Olympic Spirit
Olympic Torch in the Falklands
Rebecca Pantaney began playing badminton at the age of 9 for the purposes of improving hand eye coordination and providing her with opportunities to join either University or local league teams later in life. Being an only child badminton is a very sociable sport that can be played at any level enabling Rebecca to make friends and acquaintances, however Rebecca’s ability was spotted which took her on a very different route to what was expected. Rebecca played England Juniors from under 13 through to under 18’s winning 5 national titles on the way. The next phase of Rebecca’s career took her to Lausanne in Switzerland, where she trained & played for Olympic Lausanne for a year which was a good stepping stone towards the jump to training with England Senior players at Milton Keynes, where she continues her training & making the transition from Junior to Senior International Badminton.
1998 saw Rebecca’s hard work pay dividends as she reached the Final of the Senior English Nationals which brought her first England Cap at the Uber Cup in Norway and progressed to playing in the European Championship & the Commonwealth Games In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she won Gold in the Ladies Team Event, Rebecca finished her England Career with 14 England Caps before retiring May 2003 to take up a career in coaching.
In 2007 Rebecca received an invitation to coach in the Falkland Islands which she took up & made her first 2 week visit the same year. On Rebecca’s arrival, the Stanley Badminton Club had a total of 12 adult player and 1 junior player, with annual visits over the last 5 years the Stanley Badminton Club has developed into a thriving club with approximately 50-60 members of which 50% are junior members.
Rebecca’s first International Coaching role for the Falklands Team was in Greenland at the Island Games in 2007, this sparked a great relationship with the Falklands Badminton Team which developed into a more permanent role, traveling to 2 more Island Games, Commonwealth Games & a Commonwealth Youth Games.
Rebecca’s in put into the Falklands Badminton Team has helped them to develop & progress in competitions more than ever before.
The next International Badminton Event the Falklands Team will be participating in, will be the Brazilian International in September 2012, where Rebecca will not only be coaching but playing too! Followed by Bermuda Island Games 2013 & Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Rebecca was nominated to carry the Olympic Torch & was successfully chosen for the leg over the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol & has been kind enough to bring the Olympic Torch to the Falklands to further encourage the Olympic Fever.
Rebecca Pantaney began playing badminton at the age of 9 for the purposes of improving hand eye coordination and providing her with opportunities to join either University or local league teams later in life. Being an only child badminton is a very sociable sport that can be played at any level enabling Rebecca to make friends and acquaintances, however Rebecca’s ability was spotted which took her on a very different route to what was expected. Rebecca played England Juniors from under 13 through to under 18’s winning 5 national titles on the way. The next phase of Rebecca’s career took her to Lausanne in Switzerland, where she trained & played for Olympic Lausanne for a year which was a good stepping stone towards the jump to training with England Senior players at Milton Keynes, where she continues her training & making the transition from Junior to Senior International Badminton.
1998 saw Rebecca’s hard work pay dividends as she reached the Final of the Senior English Nationals which brought her first England Cap at the Uber Cup in Norway and progressed to playing in the European Championship & the Commonwealth Games In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where she won Gold in the Ladies Team Event, Rebecca finished her England Career with 14 England Caps before retiring May 2003 to take up a career in coaching.
In 2007 Rebecca received an invitation to coach in the Falkland Islands which she took up & made her first 2 week visit the same year. On Rebecca’s arrival, the Stanley Badminton Club had a total of 12 adult player and 1 junior player, with annual visits over the last 5 years the Stanley Badminton Club has developed into a thriving club with approximately 50-60 members of which 50% are junior members.
Rebecca’s first International Coaching role for the Falklands Team was in Greenland at the Island Games in 2007, this sparked a great relationship with the Falklands Badminton Team which developed into a more permanent role, traveling to 2 more Island Games, Commonwealth Games & a Commonwealth Youth Games.
Rebecca’s in put into the Falklands Badminton Team has helped them to develop & progress in competitions more than ever before.
The next International Badminton Event the Falklands Team will be participating in, will be the Brazilian International in September 2012, where Rebecca will not only be coaching but playing too! Followed by Bermuda Island Games 2013 & Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Rebecca was nominated to carry the Olympic Torch & was successfully chosen for the leg over the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol & has been kind enough to bring the Olympic Torch to the Falklands to further encourage the Olympic Fever.