Geraldine Brown a champ twice over

IT takes a lot of talent to become an elite athlete in one sport let alone two, but Geraldine Brown did just that.

brown

IT takes a lot of talent, time and determination to become an elite athlete in one sport let alone two, but Launceston’s Geraldine Brown achieved it.

After making her mark in badminton and squash, she got involved in the administration and management of these sports in Tasmania and Australia, with an emphasis on helping women in developing countries do much the same.

“I do it because I got a lot out of the sports myself when I played, and I became involved in administration so I could give a bit back, and became a bit hooked on trying to get primarily women more involved in administration areas,” she said.

“In Australia, we’re very well represented, but in other parts of the world it is very difficult to get women involved in administration because of the culture. So that’s where I thought we as a country could act as a bit of a role model.”

As a high school student, Geraldine played badminton at a junior tournament level and progressed to national level, winning the Australian under-19 mixed doubles.

Her career highlights included holding the Tas-manian ladies doubles title 14 times, the Tasmanian mixed doubles six times and Aus-tralian open ladies doubles twice.

In later competitive years, she coached young players in badminton and squash, inspiring these young people to represent their state.

Geraldine is a member of the Australian Coaches Com-mittee and managed the Commonwealth Games badminton team in 2002 and the Olympic team in 2004.

She has been the president of Badminton Australia since 2008, president of the Oceania Badminton Confederation since 2011 and elected vice-president of the World Badminton Association 2013.

Geraldine has been nominated in the Pride of Australia Medal’s inspiration category.

Nominate someone deserving of a Pride of Australia Medal at our Pride of Australia page.