A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
EASTLAND lost both their ties when they contested the second round of the inter-association Division 2 super veterans’ badminton competition in Hamilton.
They lost to Waikato (2) 8-1 and to Bay of Plenty 6-3.
Eastland team members were Ron Prebble, Annabel Riwaka and Ruth Ledger from the Patutahi club; Robert Cameron, Kevin Lee, Helen Morley, and Kahu Brown from the Gisborne club; and loan player Matheus Batlajeri from Manawatu.
Linda White was unavailable for selection for the weekend’s games.
Against Waikato, the men’s pairings of Lee and Batlajeri, and Cameron and Batlajeri both lost in two games.
Prebble and Cameron had a closer match. They lost the first game 21-13 and fought back well in the second, losing by only two points.
Waikato dominated the women’s doubles, too, winning each of the matches in two games.
Ledger and Brown lost their first game narrowly, 21-19, but in the second they were no match for a determined opposing pair.
Ledger and Morley lost in two games.
Morley and Riwaka were unlucky to lose their first game 21-19. But Waikato changed their tactics and won the second game more comfortably, 21-8.
Going into the mixed doubles, Eastland were down 6-0.
Cameron and Brown lost their first game 23-21 but let the opposition get away from them in the second.
Lee and Riwaka lost their first game, showed determination and confidence to comfortably take the second, and carried the momentum through to win the third game and the match.
A new combination of Prebble and Morley lost their first game and turned the tables in the second, but they were convincingly beaten in the third game.
IN the afternoon, against Bay of Plenty, Cameron and Batlajeri played consistently but couldn’t match the opposition, and lost 21-15, 21-15.
Cameron and Prebble teamed up to play a Bay of Plenty pairing that included Graham Hardisty, a loan player with Eastland for two years. Eastland lost the first game 22-20, changed their game plan to take the second 21-9, and held off a strong comeback to win the third 21-19.
Prebble and Lee also had a three-game match. After losing the first game 21-19, they gathered momentum to win the second 25-23 and the third 21-17.
The Eastland women’s combinations of Ledger and Brown, Morley and Brown, and Morley and Ledger all lost their matches in two games. Again the team came up against a former teammate — Helen Swetman, who played for Eastland in 2014.
In the mixed doubles, Cameron and Brown played a tactical match, winning the first game 21-19 and dominating the second to win 21-12.
Lee and Morley, and new combination Prebble and Ledger had challenging games. Both lost their matches in two games.
Eastland 1 Waikato (2) 8
Doubles — Men: Ron Prebble/Robert Cameron lost to Paul Davies/Murray Orr 13-21 20-22; Kevin Lee/Matheus Batlajeri lost to Davies/Paul Stobbs 11-21 11-21; Cameron/Batlajeri lost to Orr/Stobbs 16-21 16-21.
Women: Annabelle Riwaka/Helen Morley lost to Gayle Stobbs/Wilhelmina Mentzel 19-21 8-21; Morley/Ruth Ledger lost to Mentzel/Helen Courtney 10-21 11-21; Ledger/Kahu Brown lost to Stobbs/Courtney 19-21 11-21.
Mixed: Prebble/Morley lost to Davies/Mentzel 14-21 21-16 8-21; Lee/Riwaka defeated Orr/Stobbs 13-21 21-11 21-13; Cameron/Brown lost to Stobbs/Courtney 21-23 14-21.
Eastland 3 Bay of Plenty 6
Doubles — Men: Prebble/Lee defeated Graham Hardisty/Keith Miller 19-21 25-23 21-17; Prebble/Cameron defeated Hardisty/Lyndsay Meads 20-22 21-9 21-19; Cameron/Batlajeri lost to Meads/Miller 15-21 15-21.
Women: Morley/Ledger lost to Vivian Theakery/Nita Read 13-21 15-21; Morley/Brown lost to Theakery/Helen Swetman 13-21 11-21;Ledger/Brown lost to Read/Rosemary Brackfield 7-21 6-21.
Mixed: Prebble/Ledger lost to Miller/Theakery 17-21 13-21;Lee/Morley lost to Hardisty/Read 15-21 17-21; Cameron/Brown defeated Meads/Brackfield 21-19 21-12.