AFTER THE thrill of playing in the Olympic Games at Wembley Arena, many of the world’s top badminton players now get the chance to compete at the new Emirates Arena in Glasgow during the Scottish International Championships in November. For the last 20 years the Scottish Open, the third oldest tournament in the world game, has been staged at the world-famous Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena.

But the Emirates Arena, the venue for the badminton competition at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, officially opened on October 7 and the Scottish International Championships will be the first international badminton event to be staged there when it takes place from November 21-25.

Anne Smillie, Chief Executive of BADMINTONscotland, said today: “This year’s Championships offers players a great opportunity to be among the first to play in the Arena and to get a feel for the hall two years in advance.

“Of course, players from all over the world are welcome to enter, not just Commonwealth Games hopefuls. We are used to having 30 or 40 nations represented at our great old Championships and we want this year’s tournament to be as good as ever, if not better than ever.

“On top of that we will be running the renowned Play Badminton Carnivals that we developed so well at the Kelvin Hall. More than 3,000 Scottish schoolchildren will come through the doors of the Emirates Arena throughout Championship week for what is an incredible experience: a major coaching initiative taking place in tandem with a major championship.”

Once again this premier event on the Badminton Europe Circuit will run for five days starting with qualifying rounds on Wednesday, November 21. The early rounds will take place on the Thursday and Friday, with the quarter and semi-finals on Saturday morning and afternoon, and the finals played on the Sunday.

Players are assured a warm welcome in Glasgow. The closing date for entries is Tuesday, October 30 (deadline 23.59 at BWF headquarters). All entries are to be submitted using the BWF online entry system. Scottish players interested in entering should contact BADMINTONscotland with their entry immediately.

Entry invitations have already been circulated to all member nations but Anne Smillie added: “We particularly wanted to flag up this exciting new venue to all players who are eager to come to Glasgow this autumn. It’s a chance to take part in one of the most enjoyable and sociable tournaments on the circuit.”

The Scottish International Championships take place thanks to the support of BADMINTONscotland in partnership with Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life and support from sportscotland and equipment suppliers and BADMINTONscotland long-term partners Yonex UK.

Press release by Peter Dean, BADMINTONscotland