The following is distributed at the request of School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador:

School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador holding
two provincial badminton championships this weekend

School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador will sponsor two provincial badminton championships this coming weekend.

Canon Richards High in Flowers Cove have advanced through the island tournament this past weekend to represent the island against teams from Labrador in the 3A provincial. Menihek High in Labrador City is the host school for the five-team event. Joining Menihek and Canon Richards in the round robin play will be J.C. Erhardt Memorial (Makkovik), Lake Melville School (Northwest River) and Eric G. Lambert School (Churchill Falls). The encounters get underway Thursday at 4:30 and continue throughout Friday. Each encounter will consist of a set of five matches including girls singles, boys singles, girls doubles, boys doubles and mixed doubles. The top team after the round robin will be awarded the championship banner. The individual competition will be played on Saturday, where individual champions will be crowned in boys singles, girls singles, boys doubles, girls doubles and mixed doubles.

Queen Elizabeth High in Foxtrap is the host school for the 4A provincial badminton championships Four schools will be competing for top position and the championship banner. Joining Queen Elizabeth in the event will be Prince of Wales Collegiate (St. John�s), Ascension Collegiate (Bay Roberts) and Glovertown Academy. Individual athletes from Baccalieu Collegiate in Old Perlican will also take part. The team encounters get underway Friday morning with the individual competition slated for the afternoon.

In its continuing effort to emphasize sportsmanship, School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador, are sponsoring the Sportsmanship First Program. Each team will nominate an individual player to receive an individual sportsmanship medal.

The top teams will be rewarded with gold and silver medals, while the winner of the championship game will also receive the coveted championship banner. In badminton, individual gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded.

All the School Sports Newfoundland and Labrador tournaments are sponsored by School Milk Foundation/Dairy Farmers of Newfoundland.

Media contact: Karen Richard, Phone: (709) 729-2795, Fax:(709) 729-2705

Convenors:
3A Badminton - Camilla Payne (709) 944-7731 (Tel) 944-6834 (Fax)
4A Badminton - John Saunders (709) 834-9400 (Tel) 834-7121 (Fax)

2005 05 10                         4:15 p.m.