Badminton stars open fire at governing body

CRAIG Goddard and three of his fellow professionals formed the Scotland Badminton Players' Union on Friday as they launched a petition for a Vote of No Confidence in the Badminton Scotland management.

The development comes off the back of what the players see as their inexplicable omission from last week's Thomas Cup squad and Craig - along with Keith Turnbull, Jamie Neil and Alistair Casey - have joined forces to provide a voice for the country's players.

In last week's News, Scotland's number-two ranked player, Goddard, spoke of his fury after Badminton Scotland left him out of the big team event in Warsaw and he insists that was the final straw in a long battle with the governing body which has seen him and many other players overlooked for tournaments and crucial funding in recent years.

The 25-year-old from St Leonards said: "We have set the union up so that we can discuss what's going on in our sport. It's not just for us, it's for all the players and we've had some really good feedback since we launched on Friday.

"There are a lot of people who are unhappy with what's going on in the sport and I think this is a positive step. We want to make the sport fair for everyone and not just a select group.

"Everyone has got their own issues and we want to see a change in the way the sport is run."

Last week Goddard claimed if players weren't funded by Badminton Scotland then they 'don't want to take you' to the big events. It was a claim disputed by Badminton Scotland chief executive Anne Smillie, who said some players at the Thomas Cup weren't funded and suggested any grievances over the selection process should be taken up in writing with the selectors.

But now Goddard and his colleagues have taken a big step towards change by setting up a union and he is confident it will be a success.

He added: "We've had a lot of responses from people who wish to join and we are holding our first meeting on Saturday at the Coburn Centre in Glasgow where the Glasgow Open is taking place, so we hope to see a lot of people there and we hope that they will have plenty of ideas for how we can take the sport forward."

Source from East Kilbride News.co.uk