It is with the great sadness that Badminton Scotland announce the death of John Grant
It is with the great sadness that Badminton Scotland announce the death of John Grant, President of Glenearn Badminton Club. John sadly passed away on 30 June.
John played a key role in the development of Glenearn Badminton Club and Glenearn Junior Badminton Club, particularly since becoming President in 2017.
John was well known and popular in the badminton community across Perthshire, particularly at clubs in Comrie, Crieff and Perth, where he played over the years. When he moved nearer to Perth, he became a regular player at Glenearn Badminton Club’s Monday night sessions at Glenearn Community Campus. When the Monday sessions switched to the Academy of Sport & Wellbeing at Perth College UHI, John continued to be one of the most regular attenders.
John could often be spotted at badminton events in Perthshire, be it playing for Crieff Badminton Club or Glenearn Badminton Club in the Campus Sports Perth & District League; manning the ticket desk or sorting out shuttles at the Scottish National Badminton Championships; presenting prizes at the Perth & District Mixed Draw tournament; administering the Glenearn end of season club tournament; and so much more!
Since he became Club President, John was a passionate advocate for the Club and a key driver of its progress in recent years. Under John’s presidency, in March 2018, Glenearn was the first club in the whole of Scotland to achieve Badminton Scotland’s Bronze Shuttlemark. But John was not content with that and was determined to secure the Silver Shuttlemark, which with John’s drive, the club did in March 2019. John is pictured here accepting the Silver Shuttlemark, on behalf of the Club.
While John was President, new sessions were established on Mondays for adult beginners and returners. It was John who mainly co-ordinated those sessions and made them a success.
A highlight of John’s time as President was his work on diversity and inclusion. In conjunction with Perth & Kinross Disability, John spearheaded a series of Disability Badminton Taster Sessions in August 2019. The sessions were open to people of all ages with a physical, sensory or learning disability / condition. John was delighted when a few younger players with disabilities went on to join and integrate into Glenearn Junior Badminton Club, and the club welcomed adult players with disabilities to the adult beginner / returner sessions.
John was later central to the launch of the first ever Perth & Kinross Disability Sport Open Badminton Championships held in Perth in December 2019. And he was chuffed to see a player from Glenearn Junior Badminton Club collect a silver medal at the Championships! John worked on behalf of Glenearn Badminton Club with Perth & Kinross Disability Sport, Badminton Scotland, Perth & District Badminton Association and Stagecoach Bus to deliver a successful Championships.
In November 2019, Badminton Scotland produced and presented “Scottish Badminton – A Community”, a film portraying some of the incredible badminton communities. It was fitting the John featured in that film, as well as some of the other Glenearn members. The notion of a badminton community captured the spirit that John helped create at Glenearn. Check out the film here.
John was a true badminton enthusiast, he was so supportive and helpful to me in my role as Badminton Scotland Development Officer and Disability Lead. We would meet regularly at the Madoch Center near his home and he would be full of new and original ideas to reach out to the community and get them involved in badminton. He had real energy and passion for the sport and I would always say to him “I wish I could clone you my job would be so much easier”. I will miss him very much and feel privileged to have worked with him to promote badminton.
Our thoughts are with John’s family at this sad and difficult time. He will be fondly remembered at Glenearn Badminton Club for years to come and in the wider badminton community.