Shetland Badminton.

[Marooned in Maywick]

Surely any selection howlers would balance themselves out over the course of a career...?

[JohanofNess]

The first four couples places are usually not up for debate. There are usually another four couples in the reckoning for the last two mens and ladies places. It wouldn't require much effort to get the 4 couples together and play a couple of round robin type tournaments to see which two couples should be in the team on merit a month or so before the Intercounty.

 

My experience of County Pool training was that none of the selectors kept a note of results and when presented with them they didn't want to know.

 

Kind of surprised there isn't a round robin, almost makes it sound a litle bit cliquey.

[Frankie]

Surely any selection howlers would balance themselves out over the course of a career...?

 

No, but poor line calls usually balance themselves out over the course of a season.

[Marooned in Maywick]

^^^ unless those who are making the calls are blatantly cheating, and no-one in a position of authority is doing anything about it.

[DLT]

Some good comments here, from folk who know Shetland Badminton. My last word on what's been said goes ..... the selection howler's have often been righted. But we've also lost some players who've given up in disgust. In the worst case I've seen ..... it took about three years for the player to break through the artificial wall. The change only came when the person/persons keeping them out retired, as the selectors of the day were simply "scared" of the established player(s). Shameful! The one year I helped to select the Shetland B team ... every score was written down from day one. It became the routine for everybody. And the scores were invaluable. We first chose the team on merit (the ability to play well and win), we checked this selection against the ledger of scores and it bore out every selection. Then, the scores were used again to confirm our perceptions of the strongest partnerships. It really wasn't hard to do this; nobody was confused over selection criteria: the strongest players got in. We did have one "older" veteran in our team. And it raised eyebrows at the time. But that player kept on beating the competition throughout the training program, and was an asset to the team (on and off the park). If I ever loose my marbles and do it again ... it'll be done the same way and I hope that I get to select with folk as up front and capable as my last co-selector. That's all fae me.

[Frankie]

^^^^^^

Can't argue with that MiM.

 

I remember a few years back when underdogs Keith Moffat and Mary Bentley got to the semis of the Shetland Senior Open and had won the first set against a couple who had represented Shetland for a number of years in the Intercounty. Given the way it seemed the Intercounty team was selected at that time if Keith and Mary had won I believe it would have put real pressure on the selectors. Well, the ''favoured couple'' asked for a service judge to be appointed for the rest of the game. The guy who volunteered to do this just happened to be one of the selectors. He proceeded to call faults on many of Keith's services and service returns and Keith and Mary then obviously lost the match 2-1.

 

Questions must also be asked when two of Shetland's current best players choose not to represent Shetland, but obviously still enjoy playing badminton because they represent their local club in the First Division and First Division Team Knockout Cup. They won the Knockout Cup this year and are currently top of the First Division.