Badminton Canada Mourns the Loss of Jolyon Thompson

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Badminton Canada Mourns the Loss of Jolyon Thompson

Longtime badminton community member Jolyon Thompson has passed away at the age of 61

Jolyon was a valued member of the badminton community for over 30 years. During this time, he enriched the sport through his roles as a player, coach, official and committee member. 

Athletic as a child, Jolyon turned his focus to badminton upon immigrating to Canada from Guyana at the age of 15. He competed and coached for the University of Toronto, leading the school to six OUAA titles in his seven years of coaching at the institution. 

Jolyon’s contributions to the game of badminton continued through his extensive work as an international official. Starting in 1990, Jolyon umpired multiple Canadian Championships, also going on to represent Canada as on official at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, 2000 Pan Am Junior Championships, 2011 World Senior Badminton Championships and multiple World Junior Badminton Championships. 

Thompson competed at the 2013 World Master Games in Torino, Italy, earning a total of four medals. He went on to coach the Centennial Colts of the Ontario College Athletics association from 2016 to the time of his passing, leading them to various provincial medals in addition to a national medal in the 2018-2019 season. 

Badminton Canada extends our deepest condolences to Jolyon’s friends and family during this difficult time. He will be greatly missed. 

To learn more about Jolyon’s life, please read his obituary here.

To learn more about Jolyon’s numerous contributions to the sport of badminton, please read his Badminton Ontario Wall of Honor page here.

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