Development

Photo: Holbæk Sportsby
Badminton Europe and Holbæk Sportsby extend contract
Date: 3/26/2021 9:59 AM
Published by : Rasmus Bech(BEC)

The Badminton Europe Centre of Excellence will stay in Holbæk, Denmark for four more years.

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) has been based in Holbæk since the grand opening in September 2017. Today, a new agreement was signed, which means that badminton players from all around the world will be travelling to Holbæk until the end of 2024.

The players travelling to the Centre of Excellence for permanent, short or long-term stays, all live at the Sportel right next to the practice facilities, and General Secretary at Badminton Europe, Brian Agerbak, is pleased that the CoE will still be providing quality training and a good environment for the players coming to the centre.


- I am pleased with the facilities and the cooperation with Holbæk Sportsby. The facilities of the Sportel fit perfectly for the players coming from abroad, who would like to stay in Holbæk for a long period of their lives, Agerbak stated.

- Badminton Europe is looking forward to extend the cooperation and to be even more visible in the local badminton community.

Holbæk is happy
Back in 2017, Holbæk won the bidding process for hosting the CoE in front of nine European cities. The new contract runs until the end of 2024 with an option to extend for four more years, and in Holbæk they are pleased that the European top players will continue to be part of the ambitious project the city is running.

- We are happy and proud that Badminton Europe is pleased with the facilities. It has been the intention from the beginning that the cooperation should run for more than just four years, Director at Holbæk Sportsby, Carsten Damgaard mentioned.

Since the opening of the Holbæk Sportsby, players have been living at the Holbæk Sportel, and the new agreement also secures that the players in the future have a place to stay when they arrive in Denmark.

- The CoE players stay in 28 out of 37 rooms, which of course is the majority of the rooms. We are currently looking at the options to increase the number of rooms at the Holbæk Sportel, the Director of Holbæk Sportel, Lars Basse mentioned.


Local inspiration
As part of the agreement, local badminton clubs will be invited to the Centre of Excellence to get inspiration and sparring. Brian Agerbak is of the opinion that it is important for Badminton Europe not only to focus on high performance, but also to support the grassroots of the sports.

- We have a new Coach Education project, which is supported by Erasmus+, and it makes perfect sense that we also share our knowledge and know-how with the local clubs in the Holbæk region. Badminton is for everybody, and if somebody can learn something from us, we are more than happy to open the doors, Agerbak said.

It is expected that two to three players, who practice at CoE, will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.


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