The signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Slovak badminton federations bring its first positive results. We are referring to the successfully completed U19 Regional Camp in Pilsen and the first year edition of the President's Cup in Trencin.

The Regional Camp in Pilsen served as preparation for players for the upcoming Junior World Championships and European Championships. The time spent together, joint training sessions, and cooperation among individual coaches and teams...

...the continuation of the project was the first year of the President's Cup, a team tournament in the U23 category, which was dominated by the Poles. The second place went to the Czech U23 team, and the third place was claimed by the Hungarian Team A.

The President's Cup is essentially intended to become an event that gives young players the chance to play several high-quality matches. The idea for organizing this category arose precisely because the transition from the junior to the senior category is not easy for players. It often happens that they first have to qualify for a tournament on the international stage, and if they do make it into the competition, they play only one or two matches. A team tournament and comparison with peers provide players with a great opportunity for confrontation, and it also fosters team spirit. There is no doubt that the event was successful. Moreover, next year, the Czech Federation is expected to take over the role of organizer, and an individual tournament will be added to the team tournament.

In Trencin, specifically on August 25, 2024, another meeting was held where various steps forcooperation were discussed. Representatives of all federations participated in the negotiations: Petr Martinec for the Czech Badminton, Marek Krawczyk for Poland, Melinda Joo for Hungary, and Zuzana Rajdugová for the Slovak Badminton Federation (SZBe).

In the upcoming period, after the Czechs and Slovaks, the Hungarians will take over the symbolic organizing baton and will prepare an event for the U16 category in November. The team and individual tournament, which will involve not only V4 countries, will serve as preparation for next year’s U17 European Championships.

Speaking of plans for the next season, in addition to the continuation of the U19 Regional Camp and the President's Cup, there are also plans to organize a training camp for the U15 category. This camp already took place this year, albeit with the participation of only representatives from the Czechia and

Slovakia. Cooperation is also planned in the fields of Para-badminton and AirBadminton, including joint tournaments and camps.

Last but not least, the cooperation will focus on the development of technical officials. The President's Cup has already shown tremendous potential in this regard, as the opportunity to officiate at the event was given to foreign referees. In Trenčín, besides Slovak referees, we also had the chance to see three Polish and three Czech referees. 

We believe that further joint projects will be beneficial for everyone because only by working together can we progress and move in the right direction.