Badminton fraternity mourns passing of Colin Atkinson

Scottish badminton was mourning the sudden death of Colin Atkinson, a past president (1987-89) and the current finance committee chair of Badminton Scotland.

Someone who served Scottish badminton for the past five decades, Atkinson, who lived in Glasgow with his wife, Moira, suffered a heart attack while taking part in the Badminton Golf Day in Surrey on Monday.

A tireless worker within the sport, his voluntary involvement became an almost full-time role following his retirement from the civil service.

His input ranged from the coaching of Scotland's young national players, training national coaches and performing the role of deputy championship director of the numerous major tournaments staged by Badmintonscotland, including the annual Bank of Scotland Scottish International Championships. He took on the same role at both the 1997 and 2007 World Championships staged at the National Centre at Scotstoun in Glasgow.

"Colin was a loyal and highly valued servant to Scottish badminton for over 45 years and made an immense contribution at both local and national level," said Anne Smillie, the chief executive of Badmintonscotland. "He was an indefatigable worker. It is virtually impossible to sum up the enormous impact that Colin had on our sport. Without doubt, Colin was one of our most dedicated volunteers and he will be so sadly missed."

Atkinson's sporting interests extended beyond badminton. He served as chairman of the Sports Council for Glasgow, and was a keen cricketer - a former club captain of Glasgow Accies - and a member of Eastwood Golf Club.

The Atkinsons have two children, Hilary and Michael. Hilary worked for Badmintonscotland for several years before taking up her current post as the competition manager for badminton for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.