Oliver Stapleton
I am 16 and in Year 12 at Longcroft Sixth Form.
I started playing badminton at Beverley when I was 10. I started playing on the Badminton England Junior circuit in October 2016 and was picked to play for Yorkshire Juniors in February 2017. I have been coaching at Beverley Badminton Club Monday night junior sessions since December 2019 and have recently passed my BE Foundation Award in Coaching.
In addition to now competing on the Senior and U19 Gold Badminton England Circuits, I have also started to compete in Junior Internationals. My first international tournament was the Lithuanian U17 International, where I reached the quarter finals in doubles. I also played in the Cyprus International, where I reached the semi-finals in singles, doubles and mixed to win 3 bronze medals.
I play 1st Singles, and some doubles, for the Yorkshire Seniors 4th team in the BE Senior County Championship. It has been a great experience as I have played against senior international players. I have learnt a lot and enjoyed every moment of it. I also play singles for the Hull Allsorts A team in the Yorskhire League and level doubles and mixed for Beverley Badminton Club in the Hull and District League.
This year has seen a lot of changes to my training. As well as training at the club, I have been selected to train at the Sheffield Performance Centre where I get to train with many England international players/coaches. I have also changed my 1-to-1 coach and the regular sessions have enabled me to move from being ranked 199th in the country to now being 61st for singles. I also travel to Oxford, where I train with the U19 National Champion and a group of other elite players.
For singles, I am currently ranked 10th in the National U18 rankings and 61st in the full senior rankings. In Yorkshire, I am ranked 2nd at U18s, 3rd for U19s and 4th for Seniors.
Updated 2019
2019-20 Season
Li Ning Cyprus U17 International Dec 19)- 3rd place in Singles, doubles and mixed
Lithuanian U17 International Oct 19)- Quarter-finals in doubles
Harrogate Senior Silver (Sept 19)- Quarter-finals in singles
Nottingham Senior Gold (Feb 20)- Singles last 16
Wimbledon U19 Gold (Oct 19)- Quarter finals in mixed doubles, Singles last 16
Badminton England Foundation Award in Coaching (March 2020)
Previous seasons
U18 Yorkshire Restricted (Sept 18)- Singles Runner Up
U16 Most Improved Yorkshire player (July 18)
U16 Yorkshire Open (May 2018)- Singles Runner-Up
U16 Cheshire Open (April 18)- Singles Runner-Up
U17 Nottingham (March 18)- Singles Winner
U17 Cumbria (Dec 17)- Singles & Doubles Winner
U17 Cheshire (Dec 17)- Singles & Doubles Winner
U17 Lancashire (Nov 17)- Singles Winner
U17 Northumberland (Oct 17)- Singles & Doubles Winner
U16 Yorkshire Special award (July 17)