Badminton WANGANUI VISIT

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 7, 1 October 1937, Page 14

Badminton WANGANUI VISIT

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Recent Cliib Championship Play SEASONS PROGRESS

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To-morrow a team from Hawke's Bay will travel to Wanganui to play a return match with the representatives of that district. As it is unlikely that the hest local team will he available, some of the younger Hastings players will have a chance to gain some of that invaluahle experience which comes only with defeat. Wanganui will douhtless have the services of several of the players who were nnahle to travel to Hastings a fortnight ago. Among these were Hay-Campbell, who holds the Western Districts single title, Miss Greaves,' the local lady champion, and Miss M. Purcell, second to Miss Greaves on the Wanganui ranking list. | Last Wednesday three interesting l club championship singles were played | in the Hastings Drill Hall. In the j lirst, Leo Vesty scored his second straight-set victory - of the season over Basil Gollinge. Collinge is an experiehced player who can play a good losing game, but he lacks the surprising agility which characterises the badminton played by both Yesty and Koad. In singles these two have a marlced advantage over most of the other local players. In a handicap match, in which Read and Yesty both started ofl t'he same niark, the forrner won by 21 — 17. As far as actual skill is concerned there is little difference between these two, but as has been stated elsewhere Read possesses the coniidence gained through wider experience in other games. Last year he was eligible for the O grade events in the Hawke's Bay tournament; at tho present iime he is in the second place on the Hawke 's Bay. ranking list. In a ladies ' championship single Miss Macdonald de'feated Miss Lassen in two close sets. The winner 's greater experience enabled her to control this game; Miss Lassen was forced to hit ' uphill' ' inor'e often than her opponent. Miss Macdonald is one of the very few badminton' players who remain cool and collected throughout the most strenuous game. Season in Retrospect. Those in charge of Hawke's Bay badminton can look back with mueh satisfaction on the season now ciosing. Although our representative team is not yet really strong, the average player is most enthusiastic, and all the clubs have full niembership lists. The North Island tournament pjayed in Hastings shQwed" a profit of. nearly twenty pounds. Next season the increasing *number of players may present a problem, as the number of clubs is limited by the halls available. If.table tennis were introduced, as a side-line by the badminton. clubs, it is possible that more playing members could be admitted. Hawke's Bay is one of the few provinces in which table tennis has not yet been established, and the formation of clubs in Hastings and Napier is long overdue. In the drill halls of both towns there is sufficient space, outside the badminton playing area, for at least one tennis table. It is, of course, possible that if the badminton clubs started, ping-pong, to use an oldfashioned bame, their members might ecme to prefer the latter game. At the present time two famous Hungarian table tennis experts are touring New Zealand to play exhibition matches. This fact gives a fair id-ea of the game's progress in other centres.