By Romy Stephens
The Mountain District Badminton Association’s Susan Taylor has cemented her place as one of the state’s top officials.
The Kilsyth local took out the Victorian Sports Awards’ Official of the Year category on 26 February.
The awards ceremony is an important night for the Victorian sporting community as it recognises and celebrates the achievements of home-grown premier athletes, grassroots heroes and those who have shown commitment and dedication to community sport in Victoria.
Ms Taylor said she was very pleased to have received the award.
“It’s a little bit overwhelming, also very humbling. My contribution has been recognised, it’s really great,” she said.
Ms Taylor began her umpiring journey at the Under-17 Australian Championships when she was only 14-years-old.
Since then, she has flown up the ranks of the local and international badminton sport and has achieved the highest possible rank in Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Last year, Ms Taylor refereed at both club and international level.
She officiated the Victorian Open, Australian Para-Badminton Championships, the World Junior Championships and the Australian Open.
Ms Taylor also attends local tournaments to mentor, train and assess the next generation of badminton umpires.
She said badminton has been a huge part of her life and she was very pleased to see the sport get some well-deserved recognition.
“I was born into badminton, my parents played and so I was in badminton from a very early age,” she said.
“It’s just a really exciting sport to be a part of, it’s not well known in Australia.
“Here it’s not such a high priority so it’s really good that we’re getting some recognition.”
The Victorian Sports Awards were presented by the State Government and Vicsport.
Awards across 18 categories were judged by a panel of 39 highly-qualified people from the Victorian sports industry.
