Walid B.

Usop

History of Badminton in Australia

In Australia, badminton was first played as early as 1874 with the first key competitive
clubs established in the 1900’s and from then it became a popular pastime for church
groups which played the game in church halls. The Australian Badminton Association
was formed in 1935, one year after the formation of the International Badminton
Federation. Australia has had 31 badminton olympians.

Badminton became an Olympic sport at Barcelona in 1992, after being a demonstration

sport at Munich in 1972. Initially men’s and women’s singles and doubles were
introduced. At Atlanta in 1996, a mixed doubles event was included.

Anna Lao and Rhonda Cator were Australia’s first badminton representatives at the
Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. Lao made it through to the quarter-finals in the
women’s singles and, with Cator, finished in the same position in the women’s doubles.
Australia has been represented at each Games since Barcelona.

At the London 2012 Olympics, Australia's Renugabylan and Leanne Choo's women's
doubles matched the results of Laos and Kater by losing in the quarter-finals to Canada.
Four years later in Rio a team of five Aussie athletes all faced much higher challengers,
but sadly they were all knocked out in qualifying. At the Olympics, Asian countries
China, Indonesia and South Korea dominated the badminton medal. Susi Susanti
became Indonesia's first medalist 40 years after Indonesia entered the tournament by
winning the women's singles in Barcelona. Hours after Susanti's victory, Alan
Budikusma won Indonesia's second gold in the men's badminton singles.

Badminton was first included at the Commonwealth Games in 1966 held in Kingston,
Jamaica. Since that time 81 Australians have represented Australia at the
Commonwealth Games.

Australia has successfully brought home 11 medals from the Commonwealth Games,
the first medal coming as part of the teams event at the 1982 Games in Brisbane,
Australia, with the home team securing the Bronze Medal. The following games held in
Edinburgh, Scotland in 1986 saw Australia take a gold in the Mixed Doubles (M.
Scandolera/A. Tuckey), a silver in the Men’s Singles (S. Yu) and backing up their
performance form the previous games with a bronze in the mixed teams event.

The success continued in the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia,
with Lisa Campbell winning a gold in the Women’s Singles, Peter Blackburn and Mark
Nichols winning the bronze in the Men’s Doubles, Peter Blackburn and Rhonda Cator
winning a bronze in the mixed doubles and finally a bronze for Australia in the team
event. Peter Blackburn and Rhonda Cator went on to win the bronze again at the 1998
games in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia and the Women’s team winning the bronze medal. In
Dehli, India 2010 the Women’s Doubles pairing of Kate Wilson-Smith, and Rosie (He
Tian) Tang, won the bronze medal, downing the English pair of Wallwork/White.

Cliff Cutt Memorial Trophy

The Cliff Cutt Memorial Trophy is awarded at the end of each Clendinnen Carnival. This
trophy is awarded to the player on a country / territory team that has the highest
standards of athleticism, personality, playing behavior, playing ability and appearance
throughout the tournament.

The Ede Clendinnen team event is Australia's senior event. It usually takes place in late
August / early September each year and has a maximum of eight country / territory
teams. This interstate team competition is followed by an individual tournament. It has
an important history. Reginald Ede Clendinnen, with the support of the Victorians Harold
Wray and Alf Lennard, decided to start an official interstate series in 1935, the year the
Australian Badminton Association was founded (there had previously been a number of
interstate competitions from 1929 to 1934). Clendinnen donated the sign for the team
competition, in which the three states of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia
participated.

The competition lasted to this day with only a short break between 1940 and 1946.
When the original sign was completely filled in with the names of the winners, H.E. Roy
Ward donated a second sign that immortalized the name "Clendinnen". The original
coat of arms hangs on the headquarters of the Western Australian Badminton
Association. Clendinnen was an important figure in Australian badminton. Born in New
Zealand, he was President of Badminton Tasmania in 1930 and 1931 and became a life
member of the Badminton Association of Tasmania in 1933. Clendinnen was also the
founding president of the Australian Badminton Association in 1935.

A "Test" event for Under-15 teams was held in 2004 in Kilsyth, to introduce promising
young people into the festive atmosphere and help them develop the necessary skills
and confidence to compete in elite events. Six teams including Victoria 1 & 2,
Queensland Lions, Thailand RSL, SEBA Scorpions and MDBA RSL have proven the
value of this initiative and now have many enthusiastic supporters. The first officially
recognized National Under-15 Carnival was held in 2005 in Geelong, Victoria, where 12
participating teams, Ballarat/Bendigo, Geelong Region, Mid-Gippsland, New South
Wales, North West Tasmania, Pres President Team, Queensland, Sports School
Singapore, South Sharks Tasmania, Victoria 1 & 2 and Western Suburbs. The proposal
to hold the Under-15 Festival was born in the late 1970s, where, with the support and
direction of the Victorian Youth Commission, VJB Minister Val Nesbitt put an end to all
States with the proposal. First for the Under 15 Festival. But before the event could take
place and due to national revision at the "even" age levels, it became "U16" and thus
"converted" to the first festival of "U16 June Bevan" for a few years until back at 'odd.
'age level became 'U17 June Bevan' (who later converted the original 'U18 CP Maddern
Festival' to Un19s). The idea of the Under 15 fell asleep until 2003 when once again,
with the support of the Vic Junior Badminton Committee, MDBA and RSL, Val was able
to stimulate interest in the Under 15 Carnival and with the approval of Bad Badminton
Australia to host a 'test event', the wheel went full circle. The tournament is named after
Val Nesbitt, a passionate badminton worker who began "volunteering" at the age of 17
when she joined the Price Park Badminton Club of Wales in Thornbury Victoria, where
she was secretary for 5 years. At the end of each Clendinnen Festival, the Cliff Cutt
Memorial trophy is presented. This trophy is awarded to a state / territorial team player
who demonstrates the highest standards of sportsmanship, character, behavior on the
pitch, athletic prowess and appearance throughout the tournament.

Australia has been flourishing up to this date in the world of Badminton.