After 27 years of operating the Etobicoke Junior Badminton Club (EJBC), including more than 800 evenings and 300 tournaments, Margaret and Roger Wallis are packing it in.
No more broken noses for Margaret, who knows her way around a recklessly swung racquet or three, while Roger just might get a moment away to climb a mountain or finish collaborating on the badminton coaching booklet for some schools."We'll miss it, but we don't have the same enthusiasm anymore. It's time for someone younger to take over," said Margaret, who along with her husband of 45 years and another Etobicoke couple, Barbara and Vic Simone, founded EJBC under the former Etobicoke Parks and Rec.Its focus was to provide an affordable place for their combined five kids and their friends to learn and play the game. "We'd just like to have a couple Friday evenings to ourselves again," she joked.In the end, more than 900 local players were introduced to the game through the club. Eighty-one of them qualified for OFSAA and approximately 60 went on to play in college or university programs."I think you have to know how to time things," added Roger, a certified National Coaching Certification Program/Sport Canada Technical Level I Coach who began coaching junior level players in 1968. "It's hard to let go, but we're ready. Fresh blood, fresh ideas and fresh enthusiasm are what the club needs."With 80 players currently in the high school group and another 28 at the 10- to 14-year-old category, the Wallis' are leaving the club in good shape.They are also leaving it in good hands.Kwok Wai Chan, who coaches badminton at Mississauga Secondary School, is taking over the helm. He admits the task "is a gigantic one" but he's up for the challenge."I'm looking forward to (it). This type of opportunity doesn't come by very often and having helped out (at the club) before, I know that the kids there are really great people and the parents are very supportive," he said, pointing out currenlty the club has a waiting list of more than 60 kids.It's a testament to "just how highly sought after the Wallis' are and it's a credit to all the effort they have put into the game and the kids over the years." After receiving word they were considering retirement, Chan said a number of club parents approached the Wallis' and requested a detailed job description."When they were done they found that they actually needed eight volunteers to handle the administrative tasks alone, before they even got to the coaching.""They have run a tight ship and they have given so much to the kids and the community," added the incoming head coach. "They will certainly be a tough act to follow although I know that they will always be out to help out with things from time to time."As much as things are changing at the club, he said, things will remain virtually the same. "I think that the number one thing will still be to ensure that kids from all walks of life can come out, train and have fun," said Chan, who played varsity with the University of Waterloo. "However, the only thing that I might change is to focus on a small high-performance program for the kids who want to compete at higher levels."Former coaches, player and parents of the club are being invited to bid farewell to the couple on Saturday, May 15 at a retirement party planned for Humber Valley United Church, 76 Anglesey Blvd.