Cope Cup - Return of the QuasiCanadian

Three weeks since Duncan Shadie returned from the UK, ultimately unsuccessful in his bid to wrest the World Championship from the grasps of Toby Short, the handminton ether has been aflame. The focus of the East Sydney Elite has shifted towards the Cope Cup, The trophy to be awarded to the best and most consistent handminton club in Australia of the 2010-11 season. Enthusiasm is palpable.Another First for the WHA, the Cope Cup, named for the Cope family and their huge contributions to the game, will be the first team championship awarded in handminton. Having played a regular season since November 2010, seven clubs vied for top spot. With the regular season ending, Kings Cross taking out the Minor Premiership and the other clubs finishing in the following order:

The Cope Cup, designed and constructed
 by famous central coast artist,  Greg Cope.

1. Kings Cross Royals
2. Bondi Bluerings
3. Edgecliff Handminton Club
4. Clovelly Gropers
5. Greater Western Wasps
6. Waverley Cocktails & Dreams
7. South Bondi All-Whites


Following a system similar to the NRL's McIntyre, Kings Cross would go automatically into the second round with the remaining clubs playing out the following fixtures;


BondiBluerings (2nd) V SBAll-Whites (7th)
EdgecliffHC (3rd) V WaverleyC's&D's (6th) 
CloGropers (4th) V GWWasps (5th) 



                                                                                     The opening fixture of the playoff series proved the biggest upset so far of round 1 where Ben Spurrier of the All-Whites, having lost only the previous week to the same man, defeated his longtime foe, Cain Price. A huge boost to the All-Whites at a time of uncertainty for fans of the Leeds inspired club. A slightly more predictable result in game two with C's&D's Max Cope going down to Duncan Shadie of the fighting mice of Edgecliff. 

(from left to right)John Leary Clovelly Gropers &
 Jaymee Hejduk Greater Western Wasps

Max however gave Duncan a big scare in the opening game, proving to many that Cope's game is well and truly on the rise. The case would be much the same in the third game with cop-to-be, gym-junkie, emo-haired Jaymee Hejduk almost recording a first win over Champion, John Leary since he won the sash. 
However the Champion Groper overcame the Wasp to ensure normality was resumed. Handminton Australia hopes the cup to be awarded some time in late October or early November but it is yet to be seen how long fixtures will take to be played out.

         The palpable enthusiasm coursing through the veins of the Sydney Elite encountered a real ripple last week when rumours were confirmed that HE has returned. Early murmurings have been confirmed that indeed it is true.

Alex "Subtlecock" Voitin is back in the country after his Canadian sojourn and is understood to be raring to go. One of the most feared competitors in the early days of Australian handminton so many questions have been raised since his return. Has he lost any of that ruthless competiveness? How long will he have to wait to get a title shot? when will he return to the court? while these questions are yet to be answered surely one is obvious. This must be the man to end Ice Cold Courtney Jones' undefeated streak in 2011.

As mentioned earlier the future of the South Bondi All-Whites club is in jeopardy as it looks like team captain and founder Ben Spurrier will soon leave antipodean shores. What will happen to the club and colours is yet to be seen though it seems unlikely that the All-Whites will compete in the East Sydney Elite in 2012. Updates when known.

Finally a huge thank you to the the greatest radio station in the Shire, 2SSR and in particular, James Raxworthy of Raximum Capacity for a massive shout out to the boys on the 21st. Hoping to get the shout out onto www.handminton.com soon, letting us hope that this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the two massive brands that are the WHA and 2SSR. Go like Rax----> Raximum Capacity on FB