We may flit between divisions with the same regularity as a ski lift, but that doesn’t stop us making our mark…
By Katie Scott
So, the league season is officially over. Kaput. Done with. Completed. You get the idea. Running between September and April, the 2014-15 season has been a busy one, as Wychelm entered two ladies pairs, one mixed squad and one men’s squad. Excitingly for us, this season we varied it up, forging new partnerships, plucking together new teammates, so although part experimentation, we made our changes for a reason – we’re ready to improve, play better and go further than ever before.
The proof is in the pudding as they say, and I am exceptionally proud to report that Wychelm have brought home two trophies this season, with Kay and myself nabbing the Division Two title in the ladies pairs, and our mixed squad bringing home the top prize in Division Two also. Collecting two trophies at the league AGM meeting only this week felt unbelievable and just demonstrates that all of our hard work and practice really has paid off and provided dividends. It’s been a fruitful season, and although you can never predict what the next season will hold, just having our club name engraved on the trophies is enough to make you burst.
Here is a summary of how Wychelm did this season…
Ladies Pairs:
We had two pairs entered this year, Kay and I acting as the A pair, while Janet teamed up with Tracy to form our B pair. Both playing in Division Two (there are three divisions of the ladies pairs now), there were five pairs in total including ourselves. Practicing every club night, Kay and I really attempted to fine tune our teamwork which paid off to see us win the division. Also, the fact that we never missed a match helped, as that meant we never had to give away ‘free’ wins so to speak. Taking the division with a tidy 17 points, we actually managed to forge a rather nice gap at the top of the leaderboard for ourselves as Emerson Eagles B came in second place with 13 points. Janet and Tracy came in 4th place with their first season of playing together, so I have a strong feeling that the only way is up for them next time. These results mean that Kay and I should receive a promotion into Division 1 of the ladies pairs for next season. Being the first time to take a ladies title, it felt great to be doing it for the girls, especially as us ladies are far outnumbered by the blokes in Wychelm!
Mixed Doubles:
Originally a division of four clubs and then reducing to three clubs as Seven Kings pulled out, that didn’t necessarily make it an easier battle to reach the top. Gary was partnered by Janet, continuing where they left off last season, whilst I was playing with squad newbie David W, luckily for us our playing styles just clicked instantly making a great combination. We also had Het teaming up with Kay to create our final and third pair. A very close division consisting of decent clubs, match nights were incredibly close although we managed to just sneak the win with a total of 8 points, Redbridge coming in second with 7 points. This win was brilliant for us and the second time we have this division, so chuffed about that. This should mean that we receive a promotion into Division One, but we are currently unsure of how many teams will be entered into the mixed next season, so that may dictate how the divisions are divided up. We deserve the promotion and it’s the only way we are going to improve, but we are just going to have to wait and see.
Men’s Doubles:
Playing in Division 4, which is the lowest division, our guys did a top notch job of coming in third this season behind Barking 4 and Frenford. With a total of 11 points, they managed to beat Corinthians 2 and Emerson Eagles 4. The men’s is always super competitive as there are actually a few clubs where they only enter men’s teams and nothing else, so it seems to be a more popular section of the fixture table. Again, we utilised a new team this season, although I think we may need to make a couple of switches depending on drop-outs for next time – we’ll have to see who signs up!
With two trophies in the bag for this season, I couldn’t be prouder and I would just like to congratulate our squad players for all of your hard work. Granted, our level of play seems to be more 1.5 rather than Division 1 or Division 2, so we may be the yo-yo team, but if we keep improving, that’s only a good thing so the more opportunities we have in Division 1, the better. Well done guys, and here’s to Wychelm! I’ll bring the trophies with me on Monday so everyone can take a look!
For all the final results, check out the league website: http://bhdbl.org/
