AT the recent Plymouth and District Churches Badminton League end of season open tournament the Cooper family were out in force, with Heather and her sons Julian and James all having entered.

The tournament is open to any player who wishes to enter which meant that the Coopers were up against the cream of local badminton.

In the singles knockout competition , James lost out to the eventual runner-up but only after playing some excellent badminton, always in with a chance right up until the last few points. Julian, after winning his first game, lost out to a longtime rival who always puts in that little bit of effort when he comes up against him.

In the doubles, the Cooper brothers came up against some good and long established Plymouth pairings. With many of the more experienced pairings unsettled by the standard of the brother's play, some good results went the Coopers' way. They ended up third in their group, failing to go through to the quarter-finals by only a few points.

In the mixed doubles, Julian partnered Josie Debnam (Builders Badminton Club) and, in their group, only lost two games in the round robin. They were disappointed not to go through to the knockout rounds, but were beaten to that honour by another pairing who scored just a couple more points.

Heather partnered her son James and both played some of their best badminton this season. Whereas the previous weekend they had been beaten in a close encounter by Philip Ellis and Kerensa May (Mayflower Badminton Club) this tournament they turned the tables on them decisively by winning 15-10, 15-4.

Though in the end the trophies in the main went the way of the expected winners, the Coopers upset a number of pairings in the tournament and came away pleased with their performances.