Last week at the Badminton Australia u15/u19 National Championships in Western Australia our BWF Vice President – Geraldine Brown made a special presentation to two Oceania Technical Officials from Western Australia.
Greg Vellacott’s career as a Badminton World Federation official has spanned 33 years since his first appointment as an Accredited Umpire at the Thomas & Uber Cup Asia Qualifying Zone tournament in Kuala Lumpur in 1990. Five years on Greg received his IBF Certificated Umpire qualification at the World Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland.
His IBF/BWF umpiring career includes officiating at prestigious events such as the BWF World Junior Championships, BWF World Championships, BWF Thomas & Uber Cup Finals, Sudirman Cup Finals, and the Olympic Games. Greg retired from umpiring in 2013 with a renewed focus after being appointed as a BWF Umpire Assessor in the same year which continued for 10 years until his retirement at the end of 2023.
Greg was also a member of the Badminton Oceania Technical Officials Committee from 2016 to 2023 assisting with assessments and providing the voice of reason when he put on his ‘lawyer hat’ to help with finalising policies.
The u15/u19 National Championships was also an opportune time to recognise Eugene Glazman, who gained his Oceania Accreditation Referee qualification last year, passing his assessment at the YONEX Bendigo International 2023. Eugene is part of the Oceania Australia/New Zealand Referee and Umpire development programme which supports young technical officials who have been identified as having the potential to attain BWF level in the future.
Congratulations to both of these gentlemen who have given and continue to give so much to the sport of badminton in Australia, the Oceania region and worldwide.
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- Greg Vellacott
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- Eugene Glazman
