The Jersey Boys take padel crown as Gloucestershire men ponder missed opportunities

by Julian Wellings | 26 June 2024 | adults, competition, padel

County ladies show resilience and spirit while it’s a mixed bag for mixed pairs.

Al Morgan and Heather Sheridan report on the UK Padel 40+ County Championships.

A slow start against Buckinghamshire saw satisfactory, if unconvincing, wins for both men’s pairs. Saturday evening’s match saw a comprehensive beat down of Al Morgan and partner Jesus Padillo-Ropero administered by ten-year occupant of the World Padel Tour top ten and now Cheshire resident Leo Padovani of Argentina.

Ian Bloomfield and his partner Kingsley Harris summoned a heroic win at second pair to send the tie into a ten-point shootout, which was won by Al and Kings 15-13 following an epic five-match point defence by the former top ten player and partner/coach to padel legend Juan Martin Diaz.

Buoyed by their heroic triumph and warm thanks from the other teams for eliminating Manchester’s newest padel legend, the Gloucestershire team went on to demolish Oxfordshire and progress to Sunday’s semi-final against the Channel Islands.

A disappointing three-set loss for Al and Jesus and an uncharacteristically poor performance from recent team GB representative Kingsley saw Glos succumb to the islanders. The boys from Jersey went on to defeat Yorkshire in the final. They were crowned champions, leaving the Gloucestershire men to ponder their missed opportunities as well as their average age of 51!

In the women’s pairs, club members Marie Bell and Annalie Poccard, and Sally Bloomfield and Sally Pendry found themselves in a tough group that included Surrey and Yorkshire, the eventual finalists. Team Gloucestershire put up a good fight in their opening match against Cheshire on Saturday and even more so in very difficult back-to-back matches against Surrey and then Yorkshire on Sunday morning.

With Marie and Annalie just failing to get over the line in the Surrey match, losing a thrilling final set tie-break 11-13, the team were not able to record a win. But after only a short break, all four dug deep, showing resilience and spirit to end the weekend on a high note with a strong 2-0 victory over South Wales.

In the mixed pairs, club members Heather Sheridan and Rob Elvidge, and Sally Bloomfield and Seb Poccard won their opening group match against Somerset 2-0 but then lost 0-2 to Surrey, the eventual championship runners-up, who featured the #1 ranked 40+ player, Andrew Warren.