Numbers for first badminton championships lower than expected

The participation numbers were not as high as originally anticipated.

Yet organizers of the inaugural Canadian Aboriginal Badminton Championships are confident they have launched an event that will grow in popularity in coming years.

The first national tournament for Aboriginal players was held July 5-9 in Saskatoon. It attracted 102 competitors.
The event featured five age groupings. Four of these categories were for youth; under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18. There was also an adult division, for those aged 19 and over.

“We wanted to give kids the chance to participate in a national event,” said tournament director Mark Arcand.  “If you’re playing a team sport it can be pretty hard to advance to a national championship. By having this event we gave people the opportunity to become a national champion.”

When putting together the tournament organizers felt they would be able to attract 300-400 athletes.

Arcand said he wasn’t disappointed the number of participants was considerably less.

“For our first year we were happy with the numbers,” he said. “It was a great event. And the word of this is going to spread.”

Those who did take part could enter as many as three events. Besides singles play, each age grouping also included doubles and mixed doubles (one female, one male) action.

In order to compete at the national tournament, competitors had to be Aboriginal. They also had to be registered with their provincial or territorial badminton sports governing body.

This year’s inaugural tournament drew participants from four provinces. Besides Saskatchewan, players from Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec took part.

The goal is to hold the tournament annually.

Groups from the Yukon, Nunavut and Newfoundland have already expressed interest in sending representatives to the 2012 championships next July.
“We’re hoping to gain some other provinces as well,” Arcand said.

Arcand believes next year’s event will see substantial growth in terms of participation.

“We’re hoping to at least double our numbers,” he said.
Saskatoon will be the tournament’s permanent home.
“We’re the ones that originated it,” Arcand said, “and we want to keep hosting it in Saskatoon.”

This year’s tournament was hosted by the Saskatoon Tribal Council, in conjunction with the Saskatchewan Badminton Association.

Organizers felt a national Aboriginal tournament would be successful because of badminton’s popularity whenever the Saskatchewan First Nations Winter Games are held. The Games, staged every two years, attract about 300 badminton players each session.

Those that fared well at this year’s national championships were thrilled with the prizes. Besides a plaque, all winners were presented with a hoodie emblazoned with their champion status. And those that advanced to a final were given a long sleeve shirt, also declaring their accomplishment.

“You should have seen the kids when they won. They put on their hoodie or T-shirt right away,” Arcand said. “That was better than getting just a medal which they were probably going to put away somewhere.”