Badminton umpire has Olympic role

Turner heads to London next week to prepare for the Olympic Games, where he will be the sole Australian representative on the officiating panel.

It has already been a busy year for Turner after umpiring at a $1 million tournament in Korea and then the world teams event in China.

``The Korean tournament is the richest in the world and the teams event in China is regarded as the Davis Cup of badminton,'' he said.

``Now the Olympic Games, which is regarded as the most prestigious of all - it is the pinnacle of my career.''

Turner has been on the international panel for the past few years and regards the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne as two of his big appointments.

``I was a line judge in Sydney and a central umpire in Melbourne,'' he said.

Turner was introduced to badminton through his father, Ken, who was captain, coach and manager of an Australian team that competed in Jamaica in 1966 and later was a national coach.

``My father might have created a bit of a dynasty,'' he said.

In London the badminton will be held over nine days at the Wembley Arena and Turner expects to officiate in 20 to 30 games.

``I won't know until the schedule has been worked out, and at his level of competition games can last anywhere from 40 to 100 minutes,'' he said.

Unfortunately for Turner, the London Games will be his last at Olympic level.

``Under the rules, umpires must retire when they reach 55 years of age, as I will at the end of next year,'' he said.

The restriction only applies to Olympic Games and Turner will continue to officiate in international events in the Oceania region.

Australia is sending a small badminton team to London, where Turner predicts the Asian countries will dominate the medals.