Badminton racquets
Badminton racquets from the past - Stuff
Laura Matthews at Sport Taranaki has had two old badminton racquets and case sent down from Auckland for the Replay NZ initiative that recycles old sports gear for local kids.
A woman who played badminton in Waitara in the 1950s has donated her racquets, so younger badminton players can enjoy the game.
Lesley Stimpson, 82, a ‘’Taranaki girl’’ who now lives in Auckland, read about Sport Taranaki’s new initiative, Replay, a community programme that collects new and used sports gear and redistributes it.
The racquets had been waiting for her granddaughters to grow up, so they could have them, she said.
‘’But they’re not in the least bit interested in sport. So when I read the article in the Taranaki Daily News, I thought ‘Good. I have somewhere to send them.’ So I sent them down and I hope they’re useful.’’
As a junior she used to play in the old St John’s Hall in Waitara and at the ‘’old army hall’’ in Elliot St, New Plymouth, where she would sit on a hay bale while waiting for her game.
‘’I played interclub until I left for Wellington in 1957. I came back to Waitara in 1960, by that time the War Memorial Hall had been built, so I played there.’’
Stimpson moved around a lot, so played badminton all over New Zealand.
‘’When I played rural badminton in Taranaki we used to go to Mōkau, Tarata, Kaimiro, Midhirst and Stratford.
“When playing in rural areas there were some interesting little courts. I remember in Kaiapoi when you played on the court the back line was at the bottom of the steps up to the stage, so you had to run up two steps to hit the shuttle.’’
Originally she played with wooden racquets, but the two she sent to Taranaki were bought in 1974, she said.
Sport Taranaki play and active recreation advisor Laura Matthews said the donation was ‘’a lovely wee parcel’’ to see on her desk.
The case is an old leather case that Stimpson’s old wooden racquets would have come in, Matthews said.
The New Plymouth Police have a Replay bin for their staff for a month and Oakura Library will have a bin from Tuesday to see how it goes, she said.
Donation bins are at The Hub in Hāwera, Sandfords Event Centre in Opunake, Lion’s Den Gym in Stratford and the Sport Taranaki building at Yarrow Stadium.