Participants, presenters and organizers all checked into the Van der Valk Hotel in Veenendaal and started the 1st BEC Para-Badminton Education Course with open minds despite their tiring travelling day. The course started at 3.00pm with two sessions and ended at 9.30pm with a dinner in between the two sessions.
Although participants are from 24 different countries, they were all very enthusiastic and participated actively in all the group discussions and came out with interesting ideas for the future development of para-badminton in Europe. The course presenters were equally glad with the input of the whole group and they are positive that the sessions tomorrow (Saturday, 11th December) will get better and better.
´Like all people, it took some time for the participants to warm up to their new para-badminton colleagues and get accustomed to the new environment but after 15 minutes or so, the momentum started to increase and by the first half an hour, we can feel the group´s connection and it really made the sessions more fun and engaging. I believe the practical session tomorrow will be equally fruitful for the participants.´ Lyndon Williams on the participants´ commitment for the first day of the education course.
The highlight of the day was of course the para-badminton quiz which was conducted by Lyndon. The whole group was split into eight groups and questions about para-badminton and badminton were asked. The groups with the most correct answers were awarded the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, followed by the consolation prizes. The first day ended around 10.00pm and the course content for the second day of the education course is a full day on court practical session in the badminton hall.
The morning session will be focused on standing players while the afternoon session will be focusing on the wheelchair sport class. Participants will go through the fundamental ways of coaching para-badminton players and the correct approach when communicating with their players. Besides that, they will also deliver some sessions according to the scenarios that the presenters prepared. Administrators will join the whole session and will then be split to a more specific group when the coaches are delivering their sessions.
The evening session will be organized by the local host where there will be time to mingle and network with each other. On top of that, there will also be nutritional and motivational talks combined with some sharing sessions. The 1st BEC Para-Badminton Education Course will be held until Sunday.