The Welsh Institute of Sport in Cardiff was the setting for the first leg of the 2009 Four Nations Disability Badminton Championships from 11^th to 13^th September. Seven members of the Pan-Disability Lisburn Badminton Club travelled to Cardiff to take part in the event.

The Club’s best performance was in the Dwarf events, with Niall McVeigh, Emma Farnham, David Kelly and Luke Irvine adding to their impressive performances at the Dwarf World Games that were held in Belfast in July.  To start with, Niall McVeigh, who is on the Sport NI elite athlete program, added to his World Singles title with a win over Andrew Martin of England in the final of the Men’s Singles.  Shortly after, Niall joined with his English partner, Jonny Den Uli, to beat the English pair of Andrew Martin and Jack Sheppard in the Dwarf Men’s Doubles final.  The final medal of the weekend was won by David Kelly and Emma Farnham in the Mixed Doubles event.  Having gone through their group without losing a match, followed by a very exciting semi-final game, David and Emma were outplayed in the final by the current World Champions, Andrew Martin and Rachael Choong from England.  Despite losing in the final, this was a very positive performance by the pair, and was David’s first medal at a Four Nations event.

Thanks must go to all the coaches and volunteers at the Club who have made this success possible, as well as all who have supported the Club over the past year, including Volkswagen Phillips Lisburn, Northern Bank and Ulster Badminton.

The next leg of the Four Nations Disability Championships will be in Dublin in November and the Club hope to have a number of players at the event.  Anyone interested in learning more about the Pan-Disability Lisburn Badminton Club can email CLOAKING or contact Terry Conroy on 07789 682446.  The Club caters for players with a physical, sensory or learning disability and any new members are always welcome.