Rory Le Masurier: “I would really like to represent England again”

Rory Le Masurier first started playing badminton when he was just four years old. Now 13, he has already begun to gain some serious traction on British and European courts…

Over £100,000 is set to be distributed to 23 local athletes as part of a new performance scheme helping islanders to excel in their chosen sport.

Jersey Sport this month announced that a total of £103,500 has been allocated to allow the athletes – who compete in 11 different sports – to access professional development workshops on the Performance Sport Programme.

One of the athletes set to benefit from the scheme is Victoria College pupil Rory Le Masurier, who has been selected to represent England in various British and European badminton tournaments, and has medals to prove it.

Ahead of a Danish training camp this summer, Express sat down with Rory to chat about his sporting ambitions, and how the new funding programme will help him to achieve them…

Can you tell us about your sporting journey so far?

I started playing badminton when I was four, playing at the New Gilson Hall with the Jersey Badminton Association.  I now have training sessions three of four times a week.

About four years ago, I entered a tournament in England and although I only won one match, I really enjoyed it.  Since then I have been playing regularly on the Badminton England Junior Circuit and travel to England one or two times a month to compete or train.  

Last year, I was invited to some of the England junior performance camps, which was really motivational. In October, at the U13 English national championships, I won gold in the mixed doubles event, and bronze in open doubles event. I was really pleased with this achievement.

In November, I was selected for the England U13 team at the Swedish Youth Games.  We won gold and I won an individual bronze medal in doubles.  I’ve also recently started to enter tournaments in Europe.

In December, I travelled to the Netherlands for the Badminton Planet Youth Tournament where I won gold in the U13 boys doubles, silver in the U13 mixed doubles and reached the quarter finals in singles. It was great to play against juniors from other countries and I hope to do more of this. 

Did you expect to get this far in your sport?

I know that I can be pretty committed to something when I put my mind to it and I can be very determined.

I didn’t think I’d be able to progress as much as I have done at this age, as it’s really hard to get to tournaments when you live on an island.  But I train and compete in England during school holidays as well and this has really helped.  

I didn’t expect to represent England at this stage though, so that was a real honour.

What do you love about your sport?

Badminton is so fast and you really have to move and think quickly. There are a lot of different shots to learn and perfect and there is a lot of strategy involved.

I like and play other racket sports too, but I find I have to think more strategically in badminton.  It is the fastest racket sport after all.

How do you feel about being chosen to benefit from the Performance Sport Programme?

I’m really pleased to be part of the Performance Sport Programme.  It’s really good to feel supported and recognised by the island, as it’s a lot of hard work travelling to tournaments and I have to miss out on a lot of things.

It has definitely motivated me to perform more and to keep going. 

I know that I’m going through a period of physical growth, so it will be really good to get some more guidance on the best ways to train, especially with strength and conditioning, and how to develop the right mindset. 

I’m also pleased to be able to showcase badminton and hopefully get more juniors involved in the sport.

How will the programme assist your progress?

I will now be able to compete in a number of European tournaments this year, which will enable me to gain experience against European players.

The more tournaments I can compete in, the more chance I have of getting better and improving my ranking.  I am also going to be able to attend a training camp in Denmark during the summer, which will be brilliant.

As I’m still young, I do need help with the best ways to train and prevent injury.  I need to get a lot stronger and am looking forward to support and guidance with strength and conditioning training. 

What is your sporting dream?

I would really like to represent England again, and also represent Jersey at the Island Games and maybe the Commonwealth Games too. 

Anything you’d like to add?

Badminton is such a good sport and so much faster, physical and strategic than a lot of people think.  It would be great if more juniors got involved and schools encouraged students to play.