A season which was set to be full of potential for UEL Badminton has had a far from ideal start to the season.
With the men’s team being cut in the first few weeks due to not being able to field a team for each fixture, the women’s team have also been facing struggles of their own over the first month of this BUCS season.
Sluggish Start
Five weeks since the start of the 2018-19 season, only one game so far has been played by the women. This match saw UEL loose 8-0 to Brunel University but the performance gave the team confidence that they would progress throughout the year.
Since facing Brunel, UEL were meant to have two more fixtures against SOAS and University College London, neither of which went ahead.
Due to some communication issues between universities, UEL did not know the time and location of that match until the evening, which unfortunately lead to them not being able to field a team in time.
Second Chance
As a result of not having a full team, UEL had to forfeit the match which nearly lead to the club being pulled from their BUCS competitions, and having their training and team completely cut. This is due to a rule the university set if a club concedes a walk over before Christmas.
However, luck was on side for the team, as the Blue’s looked into the BUCS rules and found out that as the team wasn’t given the set period of 48 hours’ notice prior to the fixture with information of the match, the fixture could be postponed and save the club from being cut.
Speaking to Rising East, women’s captain, Chloe Stephenson spoke about the obstacles she and the team face: “Making it to captain position for the badminton team was very challenging as I have studies and other commitments to delegate myself to.
“Therefore when I was told that there would no longer be a team because some students could not make it to our second match of the season for various reasons I was disappointed, but moreover the fact that as a team we were not given enough notice as to what time the game would start and where it would take place.”
Not Giving Up
Despite the clubs struggles, Stephenson expressed her gratitude to club representative, Emma for maintaining the club’s position in the BUCS league: “Emma spoke to our opposition and fought for our place, therefore the badminton team continues its legacy.”
Still hopeful about the season ahead, UEL are ready to play at home on Wednesday 14th November at 1:30 against London South Bank University.
