It is with huge sadness that we recently heard the news that Andy Griffiths passed away peacefully after a long and incredibly brave battle over a few years.

Those within the international Racketlon community will know Andy best as the father of Leon and Luke – although I first met Andy 12+ years ago when he was a player on the UK Tour.

Andy introduced both Leon and Luke to Racketlon when they were both very young. Being a parent of kids who play sport at a high level is not an easy thing to get right, but somehow Andy always made it look incredibly easy: gracious, kind, calm and always with a fantastic sense of humour, his unwavering support throughout all the junior years has been incredible.

The huge success of Great Britain juniors over the last 10+ years can in so many ways be credited to the uniquely welcoming atmosphere that exists within the ever-growing group of players and families at GB Racketlon. Andy, alongside his wife Susie, were the ones who created and installed this atmosphere from day one – their positive impact on junior Racketlon has simply been huge.

And as Andy leaves us, we have Leon as our current men’s world number one and Luke as our current men’s world champion. Leon and Luke’s achievements to play right through all the junior ranks to the very top of our sport has of course been fantastic to witness – but the true testament to their Dad is not actually all the titles they have won…it is the manner and spirit with which they have always played: always fair, always competitive, always calm (Leon more than Luke maybe!) – always encouraging to others and just fantastic, young role models.   

This spirit, embodied in his two boys, is the legacy which Andy has left us and I have no doubt will continue to be nurtured so well by Susie.

Andy Griffiths Trophy

A further, long-lasting legacy to Andy is that we have agreed, with the blessing of the Griffiths family, to create the “Andy Griffiths Trophy” – this will be presented to the winner of all future winners of the boys under 21 World Championships (with all previous winners engraved on it).

With Leon and Luke having won the u21 world title 5 times between them, together with the wider impact Andy has had on junior Racketlon, the Andy Griffiths Trophy will be a fitting and long-lasting tribute for us all to remember Andy by.

Duncan Stahl / FIR President

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