CARLTON have come to the aid of Scotland's junior badminton scene by

backing the highly successfull Come And Try coaching sessions at the

Scottish Open to be held at the Kelvin Hall from November 22-26.

The tournament has no major sponsor to stump up the $15,000 prize

money needed to keep the event on the IBF Grand Prix circuit.

However Anne Smillie, Chief Executive of the SBU, revealed that

several deals are now in the pipeline.

The Come and Try sessions, which now also qualify for an award under

the Sportsmatch scheme, provide youngsters with top coaching and the

chance to watch badminton's big names on court.

There has already been a record entry from 19 countries for the

Scottish Open.

Meanwhile Scottish champions Anne Gibson and Bruce Flockhart have been

named as top seeds for this weekend's Scottish Invitation Singles at the

Cockburn Centre in Glasgow.