombe assistant coach and Daryl Jacobs has returned to Wycombe to support players as a sparrer / coach - both are seasoned international players.