Early last month (8-10 October), the Moss Badmintonklubb organised the second Badminton Camp and Tournament in Moss with the support from the Norwegian Badminton Association to provide a place where players with different disabilities (both physical and intellectual) could meet and play badminton.
In 2020, 14 players from three Norwegian clubs attended the camp. This year, the number increased to 13 from five Norwegian clubs alongside an additional 10 players from Denmark.
The first day started with a “meet and greet” session, which allowed the players opportunity to socialise and build friendships. The next day, different warm-up exercises were introduced to players alongside an on-court session, where they were grouped according to their level.
Scenes from the Badminton Camp & Tournament.
When the tournament started with the singles event, the parents volunteered to become umpires. Majority of the matches were exciting and ended with three games.
The third and final day saw the introduction of the unified doubles event, where a differently-abled player partnered an abled-bodied counterpart.
The Badminton Camp and Tournament was only a success because of the support of Norwegian Badminton Association, Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports, and also sponsors Toyota Norway and Toyota Moss.
The main goal of this activity is to continue increasing the number of participants each year and encourage more Nordic countries to join the project. The aim next year is to have up to 50 players.
“This is a nice arena for these players. We have seen friendships built during the weekend between players from different clubs and countries. All the coaches have also been able to learn from each other, and we hope that this new collaboration will grow in the coming years.” – André Høidebraaten, Shuttle Time and Para Badminton National Coordinator of Norway
