The OSS is delighted to announce that recent Ambassador Kirsty Gilmour, has been selected for her second Olympic team for the women’s singles event out in Tokyo, Japan following on from her debut in Rio.
Kirsty, from Bellshill, has qualified for the upcoming Olympics as 26th in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings and 18th in the BWF race to Tokyo rankings. The Scot finished in 14th place out in Rio in 2016, then followed up her Olympic performances with a Silver at Europeans in Denmark, then a quarterfinal finish at the world championships in front of a home crowd in Glasgow.
Recently the badminton star has been giving back to her sport by setting up a social enterprise to make badminton more accessible to communities across Scotland. Kirsty, her uncle David Gilmour, the chair of badminton Scotland, and Andy Gallagher have set up the not for profit organisation, Badminton Academy Social Enterprise C.I.C. (BASE) to allow anyone at any level to play the sport.
In an interview with sportScotland, Kirsty explained:
“We want to have an organised space that’s really safe and fun for anyone who wants to come in and mess around, all the way up to the young professional. The main focus will be on the communities and everyone from mums and toddlers right up to whatever age you still feel you can hit a shuttle, over 80s, over 90s, age is no barrier.”
Find out more about BASE here.
You can find the OSS Ambassadors page here.
From everyone at the OSS, we wish Kirsty the best of luck out in Tokyo.
Thought Piece from Charlie Raeburn for Reform Scotland