The BWF Humans of Shuttle Time series presents the perspectives of those who work on badminton development at the grassroots level.
In 2012, BWF launched Shuttle Time to the world. A school’s badminton programme supporting the principle that children should lead a healthy and active life, both in and out of school. BWF’s goal is to make badminton one of the world’s most popular and accessible school sports.
Here are the stories of Alexandre Cudré-Mauroux & Sabrina Mattle.
Childhood Days
Alex: I was born and raised in Fribourg, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. I was always a lot into sports. As a kid, I played ice hockey and football. I had to make a choice, chose ice hockey and ended up playing in the third division.
Sabrina: I grew up in the countryside in the German-speaking region of Basel in Switzerland. My parents were always very active in sports, so I and my two older brothers started early in a lot of sports. We all started with gymnastics and then we all got into badminton. Today I work as an independent sports, performance and health psychologist with my own practice, and am responsible for kids’ badminton and Shuttle Time at Swiss Badminton.
Growing Up With Badminton
Alex: I first saw badminton probably at school when I was seven or eight years old. I thought it was a quick sport, very intense with many tactical aspects. I never played badminton in a club. I regularly play with friends at a centre. My relationship with badminton changed two years ago when I started working for the Swiss Badminton Association.
Sabrina: I can't really remember when I first saw badminton, but my mother used to play badminton regularly when she was pregnant with me. Since she was very active at our badminton club, I grew up with it. I was struck by its smooth movements, speed and power.
At the age of 11, I started actively in the badminton club and trained regularly. After I was accepted into the national junior team, my training increased and I focused on badminton as a performance sport. During my junior years I was lucky to participate in several international tournaments but then had to stop playing badminton due to various injuries. Today I still play regularly for fun and I have remained dedicated to badminton as an instructor and Swiss Badminton employee.
What Badminton Means
Badminton is so cool! Everybody can play badminton. It does not matter if you are young or old, boy or girl, small or tall.
In the current pandemic situation, the majority of us in Switzerland are happy because we can still practice our sport. Contact sports are currently prohibited throughout Switzerland. It is therefore still easily possible to play badminton while taking certain precautions.
Spreading the Badminton Gospel
Our main goal is to bring badminton to the schools. Therefore we train teachers in Shuttle Time courses so that they can teach badminton in the schools. We are also launching the Shuttle Time Cup for the third time, which is the badminton tournament series for schools. Schools in Switzerland have very clear rules about what is taught, so it is challenging to get in there. But we always give our best, every day.
Impact of Shuttle Time
Many children have got to experience badminton – either through teachers or directly at events. Every Shuttle Time course is fun and everyone enjoys playing badminton, moving and sweating. It is great to see how you can achieve such a great effect with simple tools.