Brisbane Badminton Blog
1 July 2026 - To celebrate our Founding Day, Judy's birthday as well as the World Badminton Day which all fall in this week, we are organising a dinner meet this Saturday at Sunnybank or nearby. If you are free to join us, please send us a text, Facebook message or email. Family and kids all welcome!
1 July 2026 - Join us to celebrate the 'World Badminton Day' this Sunday 5th July 2026!
Did you know that badminton used to be called 'battledore', dating back over 2,000 years? England first introduced the sport at the Badminton House in Gloucestershire in 1873. The Badminton Association of England (BAofE) was formed in 1893.
Did you also know that our club's founder and president, Patrick Kotwall, was also trained in England, under the BAofE program? He said that former world champion Gillian Gowers was also on that same course.
Patrick then worked as a coach in Hertfordshire, and assisted with the coaching of England's Paralympic badminton team alongside his mentor, Ray Learney. He then worked at the David Lloyd Leisure Centre, introducing badminton to the company when Whitbread took over, alongside with former world champion Yuliani Sentosa. In 1995, Patrick helped former world champion Yang Yang launched his brand at the All England World Championships in Birmingham. He also organised a series of masterclasses for top coaches and players around Europe with Yang Yang. He said the classes sold out within an hour of launch. Mr Yang Yang achieved a total of 15 individual titles and six team titles in his international career. Deemed as the 'Legend' of all times. Yang was contracted by the Malaysian team as national coach for five years before launching his own brand. Patrick helped Yang develop his market in Europe before coming over to continue his badminton career in Australia in 1997. Other than the Dragon Club, Patrick was also appointed as the State Team's coach for Queensland, and was involved at committee level with both the Queensland and Australia Badminton Association.
Hundreds and hundreds of players have enjoyed badminton because of the Dragon Club. At peak, the Dragon Club had over 600 members in a year. Let's keep hitting the shuttle and enjoy the sport! https://corporate.bwfbadminton.com/.../world.../...
7 June 2026 - Bored? Join in some fun at one of the local clubs. Plenty of places to have a hit, north and south Brisbane. Most have no memberships, no requirements to join Associations. Just sheer fun. Here is one of them: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BZnTp4jmW/
26 May 2026 - It was exciting to visit the Northside Badminton Centre at Brendale today, a new venue about to open up on the north side of Brisbane. This 9-court venue has a great new approach to a club, combining not just badminton, but also the latest craze, 'Pickleball'! And wait, there is also a Wellness Centre fitted with brand new recovery facilities such as saunas, ice baths and stretch zone. And if that's not enough, there are also two pool tables to enjoy your time with your mates. The Proshop also looks well stocked up with the latest range of most top brands. Stringing and coaching services are also in the plans. This venue is definitely recommended for all sports enthusiasts! We recommend all Dragon members to visit and join in their social play!
12 May 2026 - Follow and like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063790481350) or email (sec@dragonclub.org) to join my mailing list.
Club action
The Dragon Badminton Club
Founded 1999 by Patrick Kotwall (MBA, BSc, BAofE), a Coach from Hong Kong who came to Australia to further his studies. Patrick also served as the Queensland State Team Coach, President of the Queensland Coaches Committee, also sat on the board of Badminton Australia during the time. He also helped develop the sport at many schools in Queensland, from Brisbane all the way up to Townsville, and ran the state teams training program with Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist Lisa Campbell.
Patrick is good friends with Mr Yang Yang, holder of 31 World Championship titles. Patrick helped Yang set up his own brand from the very start, launching at the All England Championships. Patrick other good friends include former world champions Susi Susanti, Yulianti Sentosa, Minarti Tinarti, Ricky Subagja and Rexy Mainaky. Many Dragon Club members were fortunate enough to play with some of these Olympians when Patrick brought them to Brisbane at the Sydney Olympics. The junior squads also attended a number of the Olympic teams training sessions including Germany and Holland.
At its peak, the Dragon Club had over 500 active members and played at four venues, five days a week. Special thanks must be given to Judy Chan, who without her help, the club would not have functioned anywhere as easy. Remembered the days when we had 70+ players turning up at social sessions, even the computer program needed human assistance for games organisations. Thanks also Geoff Xu, Johnny Gian, Raymond Chan and Wesley Yu who all had great contributions to the club. Other than Patrick, the club also had the privilege of many other top coaches, including the father and coach of former Junior World Champion Sze Yu, Mr Sze Ning On. Unfortunately, Mr Sze passed away last year. RIP Mr Sze. We will always remember your teaching. Other coaches include coaches from Hong Kong and China, also our local heros - Australia National and State Champions Ben Lee and Jack Wu. Coaches Mr Edmund Lai (teacher at Clairvaux McKillop College) and Dr Wong On also coached at the Dragon Club for many years.