The Ontario Badminton Association, through its districts, clubs and special programs, supports recreational play at all levels and ages, young to old, beginner to elite. The OBA also provides a structure for the development of young athletes all the way to national and international levels. Some of the programs are as follows:
Junior Development
The OBA encourages coaching of young badminton enthusiasts, by providing coach training in conjunction with the National Coaching Certification Program. Level 1 and 2 clinics and certification takes place through District organizations, in conjunction with the OBA, and Level 3 directly through the OBA. In Augusts 2005, a high performance camp and a level 3 technical clinic took place at the Mandarin Club in Toronto - see photograph of athletes and coaches. At the regional/district level, a variety of events are organized by clubs and districts to encourage play and further development. "Play All Day", and other events that provide lots of play in different formats allow junior players to compete against many levels and styles of competitors in fun atmosphere. Information on these events can be found on the OBA website.
Juniors reaching a higher level of performance can compete in the Victor Ontario Junior High Performance Circuit, at tournaments run across the province. They are also given opportunities to participate in high performance camps in the summer, on weekends, and during school holidays. Every other year, badminton participates in the Ontario Winter Games, in which 8 teams selected from the districts meet in a team format championship series, during the March break, as part of the overall Ontario Winter Games development process.
For Ontario's most promising junior players, the OBA annually hosts one of the National junior high performance circuit events, usually in November, which this year will be held in partnership with the Badminton & Racquet and Toronto Granite clubs. Periodically, one of the National championships is held in Ontario, and in 2004 the Boulevard Club hosted the National Junior Championships.
Every four years Ontario Badminton sends a team to the Canada Winter Games, the team being selected through a rigorous process. As funding allows, the OBA will organize development teams to participate in the Polson and Clarkson Cup tournaments, which are organized by the western Canada badminton associations.
The OBA is attempting to supplement the College and University badminton structures, which are suffering from funding cuts. Teams are invited to join the OBA and participate in events throughout the province.
Canada Winter Games 2007
The OBA is delighted to announce that Brian Tjoa will be the Coach for the badminton team that will join the Ontario team travelling to Whitehorse in the Yukon. The OBA invites applications for the position of manager, see news item. .
Adult High Performance Development
In partnership with Badminton Canada, and the RA Centre in Ottawa, the OBA supports an elite high performance program at the Centre which trains athletes who compete internationally in badminton.
Also in partnership with Badminton Canada, the OBA recognizes a high performance training program established at the Boulevard Club in Toronto, through which the Club provides opportunities for selected high performance athletes to take advantage of the Club facilities.
The OBA organizes the Victor Ontario Circuit as a structured series of competitive events for Ontario's best adults to test their skills. The OBA also hosts, through partnerships with member clubs or district organizing committees, National circuit events. By hosting these in Ontario, athletes are given the opportunity to compete at high levels with reduced travel costs. This year Ontario will host the Toronto Open, a key stop on the National Open Adult Circuit, and the Ontario Team Cup, a forum for teams of high performance athletes to compete hard in a team setting.
National Junior Team
See attached documents for information on 2005 National Junior Team Selection andrevised documents on 2006 Criteria and Selection for Pan Am Junior and World Junior events.
2006 Commonwealth Games
See attached document for selection criteria.
Prohibited drug list - update
ADVISORY NOTE
The 2006 WADA Prohibited List: Summary of Revisions
(Ottawa, Ontario – October 3, 2005) – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) would like to summarize for the Canadian sport community the most significant revisions that will appear on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2006 Prohibited List. The new Prohibited List will replace WADA’s 2005 Prohibited List as of January 1, 2006.
http://www.cces.ca/forms/index.cfm?dsp=template&act=view3&template_id=194&lang=e&news_id=52
or download the PDF:
http://www.cces.ca/pdfs/CCES-ADV-2006ListUpdate-E.pdf
Ontario has a long and strong history contributing to high performance badminton in Canada. But we have much more work to do to meet a key goal - building The Ontario Powerhouse, reaching for the TOP.