The project was delivered from 21 to 27 August in Iasi, Romania. A total of 21 players participated in this senior training camp. There were nine players from Romania, six from Bulgaria, and six from Moldova, as well as one expert to deliver the camp from each of the participating countries. 

George Constantinescu, one of the nine participant athletes from Romania, explains why this was the perfect preparation for the BWF World Senior Championships: “It was a great camp with a good organisation, training with different sparing partners. We had supplements for nutrition, and we exchanged knowledge about different methods of how to recover better and faster. We had everything that we needed for our preparation for the upcoming Championships.”

The week-long training camp aimed to improve the players' technical skills but most of all, to prepare those players who would be competing for the World Senior Championships in South Korea. The program of the senior training camp was agreed between the three participating federations. In addition to the normal training sessions, the participants had a seminar about the preparation and recovery process for important events.

Player Natalia Gronova from Moldova states, “I am a former professional badminton player — I stopped my badminton career just three years ago. This is my first time participating in such a nice and intensive camp since I stopped playing professionally. This camp was a good booster for my badminton skills, and I will definitely be coming back next year. This senior camp was an excellent opportunity for practicing before the World Senior Championships.”

Cooperation is at the heart of the Regional Projects and Alina Popa, a member of the Romanian Badminton Federation’s board, emphasises the partnership in this project of the three participating Members. “This camp is a great opportunity to prepare for events such as the European Senior Championships and the World Senior Championships. It has created a good atmosphere and social relations between the seniors from each country. We are like a big team now, and more than that, there are more players who will want to participate in ESC and WSC in the future, for sure. You can say that we have helped start a good phenomenon in senior badminton players' communities from these three participating countries.”

You can read more about the RSL BEC Regional Projects here.