All the BEC Para badminton Event participants gathered outside the modern FORUS Sports Centre Tondi in Tallinn in a cold Friday morning for a day of great experiences that would make for the gloomy weather outside the sport shall. 

In compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, all coaches and participants showed their Coronavirus certificates just like they did upon arrival at the accommodation—with proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result. Once the formalities were over, it was finally time to kick off this year’s BEC Para badminton Event.

Participants really showed their motivations since the beginning, but so did Coaches’ Course’s Head Coach Kaity Hall and Assistant Coach Anton Ivanov, as well as Justine Cammal, who is delivering the Administrator’s Course.

The day started with a brief presentation from all those delivering the courses and a warm welcome from Kathy-Karmen Kale, Sport Coordinator from Badminton Estonia who apart from representing the hosts on-site is also taking part in the Administrators’ Course.

The morning consisted of a balanced mix of in-class and on-court sessions for the participants in both courses. They had the chance to interact with each other in a hands-on insightful session on wheelchair badminton in which they got the chance to assemble them and play for a bit to understand the experience better from the Para players’ point of view.

There was a lot of new information coming in for those listening, but also many questions for those delivering the courses—and most importantly, many exchanges of experiences amongst everyone involved. Assistant Coach of the Coaches’ Course, Anton Ivanov from Russia, thinks the first day could not have got off to a better start.

- The first day went smoothly. I loved the involvement of the participants and the interactions with the them. They have different levels; some have experience and others do not. This is good for all of them. They have lots of activities and they have got so involved, I hope they will keep on being so in the following days as they have today, Ivanov said.

Participants will undoubtedly leave Tallinn with plenty of new ideas to further develop Para badminton in their own cities and countries. Ivanov thinks it is important for them to set up specific goals so that they can focus on how to succeed when they are back home.

-We set up small goals, and they do it by themselves. We hope to reach those goals during the whole workshop. The main one is about the wheelchair class, and also to gain experience in Para badminton in general, Ivanov explained.

The five participants from the Administrators’ Course have already gained knowledge about the basic tools and steps on how to develop Para badminton projects in their countries, cities or clubs. There were people with hugely different levels of experience, some from places where Para badminton is not as popular as that of other participants. 

It is this diversity that makes the learning experience more enriching. BEC Development and High Performance Officer Justine Cammal is delivering this course, and she is glad with the participants inquisitiveness, no matter their previous experience.

- The first day of the Administrators’ Course was already really interesting. Some participants have a very hands-on experience with Para badminton, while others are eager to kick-start Para badminton in their countries, Cammal said.

Learning is not at the centre of the event, but also sharing different perspectives and sharing a good time with like-minded people. It is an opportunity to network with like-minded people, all with the same objective: to further develop Para badminton in Europe.

- It is always interesting to share all these different experiences and to make new acquaintances for the development of Para badminton in Europe!, Cammal stated.