The Polish Badminton Association are proudly announcing that they will be going ahead in organising the second Para Badminton Polish Open Baukrane Zakopane 2020 on 18-19 September.
The tournament is an integration event for all individuals with disabilities who play badminton. They are encouraging the participation of players from various European countries because it also may be the last opportunity this year for players to test themselves on court before the tournament calendar resumes.
The first Para Badminton Polish Open was labelled a great success for Polish Para badminton, so it is positive to hear that there is a lot of support to hold the second edition of the tournament. Particularly as the organisation of tournaments this year comes with significantly more hurdles to jump over. However, Katarzyna Ziębik, Board Member of the Polish Badminton Association (PBA) feels that it is important to work hard to overcome them for the benefit of the sport.
-The tournament is important to organise from the point of view of promotion of Para badminton in Poland, as we can showcase the players playing the sport. Due to the pandemic, a number of tournaments have been cancelled. For many participants, this is the sole tournament of the year.
Outstanding beauty
For the PBA, they state that in fact the biggest challenge was the inaugural Polish Para Badminton Open last year organised by UKS Orły Zakopane. This year’s tournament has the additional challenge of dealing with concerns around the pandemic. The organisers decided that with strict restrictions and policies, the tournament can go ahead. Explaining the precautions being taken, Ziębik says.
-All tournament organisers in Poland received guidelines from the Polish Badminton Federation. The aim is to guarantee maximum safety for the participants through limiting the number of people in the hall, temperature checks and hand sanitiser. In the hall, access will only be granted to people with accreditation. The parking area, changing rooms and courts will only be accessible by a pre-agreed list of individuals.
All of this was made possible by the hard work of UKS Orły Zakopane, particularly Krzysiek Wiśniowski, Zbyszek Szczerba and Polish player Jakub Sikorski Codi.
Another considerable perk of the tournament going ahead is the location. Zakopane is an area of outstanding beauty. It is a summer and winter resort in southern Poland at the foothills of the Tatra Mountains. Ziębik also adds.
-The area is full of passionate badminton players. The local club, UKS Orły Zakopane, would like to be the permanent hosts of the Polish Para Badminton Open.
This is great news that the organisers are able to take safety measures, allowing for the tournament to take place and build upon the success of the tournament last year.
For more information, click here.