Special Olympics badminton players from Suffolk were amongst the medals once again at the Southern Regional Tournament, which was held recently in Bournemouth.

Seven players from our county made the trip down to the south coast with five of them managing to come away with medals (two gold, one silver and two bronze), from the singles competitions.
Special Olympics, which is sport for athletes with an intellectual disability, is relatively new to our county with the Suffolk branch having only been established as recently as 2014.
"Our players were up against teams from all over England at this tournament," said Mike McCarthy from ActivLives and Special Olympics Suffolk.

"The performance levels of our local Special Olympics players is rising all of the time, but every bit as important is the brilliant attitude that they all bring to events like this one. They are all so positive about their sport, they want to improve and to win, but it is playing the game and being part of a team that they really enjoy", added Mike.

This tournament was one of several organised as part of the Special Olympics GB calendar of events held across the country.

If you would like to find out more about playing badminton with Special Olympics Suffolk, as part of the ActivLives Everyday Activ-Ipswich programme, please contact Mike McCarthy on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk