Olympic badminton player inspiring youth
Charmaine Reid never gave up on her goals and that’s in part why she’s an Olympian who has also won five medals at the Pan Am Games.
A native of Fort Erie, Reid joined Canada’s national badminton team when she was 18, eventually making her way to the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece.
At one point in her career, she was ranked best in Canada in both women’s singles and doubles. Internationally, she was 13th in doubles and 21st in singles when in her prime.
Today, she visits local schools to share her story with students and instill a message that you can achieve anything you want if you put in enough dedication.
She also gives tutorials on badminton and encourages an interest in the sport, the secondmost played around the world behind soccer, according to Reid.
“I really want them to keep active and reach for their goals and dreams,” she said before giving her presentation to students at Diamond Trail Public School in Welland on Friday.
First exposed to the game at a young age in her backyard, also when her parents owned a sporting goods store in Fort Erie, she would later excel in the badminton program at RidgewayCrystal Beach High School before being selected to represent Canada in Calgary.
“I was probably the worst person on the national team when I started, but the coach saw my potential and I never gave up on the court,” she said.
Her in-school program is made possible through Canadian Tire JumpStart and helps purchase new equipment — racquets, shuttles and nets.
In Pan Am Games action, Reid has one gold medal and four silver medals.
She is also a broadcaster and will soon travel to Thailand to call games in an international team tournament.
Reid Friday shared a heartwarming story about two young players she met while in Brazil for the Olympics when she visited the slums of Rio De Janeiro to assist for a day with a badminton program that had recently started in the violence-ridden city. With an escort from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Reid met a 10-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl who showed promise, and both told her they aspired to one day become an Olympian. In 2016, this dream came true for both players as they represented Brazil in the Summer Olympics.
“Badminton gave them a better life,” she said.
Reid has reached close to 100,000 students through her school visits.