Followin g the Ist Wednesday, November 7, 1990 - North Shore News - 13 Enews AT THE net: Stuart Louie practises his strokes under :| the guidance of coach Zip Dhanani while (from left) Mer- | vyn Roberts, | Meredith Burgon and ea.| Allison Rice HEWS photo Stuart Davis look on. Hard work, team effort is paying off for North Shore badminton players JUNIOR BADMINTON players from Hollyburn Country Club are riding a tidal wave of success that could eventually take them to. far-off shores and a high level of competition if they continue to follow the work ethic of coach Zip Dhanani. 44 Three players — Merryn Roberts, Stuart Louie and Meredith Burgon — won triple crowns while Allison Rice and Fraser Reid won two events. 99 By Elizabeth Collings News Reporter Hanging on the wall in Dhanani’s tiny office is a scroll entitled 11 Commandments for an Enthusiastic Team. The first commandment: Help each other be right — not wrong. Whatever its meaning (maybe only his badminton team knows), the first commandment seems to be working. In his four years as pro at Hollyburn, Dhanani has culled an enthusiastic team that has come to dominate junior badminton in the province. At the recent St. George’s Tournament, the first of five B.C. junior ranking championships, Hollyburn players made an ap- pearance in 29 out of 20 finals. They won 15 titles. Three players Merryn Roberts, Stuart Louie and Meredith Burgon — won triple crowns while Allison Rice and Fraser Reid won two events. Rice is one of the team’s many talented players for whom Dhanani has high hopes. Last season, the Handsworth student was ranked No. 1 in the under-14 age group. The 14- year-old won two of a possible three St. George’s finals in the more competitive under-16 cate- gory. Last month, Rice was a member on the under-23 B.C. Team that netted a gold medal at the Clarkson Cup, an inter-provincial tourney held in Saskatoon with players from the four western provinces and Ontario. As well, she won a gold medal at the Faulson Cup in Victoria, another inter-provincial under-!9 team championship. “What is remarkable about this gitl is she represented B.C. last month in the under-23 and she’s not 15 yet,’ Dhanani says, at- tributing her on-court prowess to an aggressive, attacking style and hard work. Recently selected as head coach for the B.C. Canada Winter Games team, Dhanani is confident Rice will make the under-23 team. Hollyburn players Elma and Moira Ong have already been selected leaving two women posi- tions open. Liz Fraser and Reid are also candidates for the Games in February, Dhanani says. As badminton becomes an of- ficial Olympic sport in 1992 and with the upcoming 1994 Com- monwealth Games in Victoria, Dhanani says the prospects of the Hollyburn players are growing with the popularity of the sport. But Canadian players are siifl at a disadvantage compared to Asian and European players where the sport is immensely popular and the funding more available. Nevertheless, the facilities at Hollyburn are excellent, Dhanani says, and a considerable im- provement over the long way from home where he grew up in Ugan- da. There, the country’s best club consisted of one cement-floor badminton court and a 15-foot ceiling. Despite those conditions, Dhanani’s first commandment worked; he became Uganda's under-19 national champ before moving to Canada and imparting his infectious enthusiasm to the Holiyburn team. Hollyburn Country Club players sweep event THE FOLLOWING are results achieved by Hollyburn Country Club players at the St. George’s Tournament. The players swept the cvents, win- ning 15 gold medals and 14 silver medals. UNDER 12 Girls singles: Merryn Roberts, gold medai; Anna Rice, siiver medai. Girls doubles: Merryn Roberts and Candice Monahan, gold medals; Anna Rice and Andrea Rose, silver medals. Boys singles: Stuart Louie, gold medal. Boys doubles: Stuart Louie and Gilford Cheung, gold medals; Gregory Major and Trevor Thomas, Siiver medals. Mixed doubles: Merrya Roberts and Stuart Louie, gotd medals; James Lonsdale and Candice Monahan, silver medals, UNDER 14 Girls singles: Meredith Burgon, gold medal; Carla MacLean, silver medal. Girls doubles: Meredith Burgon and Rosanna Watson, gold medals; Carla MacLean and Rachel Morgan, silver medals. Boys medal. Boys doubles: Shea Rearns and Jamie Bardsley, silver medals. Mixed doubles: Meredith Burgon and Colin Clay, gold medals; Amy Rice and Jamie Bardsley, silver medals. singles: Colin Clay, silver UNDER i6 Girls Allison Rice, gold medal. Girls Allison singles: Reid and Charisse doubles: Nancy Rice, goid medals: Wong and Ali Paterson, silver medals. Boys singles: Jason Kittler, silver medal. Boys doubles: Jason Kittler ard Skyler Van Heukleom, gold medals. Mixed doubles: Allison Rice and Gregory Louie, silver medals. UNDER 19 Girls singles: Sarah Morgan, gold medal; Maggie Clay, silver medal. Girls doubles: Elma and Moira Ong, gold medals; Maggie Clay and Sarah Morgan, silver medals. Boys singles: Fraser medal. Boys doubles: Fraser Reid and Morgan Van Heukleom., gold medals. Reid, gold een A LR RR, EC