AS we enter a new year, the Jersey Badminton Association is readying celebrations for its centenary.
Founded in 1924, the club has enjoyed much success, from Island Games medals to England national representatives Maria Agathangelou and Elizabeth Cann.
At the heart of the Jersey Badminton’s recent triumphs is club manager Rob Armstrong, who has been involved with the association as a player, coach and official for over 25 years.
“My love affair with badminton was there from a very young age,” said Armstrong.
“My parents were heavily involved in the club when I was a child and I first started playing when I was six.
“Since then the sport has held a very special place in my life.”
Armstrong, who works in the PE department at d’Auvergne School as well as Jersey Sport, serves as the face of theclub for parents as well as offering oversight on training sessions.
He added: “In recent years we have seen a decline in participation numbers, especially in our junior set-up through the lockdown period, but those numbers are on the rise again which we’re pleased about.
“We have seen our juniors have excellent success both on- and off-Island with the likes of young Rory Le Masurier involved in competitions in England, while achieving superb results.
“As an Island club, we have incredible opportunities to play in some massive events like the Island and Commonwealth Games, which we have historically performed very well in.
“With this being our centenary year, we want to celebrate by spreading the word of our great sport and give Islanders the chance to experience it. We have an outstanding standalone facility in Gilson Hall
and we want to get as many people into our club’s family as possible.”
The New Gilson Hall, situated behind d’Auvergne School, was opened in 1995 and is a state-of-the-art facility, housing five badminton courts.
The venue has played host to the sport in the Island Games twice, most recently in 2015, where Jersey won gold in both the team event and the men’s singles, with a further bronze in the men’s doubles.
“We have lots of plans for 2024 to give our members more training, tournaments and access in general,” the club manager continued.
“We are in contact with schools about starting a school league which we feel will be a great gateway to get more juniors involved.
“Myself, along with other committee members, president Steve Le Roy, junior coordinator Alison Le Masurier and one of our leading coaching staff members Kim Jespersen, have been working hard to ensure we can provide the best events and experience for our players and members as possible.
“Badminton is such a great sport with a great foundation of sportsmanship, competition and fun for people of all ages.
“It’s a game that is very accessible, something we are really keen to emphasise. We run group sessions on a ‘pay and play’ basis for older players, which you can find more about by contacting us directly.
“We encourage people of any age and ability to come and have a go.”
The sport, which boasts of being statistically the fastest racquet sport in the world, combines precision and timing with agility and footwork.
The JBA offer junior training sessions across all age groups from six to 18 years old throughout the week, including a ‘pay and play’ session on Sunday mornings between 10-11.30am for all junior ages.
Court hire is accessible to anyone and Armstrong advised those looking for information about training sessions to visit any of Jersey Badminton Association’s social media platforms, or email him directly at jbamembership@runbox.com, or Steve Le Roy at jbapresident@runbox.com.
