Development

(Photo: Badminton Europe)
From Portugal to all around Europe, making badminton more accessible
Date: 6/1/2022 11:41 AM
Published by : Sara Gonzalez Martinez (BEC)
The 2022 Shuttle Time Tutors/Trainers Course hosted in Caldas de Rainha, Portugal, concluded successfully with participants ready to start implementing Shuttle Time in their countries.

Another year, another great edition of the 2022 Shuttle Time Tutors/Trainers Course. This time, participants and staff got to enjoy the amazing location that Caldas de Rainha is, hosted by the experienced Portuguese Badminton Federation, which had already been the host of several BEC activities and events.

- As part of our development programme, we are focusing on school projects through the BWF Shuttle Time project, which is about bringing badminton into schools and that was one of the reasons why we were so happy to welcome this year’s Shuttle Time Tutors/Trainers Course. The two-and-a-half-day course, split into theoretical content and court sessions, was a great opportunity for all the attendees to learn about how youngers should discover and play badminton in a fun way, General Secretary of the Portuguese Badminton Federation Patricia Rosa stated.

- We believe that by the end of the course, all the participants shared their powerful learning experiences and left ready to start implementing Shuttle Time in their home countries. We look forward to further development moments like the ones we lived this weekend in our Centre of Excellence in Caldas da Rainha.

In 2012, BWF launched the Shuttle Time programme with the aim to make badminton more accessible for children in schools to grow the sport’s popularity while also promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. This is an important mission and why the annual Shuttle Time Tutors/Trainers Course is such an important part of Badminton Europe’s Development calendar. BEC Development & High Performance Officer Tommi Saksa is pleased with how it’s gone this year.

- It has been two and a half days full of learning new skills and getting all the Shuttle Time wisdom in Portugal. It was delightful to see how actively everyone was taking part in the course when giving and receiving the feedback after the sessions.

- I really enjoyed attending the course and working with all the participants, experts, and the host. The group cohesion and atmosphere in the course were amazing. I am looking forward to supporting all the participants to develop the Shuttle Time programme in their home countries, Saksa said.

Diversity that enriches the experience
With 12 participants from eight different countries, the group in Portugal was really diverse but they will all be going home with the same aim: spreading their passion for badminton around school, all through the Shuttle Time programme.

- The group is really nice because there’s a big variety of coaches and teachers from different countries. They also come from a diversity of backgrounds, so I think there will be many tutors and trainers going back to their own countries to give a lot of badminton experience to the PE teachers. Seeing the growth of badminton in the whole of Europe inspires me, Course Tutor Andre Høidebraaten from Norway stated.

- It’s a very ambitious and motivated group. I’m looking forward to them going home, working a lot, and getting Shuttle Time known in their country, Course Tutor Tina Riedl from Austria said.

Inspired and with plans already on the horizon
From staff from National Federations and clubs to PE teachers, the participants had diverse relationships with badminton, but they all shared their love for the sport and a will to develop the Shuttle Time programme in their home countries.

- There are so many things that I have learnt in the course. To me, the most important have been how to talk to the children and how to give advice to the teachers. I really enjoyed all the interesting games we’ve been shown, which can be very helpful for the kids to learn badminton exercises, participant Miroslav Petrov from Bulgaria explained.

The hands-on approach of the course has made the course really enjoyable and has kept the participants active throughout the whole duration of it. These days have not only served them as a learning experience, but also as inspiration to get going upon their return home.

- When I go back to Croatia, I plan to gather all the teachers that are planning on learning. I will be travelling around the cities which don’t have badminton club, participant Filip Lončarić said.

- We want our children in Bulgaria to play this beautiful sport that is badminton. This summer, I am planning to organise a training camp for PE teachers so that they will introduce badminton in their schools. I hope that as many children as possible start playing badminton in schools, and why not, in clubs too, Petrov added.
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