Winston Wilkinson (badminton)

Cyril Winston Wilkinson (died 2014) was an Irish badminton player, sixteen time national champion, and badminton coach.

Winston Wilkinson
Personal information
Birth nameCyril Winston Wilkinson
CountryIreland
Borncirca 1940, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died2014, Spain

Early and personal life

Wilkinson was a student of Trinity College Dublin from 1959 to 1962.[1][2] In 1972, he earned a Masters in Education from Queen's University Belfast, and subsequently completed his Ph.D. in the same institution in 1981, with a thesis on "A consideration of the growth of the concept of the community school, with particular reference to its development since 1930 in Great Britain and the United States of America.".[3][4][5]

Sporting career

At the age of twenty, Wilkinson started playing senior interprovincial badminton.[6] Despite being from Ulster, he was eligible to play for Leinster by virtue of the fact he was a student in Trinity College Dublin. Footage from 1960 of a doubles match Wilkinson played in against Ulster survives in the Irish Film Institute archive.[7] That year Wilkinson was first called up to the Ireland national badminton team as a men's doubles player in a Thomas Cup match against Denmark.[8]

The 1960's saw Wilkinson dominate the men's doubles and mixed doubles national titles, with a sole men's single title included for good measure. Beginning in December 1961, Wilkinson succeeded in the men's singles of the Irish National Badminton Championships. The semi-finals of that tournament saw him paired against James 'Chick' Doyle, the reigning men's single champion unbeaten since 1953. Wilkinson received a walkover as Doyle withdrew. The final saw Wilkinson overcome Lennox Robinson in two sets.[9]

Coaching roles and later life

In the 1980's Wilkinson was an Irish team coach and a senior coach with the Badminton Union of Ireland.[10][11] Wilkinson died in 2014 in Spain.[12]

References
  1. "Further examination results from T.C.D.". The Irish Times. 6 November 1959.
  2. "Badminton club" (PDF). trinitynewsarchive.ie. Trinity News.
  3. "A consideration of the concept of the Community School as it has developed in England and the United States and its influence : actual and potential, on some secondary schools in Northern Ireland". QUB library catalogue. Queen's University Belfast. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  4. "A consideration of the growth of the concept of the community school, with particular reference to its development since 1930 in Great Britain and the United States of America". QUB library catalogue. Queen's University Belfast. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  5. "Students collect their well earned degrees". Belfast Telegraph. 19 December 1981.
  6. "A wise move by the B.U.I.". Dublin Evening Mail. 29 November 1960.
  7. "BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS – AMHARC ÉIREANN: EAGRÁN 80". ifiplayer.ie. Gael Linn. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  8. "Early honour for Belfast player". Belfast Telegraph. 5 December 1960.
  9. "Great doubles partnership". The Irish Times. 11 December 1961.
  10. "Sligo hosts seminar on racquet sports". Sligo Champion. 8 April 1988.
  11. "Tough battle facing Ireland". Belfast Telegraph. 20 January 1983.
  12. "Coach Winston well-known at badminton club". lisburntoday.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
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