Mark Beecher already looking ahead to LA

It may be just a few months since the sporting world descended on Paris but Mark Beecher already has his eyes on Los Angeles.

Badminton England’s Head of Performance has just under four years to prepare the next set of Paralympians and Olympians but knows just how quickly that time will slip away.

Beecher is tasked with ensuring absolutely everything is ready by the time athletes, coaches and support staff touch down in LAX in the summer of 2028, from the nuts and bolts of qualification to making sure prep camps and the athletes’ village are up to scratch.

But before he can look forward to the next four years, Beecher is keen to reflect on Paris 2024 in order to learn what can be improved in the future.

“It was quite unique with Paris as we were coming out of the ‘Covid Games’, as we referred to them,” he said.

“For both Games, all the players delivered great performances. We were governed by the draw and on the Olympic side they were tough draws. We played very well, we played to our level so we can’t complain

“I use the Games as a stepping stone for the next four years. What do we need to do to improve where our players are and push towards medal winning performances.

“There is quite a lot of analysis afterwards of the performances across each of the programmes as well as a lot of analysis on me – did I prep everything right? Did people feel like they had to do more than what they were going there for?

“That then feeds into the next four years. That’s what I look at, what do we need to do to perform better at the next Games and all the events in between.”

One of the key aims for Beecher is to ensure a full suite of athletes are qualified for LA 2028 across both the Olympics and Paralympics, including a first qualification in the paralympic men’s SL5 class, and the road to California starts now with players needing to build up vital ranking points.

Beecher is already busy working with players and coaches to map the best route to qualification based on both analysis from Paris and individual needs.

“We look at the strategies behind each player,” he added.

“For some players, it is about maintaining their competition, other players it is about looking strategically about ‘How do I get them into the world rankings in preparation for 2026 when we start looking at qualification?’

“My target is to have everyone in a good place at the beginning of qualification. Then we can go for qualification, get people there and then we look at the final part of how to perform when we fly out to LA.

“One of the learnings from Paris is we have to develop ourselves more physically. We are developing our players to have a greater physicality to allow them to deliver improved performances on the court, and that’s on both Olympic and Paralympic programmes.

“Over the next 12 months we are nurturing the players to understand that but running parallel to that we have a full BWF calendar that we need players to get their world rankings.”

Only a select few will qualify for Los Angeles, but Beecher knows the value of creating a highly competitive environment within Badminton England as not all will fulfil their dream of making an Olympics but can represent England through our representative tournaments.

It means ensuring as many players as possible are taken along the four-year path towards both Games, giving them as much information as possible along the way.

“One thing I do is I take all players, even if we haven’t started qualification, along on that journey to give them the inspiration to perform and be part of that final journey,” he said.

“To start the journey, I go to LA next January. I am going to look at the pre-camp training venues and look at what we require to get us prepped prior to the  move into the village and the performance venues

“Every time I come back, I send out some information about the venue and the village, so I don’t surprise them come 2028 with the information and to inspire people to step up and qualify.”

The path to Los Angeles will look a little different than previous cycles, with badminton not included in the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The retirements of Marcus Ellis, Lauren Smith, Toby Penty and Jess Pugh also mean opportunities for new faces to come to the fore on the Olympic side, and Beecher is embracing the challenges.

“It is very disappointing for us but we are appreciative that the Commonwealth Games was rescued by Glasgow and delivering a reduced games programme,” he said.

“I have always utilised the Commonwealth Games as the stepping stone going into the Olympics and I have always said having that multi-sport experience has always helped us.

“The European Games is a qualifying event that takes place in 2027. That is a multi-sport event and one that we are definitely part of, that is where we are going to try and ensure people get that multi-sport experience as it is hard to simulate that in any sport.

“If it all goes well, we will have a  number of debutants [at LA 2028] but if I can take them along the journey, it won’t be a shock and they can perform. Any major event where it is multi-sport, it can affect players and their performances.
“What I try and do is remove that shock. It will still be an experience but hopefully they can still perform to their maximin.”