The Isle of Man senior badminton team finished seventh overall in the Small States of Europe team competition in Nicosia, Cyprus last weekend.

The players that represented the island were Alex Buck, Ballie Watterson, Jess Li, Leah Brennan and Annelise Mellor, supported by player-manager Matthew Nicholson.

Group stages

Drawn in group C, the team first faced Greenland, a team that we had faced at the previous edition of the competition as well as during the 2023 Island Games in Guernsey.

The Isle of Man took the mixed doubles and women's doubles, while the men’s doubles went all the way to three sets but unfortunately the team went down fighting to a good team and the eventual silver medallists.

Overall score: Isle of Man 2-3 Greenland.

Next up was Malta who themselves were bronze medallists from the first edition of the tournament.

Some close games all around against strong opposition but again the team lost out, taking only the women's doubles. Overall score: Isle of Man 1-4 Malta.

This placed them third in the group and meant that they would play for positions seventh to ninth overall.

Play-offs

First up was Monaco and the team showed their strength and resilience, with dominating wins across all events to claim a 5-0 victory.

Finally, in the seventh-place play-off, the team went up against Liechtenstein and again showed their versatility and depth, producing another strong performance to claim a repeat 5-0 victory to cement seventh place overall.

This tournament was also the senior international debut for Mellor and it was great to see the mix of experiences within the team gel together. Brennan also ended the tournament with a 100 per cent winning record.

There were excellent performances from all players and lots of positives and learnings to take away. They have represented the island well, alongside umpire Caroline Whitehead.

The team would like to thank player-team manager Matthew Nicholson, player-coach Jess Li, the Cyprus Badminton Federation and all those involved in the organisation of the event, as well as MAC Group Isle of Man for its sponsorship.

MAC’s sponsorship helped cover expenses for the team’s kit, travel and tournament fees, allowing players to focus fully on their preparations.

This support is part of the financial advisory and insurance broker’s commitment to promoting local sports and ensuring the Isle of Man is well represented on the international stage.

Ed Walter, head of private client advisory, commented: ‘Supporting local

talent is important to us at MAC Group and we’re thrilled to play a role in helping these athletes compete at a high level.’

- The team’s attention now turns to the English County League which fires into action this weekend. Longer term, the Isle of Man team will be competing at next year’s Island Games in Orkney.

LOCAL BADMINTON

Isle of Man Badminton Association league match results from games played between Monday, October 28 and Friday, November 1:

Lew Kelly Open League

DIVISION THREE

Mckenzie Fox Fencibles C 137 Cu-Plas Callow Island women’s A team 251

Isle of Man Racket Servicing Rushen A 205 Zeal Limited Selborne A 226

DIVISION SIX

Chillphase Vikings D 170 Tynwald Celts B 246

DIVISION SEVEN

Northern B 228 MannBenham Marown D 200

Falcons B 252 Zeal Limited Selborne C 150

Lew Kelly Women's League

DIVISION THREE

Mckenzie Fox Fencibles B 252 Falcons A 141

All the fixtures, results and league tables can be found on www.iombadminton.com and to see some of the action go to youtube.com/@isleofmanbadminton.