2011-12 Ed. 10

LADIES’ SINGLES 50-54

Gold: Barbara Heaney; Silver: Julia Watterson; Bronze: Nancy Manweiler

Gold: Ann Choi; Silver: Corazon Cuyegkeng; Bronze: Amanda Ritchie

Gold: Karen Jerg; Silver: Pat Stinson; Bronze: Monika Leung

Gold: Mary Blandino; Silver: Alice Tym; Bronze: Sanne Dryborough

Gold: Judy Gray; Silver: Margot Hurst; Bronze: Jane Amiotte

Gold: Peggy Jefferson

Gold: Joyce Jones

Gold: Alexandre Latchininsky; Silver: Chris Frei; Bronze: Jim Swaydan

Gold: David Goldshaw; Silver: Stephen Frei; Bronze: Dennis Ritchie

Gold: Henry Paynter; Silver: John Paul Jones; Bronze: Wayne Fullerton

Gold: Grant Taggard; Silver: Stanley Boyd; Bronze: Murray Foubister

Gold: Peter Eltgroth; Silver: Jim Greenlees; Bronze: Norman Carruthers

Gold: Daniel Buckley

LADIES’ DOUBLES 50-54

Gold: Ann Choi/Julia Watterson

Gold: Monika Leung/Corazon Cuyegkeng; Silver: Susan Anderson/AmandaRitchie

Gold: Anne Henderson/Pat Kirk; Silver: Mary Blandino/Karen Jerg; Bronze: Lesley Costello/Beverly Miller

Gold: Judy Gray/Alice Tym; Silver: Lorna Hunter/Margot Hurst; Bronze: Sanne Dryborough/Joyce Jones

Gold: Jeannine Bohn/Connie Lee; Silver: Doreen Elvedahl/Jessie Rogers; Bronze: Hazel Morgan/Dorris Taylor

Gold: Peggy Jefferson/Georgia Keefer

Gold: Alexandre Latchininsky/David Goldshaw; Silver: Chris Frei/Stephen Frei; Bronze: Sanjoy Bhattacharya/Jim Swaydan

Gold: Dennis Ritchie/Mark Anderson

Gold: Leon Martin Cuyegkeng/Henry Paynter; Silver: Pit Hoong Yee/StephenWang; Bronze: David Flieger/John Paul Jones

Gold: Stanley Boyd/Jerrett Koenigsberg; Silver: Grant Taggard/Jim Stabler; Bronze: Terry Downey/Murray Foubister

Gold: Peter Eltgroth/Roberto Lee; Silver: Phil Brunner/Daniel Buckley

Gold: Henry Paynter/Barbara Heaney; Silver: Alexandre Latchininsky/JuliaWatterson; Bronze: Jim Swaydan/Corazon Cuyegkeng

Gold: David Goldshaw/Ann Choi; Silver: Stephen Frei/Patricia Ortlepp; Bronze: Mark Anderson/Susan Anderson

Gold: Stephen Wang/Karen Jerg; Silver: John Paul Jones/Pat Stinson; Bronze: Terry Downey/Linda Downey

Gold: Murray Foubister/Sanne Dryborough; Silver: Grant Taggard/HazelMorgan; Bronze: Marty Burns/Judy Gray

Gold: Peter Eltgroth/Connie Lee; Silver: Roberto Lee/Sandra Matthieu; Bronze: Phil Brunner/Margot Hurst

Gold: Daniel Buckley/Joyce Jones

Arizona’s Judy Gray recently won the 70-74 Women’s Singles and Doubles in Houston at the NSGA Senior Nationals. Judy grew up in San Diego and learned to play badminton at the Federal Building’s ten indoor courts. She started as a senior in high school when she saw an entry blank and entered the C division and reached the finals in all events. After graduating from San Diego State, Judy married and kept playing badminton as an A player. She was ranked third in ladies’ doubles in 1966 and fourth in ladies’ singles. One of the highlights of Judy’s badminton was playing in the Mexican Nationals with Tai Sharrung and Pat Gallagher. She also enjoyed playing the World Masters in New Zealand in 2009 when her team beat Germany by a half point.

In 2005, Judy’s forester husband died. Dick and Karen Warnock encouraged her to come to OCBC and begin playing again. Now she is active in the senior tournaments including the Senior Games and the Huntsman Games. Judy’s future plans include playing the World Masters in Italy in August of 2013.

Endurance has been the key to Judy’s success. She was and still is a swimmer. She placed second in 1961 in the La Jolla Rough Water Swim. She continues to teach swimming as well as doing extensive quilting and stained glass work. Judy belongs to two quilting groups in Arizona and California, and has a special quadro sewing machine. She is active in the lives of her four grandkids, and is on the go with her many friends. We are so glad to have her as a member of the badminton community.

Many athletes sometimes get anxious when they play against a tough opponent. They get nervous over with whom they are competing,  and they get so worked up that they lose focus on playing their sport. In the end, they make mistakes and end up beating themselves up if they do not win. As a result, here is a list of techniques that an athlete can use to help manage the stress of playing against the competition.

The first step is to learn as much as you can about your opponent. Although this may seem obvious, some athletes may think they already know what they need to know. Remember there is always something to learn about your competition. Read the reports about your opponent and watch his or her performance. Try to figure out an angle on how you can beat your competition. The more you know about your competition the better your chances are you will win. This will also help reduce your worries in the future.

Do not assume anything about your competition whether they are stronger or weaker than you. Every athlete has his good and bad times and just because you may be facing a stronger opponent does not mean that you will lose. Remember that you and your opponent both have an equal chance of winning. You are both starting from scratch. This should help you to give you confidence going into your next event.
Focus on how you can best strive for perfection in your own event instead of worrying about your opponent. For instance, you are going against the number one athlete in the tournament and you are nervous. Instead of focusing on how good your competition is, focus on your performance. Concentrate on how you can perform your event and how you can best improve on your problem areas.
Realize that you can’t win all of the time and that also includes your competition. You may be the best athlete in the world, however you will still sometimes lose. No one can win all of the time.  When facing a tough competitor, use this fact to your advantage. Even the best athletes will make some mistakes.

It is not uncommon to get nervous when you go against a better opponent.  All you can do is to focus on your skill sets and do the best you can. This will help you in the long run.

BIOGRAPHY

Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/

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FEATHERS IN THE CORK #2

By Mary Ann Bowles

Below you’ll find four keys to the correct technique for hitting a shuttle:  

GRIP

The correct grip is essential for playing badminton. The panhandle grip will not give you the flexibility you need to make the correct shots. How do you hold the racket? The racket handle is laid across your fingers between the point where your fingers join your hand and the knuckles nearest your hand. The racket is held lightly so that you have a finger’s width between your racket handle and your hand. Gripping the racket as tight as you can freezes your racket and diminishes racket flexibility-it could also cause tennis elbow.

Forearm rotation is the other essential to go with your loosely gripped racket. Your forearm has to rotate as you strike the shuttle so that you are looking at the inside of your arm as you reach up to strike the shuttle. As you hit the shuttle and follow through with the racket, you should see the top of your forearm. Your arm should swing down across your body at the end of your swing. The racket approaches the shuttle to hit it edgewise then the face of the racket (the strings) make contact with the shuttle. Forearm rotation will ensure you get a solid hit on the shuttle.

BODY POSITION

The third key to the correct technique for hitting a shuttle is to turn your body as you strike the shuttle so that your left (right if you are left-handed) shoulder is turned perpendicular to the net. As you hit the shuttle your body opens up to hit the shuttle and you follow through, bringing your racket arm across your body while your trunk turns towards the net then downward as your racket arm comes across your body.

READY POSITION

Lastly, if you are in the “ready” position, you can’t help but make good contact with the shuttle served to you, and you should be thinking about where you plan to hit that service. Thinking is the higher level skill that will take you to the next level of play once you have the basic shots, footwork, and stamina.

The “ready” position includes:

• Weight balanced between your two feet–you are on the balls of your feet
• Non-racket leg out in front of your body (if right-handed, your left foot should be out in front of your left side-reverse for left-handers) and your knees are slightly bent
• Racket is held up so you are ready to strike the shuttle (just holding the racket up can intimidate some servers)
• Eyes watching the shuttle (sometimes players have so much action with the racket that you are distracted by all that motion-forget the racket movements and keep your eyes on the shuttle!)

If you can concentrate on these four things, you are well on the way to improving your play!

Congratulations are in order for five U.S. Seniors who won medals for the first time ever at the 2011 BWF World Senior Championships. The 5th competition of its kind was held in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, August 21-17. The USA team was comprised of 36 members. Medalists included Wei Jian Wilson (VA), 55 Women’s Singles Gold Medalist; Bob Cook/Andy Gouw (CA), 65 Men’s Doubles Gold Medalists; and Sue Dommeyer/Rose Lei (CA), 60 Women’s Doubles Bronze Medalists. Way to go, Seniors!

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USA TAKES 6 MEDALS AT 2011 PAN AM GAMES IN MEXICO