2015 has been an extremely productive year for the European para-badminton community. The strong co-operation between Badminton Europe (BEC) and its Member Associations catalyzed the improvement of para-badminton and allows it to develop tremendously over the past twelve months. 

After the full integration of para-badminton into the BEC governance structure in January 2015, the Continental Confederation and its stakeholders achieved numerous milestones together and this is just the beginning of more great achievements to come. Let us take a quick flashback of the year it has been:

• Copenhagen – January 2015

• Paris – April 2015

• Stoke Mandeville – September 2015

• Para-Badminton World Championships – This event took place in Stoke Mandeville, England which was the birthplace of the Paralympic movement.To view the pictures, click here 

• Para-Badminton International Tournaments – Five international tournaments were organized in three continents. To read the archived news about these tournaments, click here

• 4 Nations Series -The 4 Nations Para-Badminton Series includes events from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales and was first established in 2007 when Wales staged their first event. To know more about this event, check the ´4 Nations Series´ section on the BEC para-badminton page.

• 1st BEC Para-Badminton Player Award – Karin Suter-Erath (SUI) was awarded in Paris (April) during the 2015 Annual Delegates´ Meeting for her outstanding performance and achievement in various tournaments in 2014.

• 1st BWF Female Para-Badminton Player Of The Year – Helle Sofie Sagøy (NOR) was awarded by the Badminton World Federation in Dubai (December) during the Players’ Reception and Gala Dinner during the Dubai Superseries Finals.

• BEC Para-Badminton Forum, April_Paris, France – All the present Member Associations were officially introduced to para-badminton for the first time during the 2015 Annual Delegates´ Meeting.

• 1st BEC Para-Badminton Education Course, December_Veenendaal, Netherlands – 55 participants from 22 Member Associations took part in the three days education course which was tailored for para-badminton coaches and administrators. Photos from the course can be viewed here.

• Website and social media - The BEC para-badminton website was launched in April 2015. All updated para-badminton related news and information can be easily accessed on this page. Para-badminton activities are also promoted and published on BEC Facebook, BEC Twitter and BEC Instagram.

• BEC online magazine – Para-badminton article was published for the first time in the 20th edition of the BEC online magazine in June (page 63-67), followed by more articles in the 21st edition (page 50-53) which was published in November.

• ´European Para-Badminton Towards Tokyo 2020´ video – This video was produced and published in October to mark the one year post inclusion of para-badminton into the Paralympic Movement .Para-badminton will make its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. To watch this video, click here.

• ´1st BEC Para-Badminton Education Course´ summary video – A recap of the three days education course which was held in Veenendaal, Netherlands. To watch this video, click here.

BEC wishes everyone a ´Happy New Year´ and is looking forward to assist, guide and bring European para-badminton to a higher level in 2016 with all its 52 Member Associations.

Below is a brief overview of some of the para-badminton activities that will take place in 2016.

For more information about para-badminton, please visit the BEC para-badminton page here.

For other enquiries on European para-badminton, please contact Tania Teoh at tania.teoh@badmintoneurope.com