New Para-Badminton Athletes' Commission to be elected at World Championships in Dortmund

By Gary Anderson

November 6 - There are six candidates for election to the newly formed Badminton World Federation (BWF) Athletes' Commission with the election, it was announced today.

Four of the six candidates will be chosen at the election on Friday (November 8) by athletes competing at the World Championships in Dortmund to form the new body.

Five men and one woman are in the running for election.

They are England's Antony Forster and Martin Rooke, Guatemala's Raúl Eduardo Anguiano Araujo, France's Richard Perot, Malaysia's Yau Tiam Ann and the Netherlands' Ilse van de Burgwal.

All of the candidates are currently active players, one of the criteria for election to the new body, along with being overr 18, having no sanctions for doping during their career and be from a disability sport organisation recognised by the BWF and a BWF member in good standing.

Rooke is currently ranked number one in the world in his class and is a reigning United Kingdom and European champion, while compatriot Forster has three European doubles titles and a World Championship silver medal to his name in the SL4 class.

Englishman and world number one Martin Rooke is one of six candidates running for election to the BWF Para-Badminton Athletes Commission

Perot has been playing Para-badminton since 2010, having previously been a table tennis player, and is currently the President of the France Para-Badminton Federation (FRAP).

Araujo, 38 has been competing in Para-badminton since 2005 and, as well as being a coach, was also a member of the Organising Committees for the 2011 Para-Badminton World Championships and the 2013 Para-Badminton Pan American Championships, both in Guatemala.

Ann has represented Malaysia since 2004 and participated in a number of international tournaments, including the 2005 World Championships.

He also claimed bronze at the Asia Para-Badminton Cup in 2004 and 2008 last year took double bronze again in the class three category at the Asian Para-Badminton Championships.

The sole female candidate is van de Burgwal, who works for a publishing company in between taking part in international tournaments and running coaching sessions and workshops across the Netherlands.

Ilse van de Burgwal of the Netherlands (left) is the only female running for election to the new Athletes Commission

Each of the four successful candidates will be elected for a four-year term and their main responsibilities will be to liaise with players, organise players meetings at tournaments and canvas their views and opinions on rules and regulations, development and direction of Para-badminton.

They will also represent the views of Para-badminton athletes at BWF Para-Badminton Commission meetings and report back to the players on outcomes of meetings and representations made at the BWF Para-Badminton Commission meetings.

All six of the candidates have promised to contribute to the ongoing campaign for Paralympic status for the sport which is seeking to become part of the programme at Tokyo 2020.

Two representatives of the new Athletes Commission, including the chair and one other selected by the BWF Council to ensure diversity of representation, will sit on the separate body that is the BWF Para-Badminton Commission which advises on training, development and competition needs of those participating and competing in the sport.

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