Sir Craig, the current President of the Word Anti-Doping Agency, was on hand at a special ceremony in Glasgow today to unveil a commemorative plaque marking the renaming of the facility formerly known as the Cockburn Centre.

The 73-year-old said he was honoured and humbled to have his name attached to the facility, which he identified in 1979 as the site to establish the main badminton base in Scotland.

He was serving as the President of the Scottish Badminton Union at the time and relocated the organisation's headquarters to the site in Govan, an old disused paint factory.

Aided by grants from Glasgow City Council, the centre opened for play in 1980 and has been used as a base for several clubs and schools ever since.

It has recently undergone major refurbishments funded by a £105,000 ($169,000/€134,000) grant from Sportscotland and £50,000 ($80,000/€64,000) from Biffa Award, a fund that helps to support community and environmental projects across the United Kingdom.

The improvements include a new high performance sprung floor and state-of-the-art competition lighting in the Tom Pettigrew Hall as well as new improved changing and shower facilities.

The refurbishment work has led to the facility being shortlisted for an award in the Recreation category at the Biffa Awards on October 9 at London's Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.

"This is a tremendous honour and to everyone at Badminton Scotland, 'Thank you very much'," said former British Olympic Association President, Sir Craig.

"An old paint factory in Bogmoor Place in Govan didn't sound as if it had much going for it.

"But it has helped give the sport in Scotland a great shake.

"Congratulations on the recent improvements to the centre.

"One of the most satisfying aspects nowadays is to come back and see it full of young people.

"It is always a struggle for other sports to offer the same attraction as football.

"So it is great to have a centre for playing badminton - seeing it full of the kids is the name of the game.

"It is very special.

"Having a building named after you is a huge honour."

Sir Craig Reedie (pictured with IOC President Thomas Bach left) has been an IOC member since 1994 and became vice-president in 2012 ©Getty Images



Sir Craig was the main driving force behind badminton's inclusion on the Olympic programme for the first time at Barcelona 1992 and it has remained there ever since.

Badminton Scotland chief executive Anne Smillie paid tribute to the work of Sir Craig in establishing the centre 25 years ago and his efforts to develop the sport in Scotland.

"We are incredibly grateful to Sir Craig for what he has done for Scottish badminton," said Smillie.

"Despite moving on to greater things in sport, he has never lost his love for our great game and naming this community badminton centre after him is a perfect way to reflect what he has done for the people of Glasgow."

Kirsty Gilmour became the first Scottish player to win a singles silver medal in badminton at this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow ©Getty Images



At this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scottish players won two medals, with Kirsty Gilmour taking silver in the women's singles while Robert Blair and Imogen Bankier claimed mixed doubles bronze at the Emirates Arena.

Sir Craig praised the achievements of the players and is confident that further Scottish success is in the pipeline.

"We've always struggled to have a group of really good players but that's changing," he added.

"I know there is a lot of work going on with youngsters and the future looks very healthy."

Gilmour, Blair and Bankier will be in action at Scottish Open Grand Prix in the Emirates Arena, which is due to take place from November 19 to 23.

Tickets for the event can be purchased here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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