University of Gloucestershire’s badminton captain Charlie Pinnell has identified fixed playing partnerships as the key to unlocking his side’s potential ahead of next season.
The declaration came after a mixed Varsity display against the University of Worcester, which saw the women draw 4-4 while the men fell to a 7-1 defeat.
Despite the scoreline, Pinnell was keen to contextualise a result that came on the back of a significant rebuild, with much of the squad having had little or no competitive experience at the start of the season.
“We started with people brand new this year, some of them never played before, and we’ve been close. The women have done really well today, the men not as well, but come next year I reckon we will have a good shot.”
The structural instability that forced the rebuild was something Pinnell had been working to address since his appointment as captain. Having raised the issue of fixed partnerships in his inaugural speech, he admitted the departure of the majority of last year’s squad had made implementation impossible — until now.
“I wanted to do this; my speech as captain last year was to add fixed partners. Because the majority of the team left, being in the third year, we started from scratch. So the people you saw today is what I want to go back in with next year. People need to practise with the person they’re playing alongside and just understand how they play. That’s our biggest improvement for me.”
With a settled squad now in place, Pinnell pointed to something less tangible, but no less important, as a genuine strength heading into next season. The culture within the group, he argued, is already where it needs to be.
“We’ve got a great atmosphere at training and the matches,” he said enthusiastically. “We’ve got people that are playing, or even not playing, always giving support, encouragement, and just the tips that they know. As a team, that’s what we are. We need to come together, and we do, and we help each other in every single way we know how to.”
That collegiate spirit extended beyond the Varsity contest itself. Once the competitive portion of the day concluded, both UOG and Worcester players took to the courts together for a series of friendly games, a detail that clearly meant a great deal to Pinnell.
“We’ve played our hearts out, both teams, and now we’re going to have a chat and just play some friendly games without the competition there. That’s my big thing. Worcester and us, we’ve all come together just to play.”
When asked whether Varsity is ultimately as much about the social dimension as the sporting one, Pinnell did not hesitate.
“I think it’s the big thing, isn’t it, both ways. Everyone wants to win these points and they want their uni to win, but at the end of the day, we all play the same sport, we all get a lot from it. Let’s just have some fun.”
With a developing squad rapidly gaining experience, a captain whose ambitions are clearly defined, and a team culture that appears to be genuinely thriving, UOG Badminton look well placed to make their mark when Varsity comes around again next year.
