Photo of 2008 Division One Mens Singles Winner, Nicholas Kidd and Runner Up, Tiger Chen

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This has been a stellar year for young badminton player Eddie Hung. He returned from the Under 17 Australasian Championships with the Australian ranking of No 4 and following the Under 19 Championships has now moved to No 2. Eddie Hung, a member of the WA Badminton Under 19 team certainly gave some much older opponents a fright at the recent Australian Championships in Geraldton.

Hung, at 15, was one of the younger players at the event and came to notice early in the Teams Event when he defeated Samuel Ho from NSW- a player looking at achieving a high Australian ranking. Hung, with poise beyond his years, played a calm, smart match, moving Ho to all corners of the court and finished rallies with some sharp returns. With the Individual Event following Eddie became the player to watch as he won match after match- finally having to play Ho again in the semi-finals.

Once again some precision serving and thoughtful placement gave Hung the advantage and he won in two games straight. This brought Hung against the formidable Boris Ma from Victoria in the Final. Ma, the No 1 Australian junior, had been in good form all week but started this match slowly, being forced into errors by Hung's tight play, however at the end of the first game Ma brought his greater strength into play and went on to win the title.

Hung has made a meteoric rise in the last twelve months. Starting in the Under17 WA team, succeeding at the Under 19 Championships and he has now been selected in the WA Senior team to play in the Australian Championships in Darwin in August. Not bad for someone only 15... Of slight build and quiet manner- but with steely determination- Hung is a player who is already attracting the attention of the Australian Badminton selectors.

At the Opening Ceremony of the Australian Badminton Junior Championships in Geraldton, on the 5th July, 2008, long time sports administrator, Phyllis Jupp, was presented with an International Olympic Committee Women in Sport Award.

This award recognises oustanding achievement and contributions made to develop, encourage and strengthen the participation of women and girls in sport at all levels. Phyllis Jupp has been dedicated to the grassroots development of badminton in the Mid West region for more than 40 years, has seen her daughter, Karen, win seven Australian titles and a Bronze Medal at the Commonwealth Games and she is now encouraging her grandchildren to play the game.

The Award, presented by Badminton Australia Board Member, Matthew Gillie was greeted with acclaim by the distinguished guests, officials and players present, many of whom have had personal contact with Phyllis over the many years she has been working for the sport. Phyllis, a Life Member of Badminton WA and Life Member of the Geraldton and Districts Badminton Association said she was overwhelmed at being the recipient of such a prestigious award and hoped that such recognition would help badminton to achieve a higher profile.

Although now in her seventies Phyllis said she still had many plans to attract young women into sport, retaining the players already involved and also to encourage older women to become part of the badminton scene, both as players, umpires and volunteers in different capacities. She is already planning her next national badminton task-- taking a group of under 17 players to Ballarat next Easter to compete in the Australasian Under 17 Championships.

The family that plays together. The Erceg family Geoff (dad),Steven (17), Dylan(12), Crystal (15) and Daniel "peanut" (8), Cheryl (mum) from Esperance are part of a 25 people team competing in the Badminton WA Be Active Country carnival.

90 players from around the state, Geraldton to Esperance competed in the teams event with Division 1, 2 and 3. This two day badminton tournament gave the country people a chance to shine and see the big smoke. Bunbury won both 1st and 2nd Division with Halls Head winning 3rd division. Bunbury president Greg Jackson is pleased with the result and the club regularly has state representatives competing at national Badminton tournaments.