Lisburn Racquets Club
Encyclopedia
The Lisburn Racquets Club is a sports club in Lisburn
, Northern Ireland
. The club was formed in 1932 by the members of Lisburn Cricket Club
to keep their members together during the winter months. It played in the British Legion Hall until the late 1950s and then moved to the Black Hall on the Hillhall Road. It incorporates Alpha Badminton
Club, Lisburn Racquets Squash
Club & Hilden Tennis Club.
In the 1960s it fund raised with the members of Hilden Tennis Club, with whom it had many members in common and with grant aid from the Department of Education it built the first stage of the current club. Play started here in November 1971.
A number of extensions have been added over the years – the major one being the addition of a 12 court badminton hall in 1996 with the help of Lottery Funding
. This hall is also used by ten schools during the day and for netball and football – one of its current users being the Manchester United F.C. Academy.
Alpha is the largest badminton club in Ireland
and over the last 15 years has won the All-Ireland Senior Cup 10 times. In doing so it qualified to represent Ireland in the Europe Cup – a competition for the champion club teams of all the European countries.
Alpha is divided into a number of sections decided mainly by the standard of player and partly by age. The Senior Club plays on Tuesday evenings with players of approximately League Division 1 standard. The Minor Club plays on Thursday evenings with players ranging from League Division 2 to Division 6 standard. The Tyros Club plays on Wednesday evenings with players from League Divisions 7 to 9 standard.
It has over 550 children divided into 10 sections playing on Friday evenings and on Saturdays from 9.00 – 6.00 with 30 league teams playing in the Ulster Juvenile Leagues.
The three adult sections have 13 teams in the leagues with entries also in the All-Ireland Cup competitions. The Senior section has many current Irish International players, all of the Northern Commonwealth Games team and many promising junior players many of whom have played for Ireland.
Each year Club Championships are held for most of the sections of the Club with preliminary rounds during the season and about fifty finals on a Saturday at the end of the season – late March or early April depending on when Easter falls.
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The club was formed in 1932 by the members of Lisburn Cricket Club
Lisburn Cricket Club
Lisburn Cricket Club is a cricket club in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, playing in the NCU Premier League.Established in 1836, the club is the oldest in Northern Ireland. It is also one of the most successful, having won the league title eleven times and the Senior Cup on nine occasions...
to keep their members together during the winter months. It played in the British Legion Hall until the late 1950s and then moved to the Black Hall on the Hillhall Road. It incorporates Alpha Badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
Club, Lisburn Racquets Squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
Club & Hilden Tennis Club.
In the 1960s it fund raised with the members of Hilden Tennis Club, with whom it had many members in common and with grant aid from the Department of Education it built the first stage of the current club. Play started here in November 1971.
A number of extensions have been added over the years – the major one being the addition of a 12 court badminton hall in 1996 with the help of Lottery Funding
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
. This hall is also used by ten schools during the day and for netball and football – one of its current users being the Manchester United F.C. Academy.
Alpha is the largest badminton club in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and over the last 15 years has won the All-Ireland Senior Cup 10 times. In doing so it qualified to represent Ireland in the Europe Cup – a competition for the champion club teams of all the European countries.
Alpha is divided into a number of sections decided mainly by the standard of player and partly by age. The Senior Club plays on Tuesday evenings with players of approximately League Division 1 standard. The Minor Club plays on Thursday evenings with players ranging from League Division 2 to Division 6 standard. The Tyros Club plays on Wednesday evenings with players from League Divisions 7 to 9 standard.
It has over 550 children divided into 10 sections playing on Friday evenings and on Saturdays from 9.00 – 6.00 with 30 league teams playing in the Ulster Juvenile Leagues.
The three adult sections have 13 teams in the leagues with entries also in the All-Ireland Cup competitions. The Senior section has many current Irish International players, all of the Northern Commonwealth Games team and many promising junior players many of whom have played for Ireland.
Each year Club Championships are held for most of the sections of the Club with preliminary rounds during the season and about fifty finals on a Saturday at the end of the season – late March or early April depending on when Easter falls.