Nominee 4 is Mart Mäerand, Estonian badminton coach in Nõo Badminton Club which he established 25 years ago. During those years he has brought up several Estonian best female players who have achieved success at international level. Sport and educating children have been at the centre of Mart Mäerand’s life. In addition to his work as badminton coach Mart Mäerand was a physical education teacher at Nõo School for more than 40 years. He has also contributed to the development of Estonian badminton as member of the Coach Education Board.

During Mäerand´s coaching career, he discovered and developed the talent of many best Estonian female players in recent three decades. He has coached Piret Hamer (Vaughan) and Helen Reino who were the first Estonian doubled players to make a mark at international level. In 2015, his players Kristin Kuuba and Helina Rüütel brought the first ever championships medal to Estonia from the European Junior Championships in Lubin, Poland. In 2017 they participated at their first BWF World Championships, being first Estonian double players to do that after Hamer and Reino 11 years ago.

Mäerand coaching Rüütel

̏ Mart is a very good coach because he is very versatile, always interested in reading and getting new knowledge that he puts into effect in his badminton coaching. He has a lot of experience in sports and in life which he gives to his players. We appreciate a lot his openess and honesty that makes cooperation with him very easy, ̋ Kristin Kuuba and Helina Rüütel on Mäerand´s coaching.

Mäerand continues his work bringing up good players. This year, the best junior Kati-Kreet Marran and the best U-11 female player, Heili Merisalu who is the Estonian Champion are both his students as well. What makes his accomplishment even more remarkable is that all those ladies have come from a small club, Nõo Badminton Club in Nõo municipality with only 4000 inhabitants. And the fact that Mäerand doesn’t have badminton background from childhood but developed the love of the sport while being a teacher in school and has educated himself to be one of the leading badminton coaches in Estonia.

February 2015 - Mäerand received the 2014 Best Coach Award at the Estonian Badminton Annual Awards Gala

Mäerand is a coach who combines the teaching of badminton with teaching important values in life like respect of yourself and others, work ethics, commitment to your sport and training partners. It is his coaching methods that built the players´ determination to succeed in sport and the ability to combine school and family life with sports. Both of which are essential for female players to stay longer in top level competitive badminton.

̏Mart is one of the most respected coaches in Estonian badminton. It is his devotion to sport and quiet sense of humor that made him loved by his players. At the core of Mart's teaching is improving his players in badminton and at the same time growing them as persons. That is why he has succeeded in giving many good female players to Estonian and European badminton, ̋ added Renna Unt, General Secretary at Badminton Estonia.

The shortlisted nominees from the ‘Badminton for Women’ initiative will automatically be the nominees for the 2017 BEC Badminton for Women Award, which will be awarded at the 6th BEC Awards Gala Night in Dubrovnik, Croatia next year. The award winner is decided from the shortlisted nominees by the BEC Award Panel in cooperation with the Women in Badminton Commission.

To read about other nominees, please refer to the left menu.