Where is the publicity???

[CATWEAZLE]

As a former player, i know that when something is acheived you would like to be recognised and celebrated for your efforts. However, one month ago both Robin Middleton and Sarah Bok (who happens to be my girlfriend) won two events at the U19 Six Nations. This basically makes them both the top juniors in Europe. To my knowledge, i cannot remember the last time this happened. Correct me if i am wrong on this.
We have two genuine stars in the making, and nothing has been reported, nothing has been publicised, nothing has been done full-stop. To me this seems ridiculous. The BAofE should be using this to their advantage, and promote it wherever possible.
We struggle to find real talent in this country. When we do find it, then everything should be done first to make sure their progress continues, which i do believe is happening, then let the whole country know that English badminton has a bright future. Who knows when two players this good will come along next.

[Rodrigues]

Michael, it's a fair point you make about what appears to be a bit of an intractable problem. The BAofE Chief Executive said in a previous post that they can't afford a Marketing Manager to promote the sport - and excellent performances such as you outline. Surely that should be they can't aford not to have one - and a good one at that? One thing all the people who visit this forum could do is to sign the petition about increased publicity - more details at the top of the page - which is going to be sent to various media organisations. If all the people who wrote on the ICT thread, for example, were to sign it - and hopefully get others to sign as well - that would at least be a start.

[johngurling]

This aspect has been covered many times on badders.com....and the same points are still relevant

Firstly Michael, dont fall into the trap of thinking that because nothing is appearing in the papers or on TV, that this means that the BAofE are not trying to get the sport publicised. The problem is that the Media still thinks that sport in this country means football, rugby, cricket......and horse racing.

[Rodrigues]

- and golf, snooker, darts, athletics and F1. But at least the Olympics are coming up, when many of the other sports get a bit of coverage!

[free]

while recognising that this is a great achievement and not wishing to decry from this at all I think the geography of Europe needs to be updated.THERE ARE MORE THAN SIX COUNTRIES IN EUROPE.

When they win two medals at the European Juniors next year call them the best in Europe but until then please show a little respect for other countries.(Who won for example the ladies doubles at the last European Juniors - Russians)

[Phil McBride]

Roger, I have a sneaking suspicion that the many sports that we do not usually see in the normal course of events on TV and are olympic participation the BBC will put on their interactive service and not on terrestrial TV just like the commonwealth games a couple of years ago, that's the only way the badminton was broadcast in any depth.

The coverage was extremely good and lasted for hours, usually until the run of matches were finished.

[think]

Love is blind.

There are European Junior Rankings which may give a more realistic assessment of who are the top juniors.

Heard of Slovenia, Croatia etc. They are also in Europe.

It was great to win the medals but not top in Europe yet. Let the players prove it before we go to the press with wild claims

[sponsford]

Well Done Sarah and Robin.I agree with Jonathan that they deserved much more publicity. BA of E had a fantastic chance to make use of it. As usual they ruined it.

[stu]

i think im with robin and freeloader on this. Yes they won the 6 nations but this does not mean that they are top in europe. As from the title, there are only 6 nations in it, and therefore nowhere near as strong as european juniors. I dont think that they did at all well in european juniors last year. Surely if they are that much talent in the making they should be able to compete reasonably in europe a year older. Anyway, hasnt Sarah Bok been training full time for the past year, I would expect her to have done well if she has been training hard, which I would expect any full time badminton player to be doing.
I think a lot of these youngsters will begin to shine through once studies are out the way as a backup plan if badminton career doesnt work out, if they been winning medals in senior european tournaments then we should think about discussing publicity.

[gurner]

Well Simon and Freeloader!!

For your information the winners of the mens doubles from the european juniors were playing in this tournament, so if considering that they were the number 1 in Europe last year then surely they must have been the best this. Therefore Robin and Chris must now have overtaken them as No.1 pair in Europe!!! Robin and Chris were seeded 1 in European Juniors last year if i remember correctly!
Sorry dont know about the mixed or the ladies doubles standard.

[KnowAll]

The EBU rankings are a poor indicator of the actual standard as it is purely based on points acumulated rather than an average as most other rankings are. The Eastern Europeans played more tounramnets as they have more local ones to attend. If you actually look at the where the Slovians and Croatians got most of their points its in the Croatian, Slovenian and Polish Opens amongst others where the Brits and the Danes didnt enter. If you look at the results from the Dutch and German Juniors, the high calibre tournaments on the circuit, then they dont feature.

Incidently, if your going by rankings then Matthew Honey and Harry Wright finished the season ranked number one in Europe!

[badmintongroupie]

Why is there all the negativity about Robin and Sarah's win? Everyone should be congratulating them not disputing their achievement!

A win is a win! You can only play against those who have entered a tournament.

If England won the World Cup and Brasil/Germany/Italy (for example) weren't playing, I think as a nation we would be very happy!

Let's make the most of international wins when they are achieved.

[CATWEAZLE]

Robin and Free Loader, i think you need to have a quick reality check. As Graham correctly pointed out, the eastern European countries that you mentioned play in a lot more European events, generally against each other in a sub-standard tournament. However an organisation goes about compiling a ranking system in any sport, any team/individual who plays more events will be at an advantage.
Sarah and Jenny Wallwork recently won the doubles in a tournament in Poland, playing against the "best of the rest" of Europe, and barely dropped a point.
Unfortunately the European Championships are held bianually, meaning this age-group of players missed out this year. You are right in pointing out that the reigning European doubles champions are from Russia. However, if you were to go through the history books and analyze the winners of each event in each year, i would estimate that you would find about 90% of the victors came from these 6 nations.
To me and every sane badminton enthusiast, regardless of the new extensions to the EU, or whoever else you would like to involve such as Leichtenstein or San Marino, this makes them the best pair in Europe.