Development

Another successful edition of the BEC Para badminton Event
Date: 8/30/2021 3:45 PM
Published by : Sara Gonzalez Martinez (BEC)
It was all smiles on the last day of the 2021 BEC Para badminton event in Tallinn, as yet another successful and memorable edition has been delivered smoothly.

Yesterday morning was time for feedback for the Administrators Course participants, and those taking part in the Coaches Course had to show what they had learned in their assessments. It was time to process all the information of the past two days but also start thinking about going back home and working on improving Para badminton in their home countries.

Wonderful hosts for a special event
The BEC Para badminton event received a special guest on its final day yesterday morning. Ulla Helm, President of Badminton Estonia, came to the sports centre to personally thank each and every participant, as well as the Expert Coaches and BEC staff onsite.

- I am very honoured to have had the chance to host this event. People’s eyes sparkle with the knowledge they have gained this weekend and with urge to go back home and start those projects and training groups. I am very glad and this has been an honourable event for Estonia, Helm stated.

Justine Cammal, who was delivering the Administrators Course, sat down to talk with each of the participants about their reflections on what had been learned as well as helping them with any further doubts they might have on kick-starting tor continue their own Para badminton projects at home.

The Coach Education course participants had a 20-minute practical assessment that consisted of a training session with wheelchair players, followed by a one-to-one feedback with the coach assessing them. It is a three-day event, but it surely is an intense one that provides everyone involved with memorable experiences and valuable knowledge. 

- For us, this is a dream come true. For the past two years, we have been expecting this kind of training because we have not had the possibility to actually kick off the bigger project, because we have not had training for our trainers so that they could really start forming the groups. There are players out there, but we just lacked the knowledge. I see this is the situation in many of the other countries as well, Helm explained.

A bright future for Para badminton in Europe
With so many people involved with different backgrounds and previous experience, there is one thing for sure and that is that everyone who attended the 2021 Para badminton Event is leaving motivated to contribute to the future of Para badminton in their countries and in the whole of Europe. Participants are quite positive about it too.

- The future is definitely bright. With more coaches, we will get the players who are out there, who really want to play. This sport is forever, you can play in every kind of age and we can see it is doable in every condition. We are definitely hopeful that the number of players will grow after we have such events, and of course I am expecting to have events more often to refresh that knowledge and to get more people into coaching para badminton players, President of the Badminton Federation of Kosovo, Lulzim Haziri said.

The Badminton Federation of Kosovo is quite young and yet, they had two people attending the two different courses—President Lulzim Haziri and General Secretary Blerim Sylejmani. Their lack of experience is not stopping them from getting started with Para badminton in Kosovo, but rather motivating them even more and especially after having learnt so much and met people from all over Europe.

-I have seen a lot of professionals here who are working very hard. I can see a good future in this sport. The reason why I am here with the General Secretary Blerim Sylejmani is because we want to start Para badminton in our country, because we have many associations for people with disabilities and we want to work with them, Haziri explained.

The Faroe Islands might be a small country, but they have also been working extremely hard to further develop Para badminton in the islands. Attending the Coaches Course were Gudrun Jacobsen and Bjørg Djurhuus. They see a bright future for Para badminton in their country and in Europe.

-I see a future and maybe we will have more kids who will learn more and will improve to take part in more tournaments, Jacobsen said.

-I am sure we will be better coaches when we go home, so I can absolutely see a positive future, Djurhuus stated.
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