Board of Directors
Julie McDonald – President
Julie holds a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting & Business law, Diploma of International Marketing & Economics, and is a member of CPA Australia Ltd. Julie has held Accountancy positions, and will bring strong accounting and audit and risk management skills to our organisation. Julie also has strong ties to sport, specifically Badminton, having represented Australia and played internationally, coached, and chaired several committees.
Julie is a BWF Level 1 Certified Coach and has career highlights that include:
– Four-time Australian Singles Winner, two Doubles and one Mixed Doubles
– Commonwealth Games Bronze medalist in 1982 (Brisbane) and 1986 (Edinburgh)
– Winner of numerous international tournaments in Denmark, England and France
– Winner of the Australian Silver Bowl International (Now called the Australian Badminton Open) in Singles and Doubles
Rayoni Nelson OLY
Rayoni Nelson was appointed to the board in September 2021. Rayoni represented Australia at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She represented South Australia at many national championships and represented Australia at the 1998, 2002 Uber Cup and represented Australia at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
With over 20 years of experience working across government, sport, health, education and transport sectors, Rayoni’s career has included management roles in a broad range of areas including sport, physical activity, active transport, road safety, customer service and communications, including a focus on strategy development and implementation.
Rayoni has a Bachelor of Management from the University of South Australia and Masters in Sport Management from Deakin University. Her professional experiences include as CEO of School Sport Victoria, as part of the Department of Education, Head of Program Strategy and Research at the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, Manager of Physical Activity, Sport and Healthy Eating at VicHealth and is currently on the Board of Vicsport, the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and School Sport Australia.
Peejade Cheng
Peejade is a Chartered Accountant and tax specialist with over 20 years of professional experience in major advisory firms and the transport and logistics industry.
An enthusiast of the sport he has represented Victoria at the junior level and competed in international tournaments. Peejade also has significant leadership experience within the badminton community, including a notable 15-year tenure on the Board of Badminton Victoria (BV) before joining Badminton Australia.
“I am committed to elevating badminton within the competitive Australian sporting landscape. With my professional background and understanding of the sport at community and state levels, I look forward to working with all stakeholders to drive its growth.”
Steven Sam
Steven has held executive leadership roles in other engineering firms, most notably as the Head of Engineering for Scentre Group responsible for the design, development, delivery and operational support of Westfield Shopping Centre’s 41 assets across Australia and New Zealand.
Steven’s passion for badminton started over 30 years ago as a keen junior player in NZ and is still actively participating in all levels of competitions including veterans.
Sam Daykin
Sam Daykin brings decades of experience in governance, leadership, and community sport to the Badminton Australia Board. A lifelong badminton enthusiast, Sam began playing at age seven and represented Victoria in the 1989 June Bevan Trophy. He has served as President of the Bendigo and Eaglehawk Badminton Association since 2019, driving participation growth, facility upgrades, and hosting state, national, and international tournaments.
Beyond badminton, Sam is the owner of BRB Electrical, employing seven staff, and has held leadership roles across multiple boards, including Chair of Bendigo Sports Star and St Liborius Primary School. His extensive governance experience spans strategic planning, financial management, and stakeholder engagement. Sam’s contributions to badminton include managing Victorian junior teams, officiating at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, and leading his club to become Badminton Victoria’s first Community Club of the Year in 2023.
Committed to collaboration, integrity, and innovation, Sam combines a deep passion for badminton with proven organisational leadership, ensuring strong representation for grassroots and elite levels of the sport.
David Carrington
David is a values-driven General Counsel and Company Secretary with over 20 years of experience advising boards and executive teams across the sport, charity, health and government sectors. Based in Melbourne, David is recognized for his pragmatic approach to governance and his ability to provide straightforward, solution-focused advice that enables organizations to deliver on their mission. He is a fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia and holds director/committee roles with a number of sporting bodies.
Throughout his career, David has held senior in-house roles in both London and Melbourne, including at the BBC and most recently as Head of Legal and Company Secretary at Beyond Blue. Through his consultancy, Carrington Legal, David provides advice to national and state sporting bodies, ensuring they have the robust legal and risk management frameworks necessary to thrive and protect their members. His extensive legal background spans corporate governance, commercial contracts, privacy, and child safety—areas of critical importance to the sporting sector.
Lyndelle Zuccolin
Lyndelle Zuccolin is a strategic and values-driven executive with more than 20 years’ experience, bringing deep governance expertise, CPS-qualified financial leadership, and a strong record of driving transformation, growth, and operational uplift in complex, member-based organisations.
Lyndelle has extensive board and committee experience at National Sporting Organisation level, including finance, audit and risk, and marketing and commercial portfolios, and is recognised for building high-performing, values-aligned cultures and guiding organisations through periods of growth and change. Lyndelle has also served as Chief Executive Officer and Board member of a media-led social enterprise focused on child development and mental health.
With senior executive leadership experience across the not-for-profit, commercial and elite sport sectors, and as Founder and Managing Director of strategic consultancy Just Add Colour, Lyndelle brings disciplined financial oversight, strategic marketing expertise, and a strong focus on partnerships and stakeholder engagement to support organisational sustainability and long-term impact.
Badminton Australia Staff
Tjitte Weistra – Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer Tjitte (TJ) Weistra has a comprehensive background in badminton, both on and off the court.
After more than 30 years of involvement as a professional player, coach and administrator, TJ has gathered significant international experience in leadership, strategy, high-performance, grassroots participation, event management, communications and stakeholder relations.
His vision is to support the Australian badminton community in an open and transparent way, build strong relationships with the states and territories, and see the sport grow across all areas.
Anna Ronald – Financial Controller
Anna has more more than 20 years of accounting experience within the sports and not-for-profit sectors in both Australia and the UK. Anna’s financial expertise in sport includes working in cricket, rowing and baseball, in addition to managing her own practice.
Anna’s qualifications include a Bsc (Hons) in Applied Accounting, as well as being a CPA Public Practitioner and Registered Tax Agent.
Sonia Gouveia – National Participation and Para Manager
Sonia is our National Participation Manager overseeing schools, participation programs including DEI, coaching and officiating and community.
Sonia’s first taste of badminton was at 15, and she quickly adopted the sport, going on to play and compete in the UK, as well as co-run a local club and become an accreditated official at national and international level, line judging at the Commonwealth Games and Olympics.
Sonia is an LGBTQ+ ally and can be contacted on sonia.gouveia@badminton.org.au for a confidential and informal chat about LGBTQ+ inclusion in badminton or any Pride events that BA may run or support.
Lauren Collis – Shuttle Smash Coordinator
In this pivotal role, Lauren leads the delivery of Shuttle Smash, Badminton Australia’s introductory participation program, with a particular focus on reaching currently underrepresented communities. This includes people with disabilities, new migrants, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, women and girls, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Oscar Yam – Events & Communications Manager
Oscar is our Events and Communications Manager. He brings three years of experience leading events and membership/affiliation growth at Table Tennis Victoria and has been working closely with South East Melbourne Phoenix in the National Basketball League (NBL) on match day operations. Oscar holds a Master’s degree in Sport Management from Deakin University and a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing.
Oscar is responsible for the planning, delivery and growth of Badminton Australia’s national and international events, as well as leading BA’s communications across the website, social media, and digital channels. He supports BA’s vision of building an inclusive, connected, and thriving badminton community nationwide through strong event and communication strategies.
Peter Roberts – Events Coordinator
Peter assist with the delivery of our various national championships across all age groups and the Bendigo International.
Kevin Wu – Membership & Data Performance Officer
Kevin is our Membership & Data Performance Officer. His role involves using his expertise to lead system improvements, manage complex projects and build strong stakeholder relationships with members across the Australian badminton community.
Josh Neil – National Performance Manager
Josh is our National Performance manager. He has significant experience within badminton having been an athlete in the Scottish National Team, before moving into coaching and gaining both a UKCC Level 3 coaching award, alongside a Masters degree in Sport Performance Coaching. Josh managed the Scottish National Performance Pathway in his previous role.
Josh is responsible for the development of our High-Performance system, through building strong relationships with key stakeholders and developing documentation and processes that enables and aligns BA’s actions with our HP strategy.
Olivia Knowles – Para Performance Manager
As National Para Performance Manager, Olivia focuses on building strong relationships with para-athletes and performance staff, fostering an environment where each athlete feels supported, challenged, and empowered to reach their full potential—both on and off the court. The position plays a key role in developing a high-performance culture that prioritises individual growth, team collaboration, and long-term athlete development.
Leanne Choo – National Senior Coach
Leanne Choo manages the National Senior program in the role of National Senior Coach, and works closely with the players who are part of the National Senior Program.
Ian Bridge – Head Coach Para Badminton
Ian Bridge manages the Para Badminton Coaching program in the role of Head Coach, and works closely with the players who are part of the Para Badminton Falcons Squad.
Abbie Rothery – Social Media & Digital Content Creator
Reporting to the Events & Communications Manager, Abbie works part-time in the role of Social Media and Digital Content responsible for ensuring content gets created and published across our (social) media channels.
Abbie has represented Tasmania in badminton in various state teams over the last 15 years and still enjoys playing in the occasional local tournament. She is also a BWF Level 1 coach and is a passionate contributor to our sport; involved in several localized roles in badminton besides her work for BA, including as the secretary for Badminton Tasmania in 2024 and as a Development & Para Coach for Badminton Victoria.
Committees & Working Groups
| GOVERNANCE | |
| Finance, Audit & Risk Committee | Julie McDonald (Chair), Sam Daykin, Lyndelle Zuccolin, Michael Franks (Independent), Tjitte Weistra, Anna Ronald |
| Governance & Integrity Committee | Rayoni Nelson (Chair), Julie McDonald, Tjitte Weistra, David Carrington |
| Nominations & Remuneration Committee | Brendon Booth (Independent), David Carrington, Peejade Cheng (Chair) |
| Corporate Strategy Working Group | Steven Sam (Chair), Sam Daykin, Lyndelle Zuccolin, Tjitte Weistra |
| High Performance & Para Strategy Committee | Julie McDonald(Chair), Rayoni Nelson, Peejade Cheng, Josh Neil, Leanne Choo, Olivia Knowles, Ian Bridge, Tjitte Weistra |
| Coaching Committee | Julie McDonald, Sonia Gouveia, Tjitte Weistra |
| Selection Panel (Able Bodied) | Stuart Brehaut (Independent Chair), Leanne Choo, Josh Neil, Olivia Knowles, Ben Walklate (independent), Daniel Fan (Independent) |
| Para Selection Committee | Olivia Knowles, Ian Bridge, Simon Watkins (Independent) |
| BA Technical Officials Committee (BATOC) | Sandra David (Chair), Peter Cocker, Jiten Bhatt, Alvin Labios, Susan Taylor |
Board Meetings Calendar
2026 Board Meeting Dates: 2 February, 6 April, 12 June, 3 August, 5 October, 7 December.
