General

Badminton Canada is saddened to announce the passing of one of the biggest builders of our game, Robert (Bert) Fergus. First and foremost, everyone at Badminton Canada would like to extend their condolences to Bert's family and friends, and the numerous of badminton plater's that he has impacted and inspired to play the game of badminton.

Bert's contribution to building the game of badminton in Canada cannot be emphasized enough. Bert had many accomplishments in local, provincial, and national badminton that spanned for over 50 years. In 2014, Bert was inducted into the Badminton Canada Hall of Fame because of his lifetime of accomplishments and dedicated work for the sport of badminton. Most notably:

• 1966 Organizer of the Badminton Commonwealth Games trials and selector of team to represent Canada in Badminton's inauguration into the Games.
• 1967 Selector and Manager of Canadian Thomas Cup team for North American Zone play.
• 1985 Selector/ Coach/ and Manager for the Badminton Canada Deaf Team for the World Games for the Deaf held in Los Angeles.
• 1988 to 1992 and 2001 President of Badminton BC
• 1989 to 1997 VP Badminton Canada responsible for High Performance
• 1991 to 1994 Badminton Chair for the Commonwealth Games in Victoria
• 2004 Chair of the World Junior Badminton Championships in Richmond BC

Additonally, Bert received National and International recogonition for the dedication he set out for the sport of Badminton:

• 1966 City of Vancouver Medal of Achievement for Badminton
• 1966 Queen's 25th Jubilee Medal for "Service to Children"
• 1986 Life Member of Badminton BC
• 1986 Honorary Life Member Vancouver Racquets Club
• 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award Sport BC
• 2004 International Badminton Federation (BWF) Meritorious Service Award

Bert was also a manager of Badminton Canada International teams at the following events:

• 1989 Pan Am Championships Mexico City
• 1989 Dutch International Championships
• 1990 First World University Championships in Cyprus
• 1990 All England Championships

Our thoughts go out to all of Bert's loved ones in this difficult time. Bert will be missed dearly but his legacy will live on through the number of players he has inspired to play the game of Badminton through his many years of dedication to the Canadian badminton community.