England swept the board in both the men’s and ladies’ events at last weekend’s Four Nations Super Seniors Padel Championships at We Are Padel Derby.
The inaugural event saw over-50, 55 and 60 categories in the men’s event and over-45, 50 and 55 in the ladies’ tournament. England went unbeaten the entire weekend, with Ireland a highly creditable second after dispatching Scotland and Wales.
The Welsh ladies salvaged some pride for the principality after beating the Scots and losing narrowly 2-1 to the Irish to push the wooden spoon towards Caledonia. However Scotland’s men managed to avoid double ignominy as a 3-0 whacking of the Welsh meant the seniors ‘Boyos’ were left at the bottom of the table.
But for tournament director Tim Edwards the success of the tournament was hallmarked in the camaraderie, good sportsmanship and banter that brought padelers from across the UK and Ireland together wearing their national shirts with pride.
He said: “What the Four Nations certainly did was produce a fantastic atmosphere and an event which was played in such good spirit that there was not even one disputed call. I don’t think that would be the case in many other sports!
“It was massively positive that people were representing their country at padel. That is pretty special really. It was also fantastic that the ladies played at the same event at the same time as the men. That added to the atmosphere without doubt.
“It made a lot of people aware that there are fantastic facilities like We Are Padel Derby, as there were some from Scotland and Ireland who had only perhaps seen a one or two-court centre before.
“But we had 11 courts jumping with people and a fantastic bar area. It was just great to see how seriously the players took the sport and how much they were prepared to put in.”
There was also a surprising spectator boost that only served to heighten the adrenaline rush at ‘WAP’ Derby. Edwards revealed: “I was worried about it being a match day at Derby County next door but their supporters flooded the bar and between 1pm and 3pm hundreds of people got really involved.
“Our players competed in front of all these extra and vociferous people. They loved it and that really was an unexpected bonus.”
While England were unbeaten in both events, dropping only two rubbers in total in the men’s event to Scotland and Ireland, Edwards was adamant that every match was a competitive encounter: “I think it was emphatic for England but I feel that also reflected how many courts England has compared to the other countries.
“That is also the case in the bigger international picture with Sweden now having thousands of courts and producing so many players. But there was no gulf in play and not one easy match.
“I didn’t want countries to come to Derby and experience a mismatch and that was just not the case. The Welsh ladies didn’t get the wooden spoon and that is a huge result for them.
Edwards asked Scottish captain John Byrne to present the ‘Calcutta Cup’ trophy to his England counterpart Peter Vann. ““That was great fun. I don’t think they did that at Twickenham!” he chuckled.
The event confirmed We Are Padel Derby as the go-to venue for major padel events in the UK, and Edwards revealed that negotiations for a repeat in 12-months’ time are already ongoing.
He said: “We could not have had a better venue for the first Four Nations. Also WAP wanted us to play with their membership and that went down very well with everyone. The fact we could give back by playing with their members worked a treat, so we very much hope to go back for next year’s event.”
