Edinburgh’s Martin Campbell emerged victorious in two of his three events at the Bank of Scotland U15 & U19 Championships held at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Sports Centre today, Sunday 5 October.

The tournament attracted a bumper entry, with 150 of Scotland’s top junior players competing at the first Bank of Scotland Championships of the new season. But it was Campbell who stole the show, winning two titles and reaching the final of a third, an achievement which will no doubt give him confidence as he prepares to travel to India next week to represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Youth Games.

In his first final of the day, Campbell defeated Troon’s Angus Gilmour, 21/19 21/10 to take the U19 boy’s singles crown. The pair then teamed up to take on Longniddry’s Paul van Rietvelde and Craig Pollock in the doubles. All four players travel to India next week to compete in the Commonwealth Youth Games and, as would be expected from players of such calibre, the final did not disappoint, with Campbell & Gilmour eventually triumphing 21/14 21/16.

But Campbell couldn’t make it a clean sweep, as he and Catriona Lawlor (Cumbernauld) were narrowly beaten in the final of the mixed 21/18 13/21 21/15 by van Rietvelde and Gillian Sloan (Whitecraigs).

In the U19 girl’s singles, top seed Kirsty Gilmour (Bothwell) continued her impressive run of form, beating new doubles partner Kirsten Geals in the final 21/10 21/11. The pair then teamed up to play Lawlor and Mauchline’s Kaity Hall in the final of the girls doubles, winning 21/13 17/21 21/16 – a fantastic achievement for a pair that were unseeded in the tournament.

At U15 level, the boys singles attracted a massive entry of 49 players and in a thrilling final that went to three ends, Dingwall’s Stewart Ferns came through to win, toppling top seed Josh Neil (Prestwick) 19/21 21/18 21/15.

And there was another triumph to come for Ferns in the boy’s doubles, as he teamed up with Jordan Gilvear (Falkirk) to defeat Adam Hall (Mauchline) and Calvin Percival ( Greenock) 17/21 21/14 21/12 in the final. In recognition of his success, Ferns was also presented with the Moira Skene Trophy, given to the player who produced the most meritorious performance during the tournament.

In the girl’s singles, Erskine’s Rebekka Findlay emerged victorious, beating Troon’s Caitlin Gilmour, younger brother of Angus, 21/13 21/10. But Findlay couldn’t quite achieve a second title as she and partner Heather Campbell ( Glasgow) lost out to Haddington duo Hannah Laing and Megan Richardson 21/18 18/21 21/17 in the final of the girl’s doubles.

In the U15 mixed doubles, Josh Neil and Heather Campbell took the title winning a marathon match 19-21 21-18 21-11 against Adam Hall and Caitlin Gilmour. And there was also more recognition to come for Neil as he was presented with the David Gellatly Award, given to players under 21 years of age who have exhibited the best attitude towards opponents and officials over the course of a season.

Anne Smillie, Chief Executive of BADMINTONscotland, said “This is the first Bank of Scotland Championships of the new season and it offered a great chance to see some of the emerging talent in Scotland. My congratulations to all the winners today, and I hope to see some of the older players trying for a place in the Bank of Scotland International Championships at Glasgow’s Kelvin Hall in November.”

Karen Tighe, Deputy Head of Sponsorship for Bank of Scotland, said "Congratulations to all the winners from the Bank of Scotland Junior Championships.  It was a fantastic weekend of competition and the standard was very impressive from all competitors.  Bank of Scotland's support for Badminton Scotland ensures that all these young players have the opportunity to continue their development and compete in age-group championships year after year.  Judging by the standard of play this weekend, the future for Badminton in Scotland could be very bright."

A full set of results can be found here

For further information contact BADMINTONscotland on 0141 445 1218 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Pictures courtesy of John Peters at Borderpics.co.uk