Suffolk Special Olympians fly the flag in Bournemouth A group of Suffolk badminton players recently took part in the Southern Regional Special Olympics Badminton Tournament held in Bournemouth.

“The event was the first official badminton competition that Suffolk Special Olympians have ever participated in”, explained Mike McCarthy, one of the Special Olympic coaches.

“It was a brilliant experience for our players. They all performed well above their rankings but what was most impressive was how they rose to the challenges presented by the competitive situation, which was new to all of them”.

The Suffolk team of Ed Boggis, Kathy Brill and Cameron Sherman, who have all been training regularly in Ipswich with ActivLives and Special Olympics Suffolk, competed against players from across the south of England at the Bournemouth event.

“This was our first tournament, we will definitely be looking for more opportunities to compete at future Special Olympics events and hopefully for some players to qualify for the National Games in 2017.

This experience has given the team a real taste for competition!” said Mike. If you would like to find out more about how you can get involved with badminton with Special Olympics Suffolk or ActivLives, please contact Mike McCarthy on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk