Badminton: Exciting ties the norm in competitive grade of Gisborne’s BIZminton league

The BIZminton mercantile league is producing plenty of thrills in the competitive and social grades.

The competitive grade of BIZminton 2025, the mercantile badminton league, continues to produce exciting ties.

The Kents, a family team of three siblings and the next generation, dominate the competition, while the MakeShift Team have shown they can hold their own in this company.

All the teams have a bye, so placings won’t be known until the final night.

Social grade teams move into two weeks of playoffs. They have played two round robins. This week, Group A winners play the second-placed team from Group B, Group B winners play the second placegetters from Group A, and the same formula applies for the third- and fourth-placed teams.

Sweaty Newbies had some close matches with Versatile Social, and won with only a six-point difference.

Riversun Racquets held off GDC Good Guys in a tie that went to a points countback.

Results from last Thursday –

Social grade: Sweaty Newbies 3 Versatile Social 3 matches, Wesat Newbies won on pints countback 143-137; Riversun Racquets 3 GDC Good Guys 3, Riversun Racquets won on c/b 161-146; Ballerina Cappuccinos def Leaches by default; Smashers 4 Slammers 2; Sweaty Newbies 4 Smasher 2.

Competitive grade: MakeShiftTeam 5 R Family 1; Kents 4 RSL51s 2.

Draw for this week – 6pm: Court 1, GDC Good Guys v Smashers; C2, Ballerina Cappuccinos v Versatile Social; C3, Sweaty Newbies v Riversun Racquets; C4, Slammers v Leaches.

7.15pm: C1, We R Family v Versatile Pinoy; C3, MakeShiftTeam v Kents. RSL51s have a bye.

Duty team (to sweep courts and tidy upstairs at the end of the night): MakeShiftTeam.

Inquiries to Linda White.