IBM_March_2016

With one match-night remaining of this
season’s AJ Bell National Badminton
League (NBL) it’s still all to play for as
teams race for the Play-Offs.
alltoplayfor
inajbellnbl
The badminton rule book has once again
been ripped up for the second season
of the AJ Bell NBL, which will culminate
with the Championship Finals on 8 May
at the Barclaycard Arena, home of the
YONEX All England Open Badminton
Championships.
In front of the Sky Sports cameras, the
AJ Bell NBL Finals Day in Birmingham will
see four teams compete in the Play-Offs
– one year after Team Derby lifted the
inaugural title.
With one Monday evening AJ Bell NBL
match-night left to run on 21 March, those
four spots are still very much up for grabs
as the game-changing league once again
goes down to the wire.
The AJ Bell NBL’s rejigging of the
rules has seen shortened scoring, no
changeovers, time outs and tie-breaks,
with each fixture finishing inside a twoand-a-half-hour
window.
The exclusive PowerPlay double points
rally – with its pink shuttlecock and
pulsating sound effects – remains a big
talking point this season, and with the
shortened-scoring format, teams have
learned that they have to come out firing
from point one.
Perhaps the best exponents of the AJ
Bell NBL format in this successful second
season has been Loughborough Sport,
with doubles specialist Lauren Smith
admitting that their “purists” team,
marshalled by head coach Andy Wood,
has been one of the key factors.
After a stuttering start last year,
Loughborough Sport reached NBL
Finals Day, ousting table-toppers Surrey
Smashers 5-0 in the semi-final before just
falling short against Team Derby in the
final. This season they have been tabletoppers.
“There is a future in the team and we
aren’t pulling people in who will then go
off,” Smith said. “There’s loyalty in the
players and that shows you are going
to have players who want to win for the
team.”
Smith admits that Loughborough became
a rejuvenated squad as the regular
season took shape and now England’s
doubles star wants to see the NBL keep
on growing in its second year.
She said: “We learnt from every single
match last season. We had a fresh mind
going into the games. We want to share
the knowledge with the new players.”
Summer moves have also helped shape
Birmingham Lions. Toby Penty, after a
switch from MK Badminton, has captained
a strong-looking Lions side, aided by
Fontaine Chapman in the women’s singles.
Defending champions Team Derby, who
have included 15-year-old rising star Grace
King in their squad, will be anxiously
looking over their shoulders as they aim
to cement a Finals Day berth.
It’s still all to play for in the AJ Bell NBL.
Tickets are available now for match-night
6, and tickets for the championship finals
will be available from March.
For all the latest information go to
nationalbadmintonleague.co.uk/tickets.
html.
INTERNATIONALBADMINTONMAGAZINE March 2016 | 15
www.isportgroup.com/InternationalBadmintonMagazine