Pictured (left to right): Loke Poh Wong and Geraldine Brown (Australia, BOC Executive Board Members), Richard Bramley (New Zealand, retired BWF Umpre), Peter Cocker (Australian, Badminton Oceania Technical Official Committee Chairperson), Julie Carrel and Lynne Nixey (Badminton Oceania staff)
Richard Bramley (New Zealand) was presented with a commemorative plaque from Badminton Oceania to acknowledge his career as a BWF Umpire (2004-2019) at the SATHIO GROUP Australian Badminton Open 2022 earlier today.
His last BWF appointment was at the BLIBLI Indonesia Open 2018, when he umpired the men’s doubles final. While officially retiring one year later, the presentation was postponed until today due to COVID-19 and the consequent tournament calendar disruption, making this week’s HSBC BWF World Tour 300 tournament in Australia a fitting opportunity.
Richard’s umpiring journey started in the late nineties after attending an umpire course in Christchurch. He progressed through the national and Oceania ranks, before becoming a BWF Accredited Umpire in 2004 following a successful assessment at the World Junior Championships in Richmond, Canada. Three years later, he achieved the BWF Certificated status following assessment at the 2007 World Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
Across the fifteen years as a BWF Umpire, his appointments included:
- 3 x World Junior Championships (2004, 2010 and 2011)
- 2 x World Championships (2006 and 2007)
- 3 x Sudirman Cup Finals (2009, 2015, 2017)
- London 2012 Olympic Games
- 3 x Commonwealth Games (Melbourne 2006, Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018)
- 4 x Super Series ( Australian Open 2015 and 2016, Denmark Open 2017 and Indonesia Open 2018)
“I went to a handful of Commonwealth Games and one Olympic Games, there was no way I was ever going to get to that level as a player so those experiences, including Opening and Closing ceremonies, you just can’t beat it. It has given me a lot of opportunities to see places in the world I wouldn’t have seen otherwise, like Guatemala. The biggest thing for me though is the badminton family, I’ve been able to make so many friends from all over the world. It’s fantastic to be able to catch up with them again, particularly after COVID”
“I’m still an Oceania Certificated Umpire and Assessor and I’m very keen on the mentoring side now. I like to share notes with fellow umpires, and I hope others can achieve the status and have those same experiences that I did. I’m also very grateful for my family being so patient and understanding as it often involves some time away from home, they have been so supportive. I’m also appreciative for Badminton Oceania and thank them for the presentation today”, says Richard.
Badminton Oceania would like to thank Richard for his contributions and representation across the world and looks forward to welcoming him to future tournaments as an Oceania Certificated Umpire and Assessor for many years to come.
Find out more about umpiring on the Technical Officials section of our website.
