Life Members

Life Membership is awarded to association members who have rendered long and meritorious service to the club
and/or who have made a substantial mark on the sport of badminton in Tasmania.

 

Robert Brockman Life Membership awarded 2017 Link to Robert’s bio	Alan Bottomley Life Membership awarded 2017 Link to Alan’s bio
Matthew Gillie Life Membership awarded 2015 Link to Matt’s bio	Greg Meaghan Life Membership awarded 2015 Link to Greg’s bio	John Henderson Life Membership awarded 2014 Link to John’s bio	Rose Meaghan Life Membership awarded 2012 Link to Rose’s bio
Max Wood Life Membership awarded 2012 Link to Max’s bio	Bob Grundy Life Membership awarded 2010 Link to Bob’s bio	Brian Cooper Life Membership awarded 2006 Link to Brian’s bio	Terry Chapman Life Membership awarded 2001 Link to Terry’s bio
Gary Davy Life Membership awarded 1995 Link to Gary’s bio	Phil Cooper Life Membership awarded 1992	Doug Wylie Life Membership awarded 1988 Link to Doug’s bio	Barbara Wesley OAM Life Membership awarded 1980 Link to Barbara’s bio
Frank Laird Life Membership awarded 1965	Harry Thompson OAM Life Membership awarded 1964 Link to Harry’s bio	Robert Turnbull Life Membership awarded	George Jarvis Life Membership awarded
Bernie Seidel Life Membership awarded	Rex Triffitt Life Membership awarded 1951	Eric Richman Life Membership awarded

Life Members board displayed at the H Thompson Badminton Centre:

Robert Brockman
Life Membership awarded November 2017

 

 

 

Alan Bottomley
Life Membership awarded September 2017

 

Alan started playing badminton in the South Hobart centre in 1963, the same year that the centre was opened.  He says that he has played in the hall in every year since, making a total of 55 years – so far.!

In his early years Alan played for the Tasmanian University Badminton Club (TUBC) which was affiliated with the STBA and contributed teams in most divisions.
In 1968 Alan was made an Honorary Member of the TUBC. He was also President of that club for 4 years.
In 1974 Alan captained a Tasmanian University team which played in an “IV” competition in Adelaide.

From 1987 to 1992 Alan assisted Warren Walker (and others) with the running of the Saturday Juniors, (mainly designing score sheets and doing the team photos).

From 1990 to 2015 (25 years) Alan assisted with the running and organising of the Hobart Veterans carnivals. For the first 10 years of that period Alan, along with Warren Walker, was one of the main organisers, and later he contributed to the computer side of the organising. 

Alan has had 2 periods of service on the STBA Committee; one from 1990 to 1993 and the second one from 2011 to the present (2017).
During the first period he was STBA Assistant Secretary and also a delegate to the Tasmanian Badminton Association, attending many meetings in Launceston usually alongside Harry Thompson and/or Barbara Wesley.

 

 

 

Matthew Gillie
Life Membership awarded 2015

 

Player Local

For a period of two years, during temporary periods of absence by President Bob Grundy, Matt chaired the meetings of the Committee of Management.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg Meaghan
Life Membership awarded 2015

 

Greg Meaghan has provided distinguished service to the STBA for many years as a player, coach and as an administrator.

 Greg started playing in STBA rosters over thirty years ago and apart from a recent period of illness, has played continuously at local and intra-state tournaments.

 For more than 10 years Greg was an administrator on the STBA Committee, helping to run Divisional rosters in Divisions 1 and 2.

 In 1981 Greg (along with Doug Trenham) started the Saturday Junior roster.
Later Warren Walker took over from Doug Trenham and assisted Greg to run this roster for many years. This roster produced many State and Open Graded players.

 Greg has also qualified as a coach and has been working in this capacity at local level and State levels for over 10 years.

 Greg has also assisted in the running of several Australian Open and Australian Junior Championships when the carnivals have been held in Hobart.

 

 

John Henderson
Life Membership awarded 2014

 

John first became associated with the STBA in 1990 when his eldest son started playing badminton in the high-school roster and the Saturday afternoon roster.
His other 2 sons quickly followed playing in the Saturday afternoon roster. This saw John start helping out with the afternoon groups. Then, when his boys started playing night time roster, he decided to nominate as a player himself.

During his own teenage years he had played badminton at the Moonah Badminton Centre under the watchful eye of Bob Turnbull (his cousin) one of the early stalwarts of badminton in southern Tasmania.

 

 

 

 

Rose Meaghan
Life Membership awarded 2012

 

For over 23 years Rose Meaghan has been involved in badminton in the STBA.  This involvement has included playing in the night roster, the Hobart Ladies Badminton (HLBA) roster, divisional championships, and all the Tasmanian Badminton Association (TBA) sanctioned tournaments around the State.

 However, Rose’s most significant contribution to the STBA has arguably been her role as Secretary;  a total of 19 years up to the date of this award (2012).

 After serving only two years on the STBA Committee, Rose was elected Secretary in 1993.  She has held that position continuously ever since, except for one year (2010).

 As Secretary, Rose has performed various roles such as Event Director for significant local, State (TBA sanctioned) and National tournaments.  These include the City of Hobart, the STBA Invitational and the STBA Divisional championships.  Such tournaments require a great deal of skill and expertise to run as smoothly as they do.

 Rose also coordinates the necessary processes to organise the regular night rosters, including publishing of teams, rosters, pennants, certificates and trophies as required for presentation to winners of rosters and tournaments.

 Rose has also been involved in assisting with running the School and College rosters with their finals and annual championships over many years.

 Rose also serves as the Public Officer of the Association.  This involves liaison with outside organisations, companies and institutions and also often involves large amounts of time and effort.

 In the past, Rose has also been a member of the HLBA Committee and served as its President.

In September 2015 Rose was awarded a Service Diploma from Badminton Australia.

Max Wood
Life Membership awarded 2012

Max has been awarded a Life Membership of the STBA in recognition of his long and distinguished career spanning over 60 years in the sport of badminton (some of those years being in Victoria) at both local, state and national levels.

Max joined the STBA in 1990.   Initially he started coaching both junior and senior level players at the Badminton Centre – a practice he continued for several years.  On many occasions too, Max acted as a Referee on roster nights.

 He was elected as a member of the STBA Committee in 1994 and served until 2009, a total of 16 years!  Also he was a member of the Maintenance Committee for 10 years.  When the four new courts were added in 1993, Max painted the walls green.

 Max acted as the STBA’s representative on the Tasmanian Badminton Association’s (TBA) Committee for a number of years.  He later became the STBA representative on the TBA Committee for selecting the State Senior and Junior Teams.  Also at the State level, Max joined the TBA Coaches Committee (TBCC) ultimately becoming its Chairperson.  As late as 2012 Max retained an association with the TBCC.

For many years Max has devoted many hours to coaching and conducted coaching clinics.  Many current players will remember his extensive coaching of the Saturday afternoon junior players (for beginners up to Year 12).  But his efforts have also extended to conducting coaching clinics in country areas such as Cygnet, Taranna and Deloraine.  Level 1A coaching clinics were also offered to North West players on behalf of the STBA, to enable players to become coaches themselves.

 Max’s skills have been extended to a number of community organisations.  For example Max coached Refugees at the Pontville Centre, provided coaching to disabled players at Cosmos Recreation Services, and coached Elizabeth College students for three years and Cosgrove High students for two years.

 Nationally, Max received a “Sport Achievement Award” awarded by the Australian Government and the “Award of Merit” from Badminton Australia.

 In 2010 Max was elected a Patron of the STBA and subsequently retired from badminton on medical grounds.

Robert (Bob) Grundy
Life Membership awarded 2010

 

Bob Grundy is a person who has made a major commitment to the association both as a player and as an administrator.

 Bob was elected as Vice President in 1991 and remained in that position until 1994 when he was elected President.  Bob continued as President until 2002 and was then Vice President again until 2008 – a total of 17 years on the Executive Committee!
During that time he also served as President of the Tasmanian Badminton Association (TBA) for three periods on rotation with our North and North West counterparts.

 During Bob’s time as President, there was fierce competition from other sporting clubs and organisations to grab attention and appeal to our members to participate in their activities.  Against this background, Bob successfully campaigned for an extension to the freehold lease of the badminton centre for a further 21 years, thus securing the future of the STBA.  Bob also led the push to acquire the land to the south of the centre for the building of four new courts after gaining the necessary approvals.

There was a strong building maintenance program implemented with new safety signs, fire fighting systems, extra lights and a new public address system.  Land opposite the centre was reassigned as a sealed carpark for members of the association as well as the public.

In addition, Bob was often at the centre, fixing broken fixtures, etc, with little recognition.

 Bob worked tirelessly to restructure the badminton associations of Tasmania especially the TBA constitution with a view to having one consolidated organisation that could be affiliated with the National Association, representing one voice for all badminton players in Tasmania.  Alas, the fruits of Bob’s efforts are yet to be realized!

Bob also helped to secure a Government grant to have a junior development officer appointed for the STBA.

Bob has tirelessly supported and mentored STBA players at tournaments usually turning up whether or not a family member was playing.  As a player Bob was always ready to assist junior players who were climbing the badminton ladder, without sounding like their “old man”.

So Bob has been involved at all levels of badminton, from administration, negotiator, president, player in roster and veterans tournaments and keeping a watchful eye on the children’s roster, the school roster and even the daytime ladies roster!!

In September 2015 Bob received a Conspicuous Service Award from Badminton Australia.

Brian Cooper
Life Membership awarded 2006

 

Brian Cooper’s dedication to the sport of badminton started when he began playing with his family at 14 years of age with the St Georges Club, and has continued throughout his life.  He was a member of St Georges teams that won many premierships including A Grade wins with Glen Doran, Jane Forrest and Jason Williams.

 Brian won his First Tasmanian Singles title in 1983, defeating Ken Turner 15/10, 15/9.  He then went on to win the national Singles title in Melbourne in 1960, and the Mixed Doubles title with his sister, Shirley, (Courtney) in the Under 19 National Carnival.

 In 1989 Brian won gold as a member of an Australian Masters team.  In 2002 he won Silver at the World Masters teams event and won a gold medal in the mens doubles event.  In 1989 he also received the Australian Government Sport and Achievement Award in recognition of his services to badminton.

 Apart from a short time playing with the AYC organisation, he has played and coached with the STBA over many years.  His dedication to coaching in the Centre over a thirty year period is well known.  As well, he has been a friend and mentor to many players, supporting them and encouraging them to perform at their best.  Brian has coached all levels of players from A grade to those just wanting to improve their game, children and adults, giving each of them encouragement and confidence.

From 1989 to 1998 he was coach of the Tasmanian Senior team on 7 occasions.

Badminton remains a major part of Brian’s life and he is a dedicated member of the STBA, always willing to assist if required, still attending tournaments and championships.

Terry Chapman
Life Membership awarded 2001

 

Terry Chapman was a member of the STBA for more than 20 years from around 1980 onwards and was a tireless worker for the association, active in many roles.

In 1982 Terry was a badminton Court Official at the Commonwealth Games, held in Brisbane.

 During 1991 and 1992 Terry organised the groundwork necessary to obtain the space for the extra four courts (Nos 9, 10, 11 and 12) at the centre.  This included the task of allaying the objections lodged by the neighbourhood during the process of obtaining approval.

The new courts were opened for play on 4 June 1993.

 Terry was the organiser of the Southern Secondary Schools roster for more than 20 years and the College roster for approximately 5 years.

 Terry was a prominent Committee member for many years and held various positions such as President, Vice President, Treasurer and general committee member. He was either President or Vice President for a total of 8 years.

As a player and competitor Terry has represented the STBA as Captain and/or Manager of various graded triangular teams and competed for many years in the STBA roster, championships and TBA sanctioned tournaments.

Gary Davy
Life Membership awarded 1995  

 

Gary joined the STBA Committee in 1987 and became part of the Organising committee for the first Australian Masters Games, (held in Hobart from 28 November to 12 December 1987).

In 1988 Gary took on the job of STBA Treasurer where he rendered sterling service until 1995 (8 years). He was also Treasurer for the Southern High Schools Roster for 8 years.

Gary was also involved with organising the Saturday Junior roster for a period of 8 years.

In addition Gary conducted Level O Coaching courses for teachers and parents of High School students.

He also helped organise the Tasmanian Masters s Games which had its inaurguration in 1989.

Gary was the STBA Representative on the Australian Olympic Committee and also our representative on the Commonwealth Games Council.

Garry started playing badminton from the age of about 17.

Phil Cooper
Life Membership awarded 1992

 

Douglas John Wylie (Born 27 July 1938)
Life Membership awarded 1988

 

Doug Wylie is perhaps the most legendary member of the STBA to have played badminton in Tasmania.

He dominated the sport in Hobart, and indeed in Tasmania, for more than 2 decades from 1957 to 1978. During this period he won a very large number of titles. In the STBA Invitational Tournaments alone he won 19 Mens Singles titles, 17 Mens Doubles titles, and 8 Mixed Doubles titles; a feat not equalled before or since!
In the Tasmanian Championships he was victorious 8 times in Mens Singles, 10 times in Mens Doubles, and 6 times in Mixed Doubles.

Doug was a member of the State Senior team for 18 years between 1958 and 1980 and captained the state side for 12 senior carnivals (the Clendinnen Shield). He was coach of the senior team in 1982.

Doug represented Tasmania against South Africa in 1963 and against New Zealand in 1969 and 1973.  He also represented Australia against New Zealand in 1971 when Australia retained the Whyte Trophy.

He represented the STBA in the intrastate series (the Triangulars) from 1958 to 1983 and captained the team from 1960 to 1983.

He won the Tasmanian Sports Award for services to badminton in 1988

Doug served on the STBA Committee from 1964 to 1990, and as President from 1983 to 1990.
He was also President of the Tasmanian Badminton Association in 1984 and 1987.

Doug was elected a Life Member in 1988.

 

 

 

Barbara Wesley OAM
Life Membership awarded 1980

 

Barbara Wesley was a stalwart supporter of the Southern Tasmanian Badminton Association for more than 17 years leading up to her award of life membership in 1980 and she continued to serve the association as either secretary or treasurer for another 8 years after her award and then many more years in other roles such as coaching and administration. She served on various committees and held many roles at various times, including event director, manager, coach, umpire, selector, secretary, treasurer and statistician. In 1988 she was honoured with another life membership, this time with the State badminton association (the TBA).   In that same year she was also presented with a Service to Sport award from  the Sportman’s Association of Australia.

Barbara said that her most memorable event was being Event Director for the badminton section of the First Australian Masters Games (December 1987) and competing in those games where she won a  gold medal in the doubles (with Freda Lees) and a bronze medal in the mixed doubles (with Harry Thompson) in the Over 55 age group. (Click the photo to the left to see a larger image of the Over 55 group).

In 1995 Barbara received a Conspicuous Service Award from Badminton Australia, and then in the year 2000 she also received an Australian Sports Medal . (The year 2000 was the only year that the Australian Sports medals were awarded). In 1998 Barbara was further honoured with a City of Glenorchy Citizen Award.

In 2002 Barbara was recognised with the very high honour of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for Service to Sport administration in Tasmania, particularly to badminton. (Click the image to the left to enlarge). In 2004 Barbara received an Australian Government Sport Achievement Award.

The image to the left is a photo of the pocket from Barbara’s State jacket. It shows her TBA Life Member badge, her STBA Life Member badge and her City of Glenorchy Citizen Award badge as well as a list of her years as Secretary of the TBA embroidered along the bottom. (Click the image to enlarge). Barbara continues to maintain her interest in the STBA  having attended nearly every AGM up to the present (2016), and she is currently a joint Patron of the STBA (along with Max Wood), and also Patron of the TBA. Barbara Wesley retired from badminton in Tasmania in 2010, after serving  almost 50 years in the administration of the sport.

Frank Laird
Life Membership awarded 1965

Frank was Treasuer of the STBA from 1964 to 1970, and was a member of the committee for 5 years before becoming the Treasurer

Altogether he served on the STBA committee for 12 years.

Harry Thompson OAM
Life Membership awarded 1964

 

Harry Thompson had a huge influence on badminton and on the Southern Tasmanian Badminton Association and was the person mainly responsible for establishing the badminton centre at 101 Cascade Road.

Up until the hall at South Hobart was opened in 1963 players lacked a permanent hall in which to play.  Instead they used Wesley Hall, St Georges Hall, City Hall, St Marks, St Stephens and the Landsdowne Crescent Halls, none of which could be guaranteed as a permanent venue.

Then along came badminton stalwart Harry Thompson, a real estate agent who spotted the old sandstone-built former reservoir on Cascade Road and saw it as a potential site for a dedicated badminton hall.   Harry used his extensive contacts within Government, the Hobart City Council and the business community to lobby for leasing the property with a view to constructing a hall housing 8 badminton courts.

Public support for the proposal was gained through an item published in The Mercury.  Local businesses provided interest-free loans and members provided labour to make up one third of the finances required; one third of the cost was provided by the Hobart City Council and the remaining third was granted by the State Government. 

Harry passed away in  2002.