This Is Guernsey

By Aaron Scoones

BADMINTON are looking for a new development officer as Paul Le Tocq has stepped down from the role. ‘It’s not for me any more, there’s a few other things I want to do,’ he said.

‘I’ve offered to work until April, which gives them five to six months to find someone else and if they do find someone before then, I’ll go.

‘I’ve tried to be as fair as I could and the game is still important to me. The kids over here deserve a decent chance.’

Le Tocq was appointed to the role early last year.

The 25-year-old is a fine player, having won the Welsh national title in 2005 and having represented Guernsey at the Manchester and Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

And spending more time on the court is something that the Sarnian wants to get back to doing.

‘I’ve not played any badminton for a year-and-a-half and that’s down to the fact that I’ve been doing so much coaching,’ he said.

‘I’ll never be able to train full-time again, but I think there’s still some good badminton left in me.

‘I’m stepping down at the right time. I’m looking forward to playing again.’

He feels he leaves behind a good structure for someone else now to look after but the sport is desperate for more coaches.

‘We’ve made some good progress but we’re short of decent coaches,’ he said.

‘The structure is in place and it’s working really well. Lots of kids are playing and there are lots of adults ringing up wanting to play.

‘There’s a lot more people at the hall, which is good. The structure just needs more coaches.’

Guernsey Badminton Association president John Stuart says that they are looking for an individual with a level-two coaching award.

But he believes this will make it very hard to find a local person who is qualified for the role.

‘We’re putting some notices around, but it’s going to be difficult to find a replacement locally and we may have to go to the UK,’ he said.

‘We’ve had some interest already and it’s looking quite positive. It’s always sad when someone goes and Paul has been excellent.

‘He’s a young person with different ideas. We’ve put in some new structures which have proved very popular.’