Disability News
9th Jul 2018
Special Olympics Ireland National Games
The badminton event of the Special Olympics Ireland National Games took place at the National Indoor Arena, Dublin from 14th-17th June, where Ulster had the smallest squad there, only having 4 players qualify from the Regional Event in December 2016. All four players have been training since November 2017 for the games, which was the first time at the National Games for all the athletes. Both coaches and three of the players came from Lisburn 2gether, while Kealan Woods of Breffni Blues SOC (Cavan) made up the squad.
After the opening ceremony on Thursday night, play started on Friday morning, with Ulster hitting the ground running with Ben Hayward and Sarah-Louise Rea taking on the top pairs from Munster and Leinster and winning Division 3 of the Mixed Doubles unbeaten, despite being up against some very tough opposition.
Saturday saw all four players involved in the singles competition, where Ben (Division 8) and Sarah-Louise (Division 3) continued their good form, with neither of them dropping a game on their way to winning their second gold medals. Adam Smyth was also involved in the Division 8 competition where he finished 4th. Meanwhile, the youngest member of the team, Kealan Woods, put up a good challenge in the Division 1 competition, where he finished with a bronze medal.
The final day of competition saw Adam and Kealan taking part in the Mens Doubles Division 5 event. In one of the tightest Divisions of the weekend, Adam and Kealan took the gold, coming from behind to win the final game of the day 21-18 and taking the title by just 3 points.
Team Ulsters’ final medal tally was six gold medals, one bronze medal and one fourth place ribbon. This puts all four players in the draw for the Team Ireland selection for the World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019, which will take place later in the summer.
Report by Terry Conroy
PHOTO: Team Ulster Badminton Squad (Left to Right): Terry Conroy (Coach), Adam Smyth, Sarah-Louise Rea, Kealan Woods, Ben Hayward, Willie McMillan (Head Coach)
The badminton event of the Special Olympics Ireland National Games took place at the National Indoor Arena, Dublin from 14th-17th June, where Ulster had the smallest squad there, only having 4 players qualify from the Regional Event in December 2016. All four players have been training since November 2017 for the games, which was the first time at the National Games for all the athletes. Both coaches and three of the players came from Lisburn 2gether, while Kealan Woods of Breffni Blues SOC (Cavan) made up the squad.
After the opening ceremony on Thursday night, play started on Friday morning, with Ulster hitting the ground running with Ben Hayward and Sarah-Louise Rea taking on the top pairs from Munster and Leinster and winning Division 3 of the Mixed Doubles unbeaten, despite being up against some very tough opposition.
Saturday saw all four players involved in the singles competition, where Ben (Division 8) and Sarah-Louise (Division 3) continued their good form, with neither of them dropping a game on their way to winning their second gold medals. Adam Smyth was also involved in the Division 8 competition where he finished 4th. Meanwhile, the youngest member of the team, Kealan Woods, put up a good challenge in the Division 1 competition, where he finished with a bronze medal.
The final day of competition saw Adam and Kealan taking part in the Mens Doubles Division 5 event. In one of the tightest Divisions of the weekend, Adam and Kealan took the gold, coming from behind to win the final game of the day 21-18 and taking the title by just 3 points.
Team Ulsters’ final medal tally was six gold medals, one bronze medal and one fourth place ribbon. This puts all four players in the draw for the Team Ireland selection for the World Games in Abu Dhabi in 2019, which will take place later in the summer.
Report by Terry Conroy
PHOTO: Team Ulster Badminton Squad (Left to Right): Terry Conroy (Coach), Adam Smyth, Sarah-Louise Rea, Kealan Woods, Ben Hayward, Willie McMillan (Head Coach)
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