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Congratulations to the many 2013 champions from Ontario who made BK their choice Yoga UKI Kasah
Jonathan Lai Michelle Tong
Ian Bishop
Karen Jackson
Jeff Goldsworthy Ron Taylor
CanadaÂ’s brand for over 35 years!
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coaches corner simp-lee the best queen of crowns diamond jubilee competition changes championships
With Stephane Cadieux. Question for the coach? Send an email to theshuttler@badmintonontario.ca
Jennifer Lee gets top coach across all sports at the Ontario Sport Awards
Jeslyn Chow sets a new standard with a treasure box full of gold medals
Philip Chow receives this prestigous award from the Mayor of Markham
Important changes to the 13.14 season you need to know about
Full coverage of all Badminton Ontario Championships including OCAA and OUA
Badminton Ontario 209-3 Concorde Gate Toronto, Ontario M3C 3N7 tel: 416 426 7195 fax: 416 426 7346
www.badmintonontario.ca info@badmintonontario.ca Technical Director: Stephane Cadieux
stephane.cadieux@badmintonontario.ca
Marketing Director: Jolande Amoraal
jolande.amoraal@badmintonontario.ca
Board of Directors President: [vacant]
District Presidents TDBA: Linda Lee 2lclee@rogers.com
WOBA: Jeff Goldsworthy goldy@golden.net
ODBA: Fei Tam fei@odba.ca
COBA: Russ Le Blanc russleblanc@rogers.com
NOBA: Kerri MacDonald kerri.macdonald@dsb1.edu.on.ca
GBDBA: Suzanne Vallis howarthsuzanne@hotmail.com
Vice-President: Dave Kumar dave.kumar@badmintonontario.ca
Acting Director of Finance: Eduardo Gregorio
eduardo.gregorio@badmintonontario.ca
Director of Coaching: Kevin Willington
kevin.willington@hotmail.com
This magazine is published by
jams JA Marketing Solutions
Badminton Ontario gratefully acknowledges the funding support of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Above: Jeff Goldsworthy accepts his Syl Apps volunteer achievement award from Cameron Grace (right - grandson of Syl Apps) and Minister Michael Chan (left), of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport. Jeff Goldsworthy is currently the President of the Western Ontario Badminton Association. the Shuttler Magazine 3
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visual of an archer about to fire the arrow. Practice the throwing from a very short distance (4-6 feet), and then gradually increase the distance. You could also create more of a challenge by adding several targets. Understanding the basic
Coach Cadieux’s Summer Tip: age parents/coaches to start concepts of throwing will
Sport Basics for Toddlers
teaching those skills as soon facilitate the learning of sevas possible. Here are few eral sports such as; badminPlay catch with your kids tips to keep in mind. ton, tennis, squash, baseball, now, and they won’t have to football, volleyball. play catch-up later. Kids who Throwing Fundamentals: have been exposed to simA fun progression for older ple throwing and catching 1. Body in sideways position kids would to set targets drills will develop the ability 2. Throwing arm close to ear with hula-hoops on the to learn new activities much (use the “on the telephone” other side of the badminquicker. These skill building analogy) ton nets. Kids will now be drills can be performed with 3. Non throwing arm point- required to throw up, which a parent, sibling or friend at ing at target (like pulling a will be eventually become a very young age. I have had bow and arrow) an essential skill for overthe opportunity to teach 4. Aim at target (hula-hoops heads, and into the various kids as young as three years are usually ideal targets) targets on the floor. old, and in my son’s case, I 5. Throw the object (shuttles started doing fun throwing or soft nerf type balls are A final progression could to drills with him at the age of ideal) be play a throwing game of one. In our classes, one of tic tac toe. Use masking tape our main goals is to teach to create a tic tac toe grid on them the basics FUNda- When throwing, make sure the wall, and have 10 prementals of throwing and your “future star” stands in cut X’s and O’x. Simply hit a catching. a sideways position. Right- square and mark it, the usuhanded individuals should al three in a row determines Those young kids who have point with their left hand to your winner. Kids with difreceived an early exposure their target. The right hand ferent throwing abilities can end up way ahead of the should be positioned be- compete against each other; game. I strongly encour- hind the right ear. Create a 4 the Shuttler Magazine
you will just be required to Young kids often don’t inadjust the starting line ac- stinctively watch the ball/ cording to their level. shuttle. The bounce/catch drills will teach them to Catching skills can be track the object. It’s imporlearned in a very similar pro- tant that you encourage the gression. Catching an ob- child to say BOUNCE as the ject is very challenging for ball hits the ground and say a 3-5 year old, which is why CATCH as it touches their I suggest the following pro- hands. Once they become gressions: familiar with the concept of
Cones can also be a great way to work on their catching skills. Feeders should throw a shuttle into their direction and have them track it down with the cone. The usual progressions of increasing the distance will also apply. The final progressions would incorporate movement; have them shuffle sideways in order to track down a more difficult feed. Having refined coordination dexterity will be transferable into almost anything they do. Try to use balls that are colorful, soft and most importantly, easy to catch. Hopefully some of these games can keep you and your child busy for part of the summer. Enjoy! Stephane Cadieux NCCP Level 4
Catching Progressions:
calling out the command words and start looking at 1. Bounce, bounce catch the ball, then progress to 2. Bounce, catch the next stage. Take away a 3. Catch with two hands bounce, and eventually infrom 3-5 feet crease the distance. Putting 4. Catch with two hands a hula-hoop in the middle from 6-8 feet of both kids is often a good 5. Catching smaller objects visual target for the person 6. Catching with one hand throwing the ball.
Head Badminton Professional – Badminton & Racquet Club Technical Director – Badminton Ontario National Coach – Badminton Canada
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After coming top three in the Ontario Team of the Year category in 2011, Michelle Li and Alex Bruce went on to finish fourth at the 2012 London Olympics, setting Canadian records and putting badminton into the spotlight. Behind them was Jennifer 6 the Shuttler Magazine
Lee, the head coach at Lee’s Badminton Training Centre. Her nomination came as no surprise and was well-received by the selection committee. She was given the award at the 2012 Ontario Sport Awards Banquet in May.
First of all, I would like to thank BON for nominating me to compete for this award. After I submitted my application, I did not think too much about it until I was notified that I was one of the three finalists. I was excited and really hoped to get this prestigious award. At the same time, I know the other two finalists have very strong background. After all, gymnastics and track and field are two big sports in Ontario, especially when compared to badminton. When the day of the award presentation was approaching, I ran through what I have done and what I have achieved in badminton coaching. I really have a strong desire to get this award. However, I realized that it would be very competitive. So, I brought with me an attitude of wanting to win and yet enjoying the award presentation to attend the event. When I arrived at the award presentation venue, I became very nervous. There were almost 700 people attending the event. I sat down at my table, waiting for the presentation of the Female Coach of the Year. My heart was throbbing and I got butterflies in my stomach. When it was time to announce the winner, I closed my eyes, wanting to hear my own name, I heard “Jennifer Lee”. Everyone turned to me and congratulated me. I walked up the stage to receive my award. I have mixed feelings at that time. I did not believe that I won. I was excited and happy. I was grateful. I felt that all the hard work I put in the past three years suddenly got recognized. Holding the award in my hand, I said to myself, this award is the
public recognition of the person behind the success of the Olympic players. Although both Michelle and Alex have thanked me enormously on my time, effort and sacrifice I put in to help them qualify for the Olympics. Most people don’t know how important a coach is behind all these successful players. To be a successful coach, it takes more than skills and experience. It requires the love and passion of the sports and the trust and desire to help the players. The effort and time put in by the coach is no less than the players. Being a badminton coach winning this award, it is not just me being recognized. It is also the recognition of badminton as a major sport in Ontario. My advice to Olympic hopefuls - to qualify for Olympics, it requires hard work and discipline. There is no luck and no free lunch. You have to practice, practice and practice. You come up with a training plan, you follow through whatever happened. Set your goal, achieve it, then raise your bar. Players should also make sure that their needs are heard. You continue to improve and this continuous improvement has no end. It sounds harsh. It is harsh.
Jennifer Lee is seen here with Michelle Li at a very young age. She has dedicated herself to making a whollistic difference in her athletes, which was one of the many reasons she was chosen for this highly competitive award.
Hopefully, Canada can provide more structured and organized training programs for the National Team. With qualified coaches, a more structured and focused national training program and the hard work and discipline of the players, Canada will succeed. Jennifer Lee LEE’S BADMINTON TRAINING CENTRE LTD. the Shuttler Magazine 7
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Best. Advice. Ever. “No matter how you play just don’t cry and never give up.” Jeslyn Hei Yin Chow is only 9 and a half years old, but is already getting noticed in the badminton world. She has won four triple crowns this year, only losing her fifth by one singles medal to her doubles partner, which almost gave her a perfect season.
very young age, giving them the chance to rely on their own ability before figuring out how to share that experience with a partner.
Her club recently won the 2013 Ontario Championships Banner from Badminton Ontario marking them the strongest competitive team Opening up her treasure box full of ‘gold’ for in Ontario. Her coach Kevin Cao, also won the some photos with the Shuttler magazine, she Ontario Coach of the Year, which just goes to pulls out her accomplishments from this past show where the root of her success lies. season – 14 gold medals and one silver along with the U10 Female Athlete of the Year award. Being a part of this team is very important to Jeslyn, “[Winning the banner] means that She is currently training with Kevin Cao at the I have picked the right club to join!” She exKC Badminton Club in Markham. She has team claims. “The only reason we won that banner training for 2 hours twice a week, and a 2 hour is because Kevin teaches with a lot of passion, private lesson once a week that includes fit- and that’s why he got Coach of the Year.” ness training. With a strong coach, a strong club, and strong For such a young athlete, she has a good feel skills, Jeslyn is keen to live up to the challenge for her performance level telling us that she of moving up to U12 next year and facing prefers singles over doubles and mixed. “I can tougher competition. But it’s not always a walk play with my own choices and also play in my in the park when you’re training for High Perown ways,” she says. This bout of wisdom is a formance competition. “When training gets common practice for developing athletes at a too tough, I feel like I won’t want to play bad10 the Shuttler Magazine
Jeslyn is the 12.13 U10 Female Athlete of the Year.
minton anymore,” Jeslyn says.
pionships.
All this training is for good reason, as Jeslyn hopes to compete at the Junior National Championships one day. Currently there is no U10 division at the National level, but once she gets a feel for competition at that level, she hopes to take it one step further to the Junior Pan Am Cham-
“It makes me feel very happy that I won the most triple crowns because I am still young, and its great how I can accomplish something like this at a young age.” Says Jeslyn. Indeed it is. the Shuttler Magazine 11
Philip Chow wears many hats. His relentless pursuit to promote badminton over the past few years has left many speechless. 12 the Shuttler Magazine
From forming the Markham Badminton Federation to ensuring the badminton Pan Am Games stayed in Markham, he has left no pro-
motional stone unturned. You may know him from his superhero-like efforts to ignite the Markham com-
munity for the 2015 Pan Am Games. Now, he can add another accomplishment to his list of feats - and a prestigious one at that. Philip Chow was awarded the Diamond Jubilee medal from the Mayor of Markham, Frank Scarpitti, for his significant contribution to the Markham community. This medal of honour was created in 2012 to honour Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s service to this country and this commemorative medal honours the contributions of 60,000 deserving Canadians to their country.
many dedicated volunteers (Board, gym managers, instructors and youth council), he grew MBC from less than 10 members to over 900 members.
In 2011, Philip took his vision to the next level – the formation of the Federation of Badminton Clubs (FBC) to unite the badminton community as well the dif- We cannot think of anyferent badminton clubs for one more deserving of this the betterment and promo- award than Philip and we both congratulate him and thank him for all of his selfless devotion to our sport.
Since the early 2000’s, Philip has been heavily involved in the Unionville Soccer Club as a volunteer coach, and served on its Board. Then in 2008, Philip decided to start a grassroots badminton club geared towards family tion of the sport of badminplay. ton. In 2010, he officially formed a Not-For-Profit organization – the Markham Badminton Club (MBC). Under his leadership, along with
As a result of Philip’s tireless volunteer efforts in the community, particularly in the sport of badminton, Councillor Don Hamilton - also a strong advocate of the badminton community - nominated Philip for this prestigious honour – Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Badminton Ontario & Federation of Badminton Clubs
In 2012, Philip was asked to take on the formidable task as the Chairman of Badminton for the TO2015 Pan Am Games. the Shuttler Magazine 13
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At the WOBA AGM last year, the membership voted to do some inter-club team events. WOBA would put $100 towards the cost of running these events. The K-W Badminton Club hosted the first event with 9 club teams of 4-6 players. A tie consisted of 1 men’s and ladies singles, 1 man’s and ladies doubles and 1 mixed. Pizza, snacks and beverages were provided. Play lasted over 6 hours. Cedar Springs hosted the next event just after Christmas. There were 5 teams of mixed club players with 6-7 players per team. The tie consisted of 3 men’s doubles, 2 ladies doubles and 2-3 mixed doubles. Play lasted about 7 hours. After the round robin was done everyone went back to Sheila and Eduardo’s for snacks and beverages. The last event was held at the K-W Badminton Club and was a new type of play called Volleybird. Each team consists of 4 players on the same side of the court at the same time. Someone serves the bird over the net from beyond the baseline.
Each team is required to hit the shuttle 3x before it goes over the net by 3 different players. If the shuttle travels over the net on the 1st attempt, the team is allowed to cross over to the other side to return the shuttle before it hits the floor, back to their side for the 3rd hit. If the opposing team interferes in the attempt, they lose the point. An attacking line is set-up about 2/3rds of the way towards the back of the court and no smashing is allowed in front of this line. Normal rally point scoring is used and doubles lines are in play. This was followed by snacks and beverages. It was a new experience and everyone involved had a great time. Some of the players were new to the game of badminton and it was a good way to involve them with better players. We hope to expand this program to more clubs and more players next year. Jeff Goldsworthy - President of the Western Ontario Badminton Association the Shuttler Magazine 15
Throwing matches is a serious matter. It is not only a question of sportsmanship and ethics, but also affects the competition and atmosphere for everyone involved. That is why prior to entering a competition, an athlete will agree to uphold a player’s conduct that ensures fair and safe competition for all. This utmost respect for your opponent is one of the true meanings of sport and should never be overlooked.
It was a meaningless victory. Our team members were frustrated during the match. In earlier preliminary round robin matches, TEAM A had played us to a 3-3 draw.
Chuck Siew, President of the Early Bird Badminton Club, came across a situation recently that questioned the sportsmanship of his club. This was a hard bite to swallow, and so he shares his story with us here.
When we protested against this accusation, FBC then claimed all 4 teams on that night deliberately played to lose! So, apparently all four teams played to lose but all games actually concluded without interruption.
“Our Early Bird Badminton Club (EB) participated in the recently concluded FBC (Federation of Badminton Clubs) Team League Tournament and was accused of being one of the teams playing to lose in the quarter finals on April 28 in a format that would allow the losing team to play for a prize in the Consolation Group.
After progressing to the semi-finals on Sunday May 5, we were so upset being accused of trying to lose in quarters, our team was not even sure of wanting to play further. We did think of not showing up, or at least announce a walkover. Team members, captain and I were talking all Saturday night and resumed early Sunday morning May 5 before finally deciding to honour our commitment in participating. It was that close to our withdrawing from the semi-final on a day
When FBC League Administrator (LA) found out we had voiced out TEAM A was deliberately throwing away games, he also accused us of doing the same although we won 5-1.
“It was indeed a terrible, terrible experience for us.” - Chuck Siew
Here is what happened; our team beat TEAM A* 5 games to 1. During the match, it was clear that TEAM A was out to lose.
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when more visitors and spectators were expected. Although with a dark cloud over them, our team members played their guts out in spite of knowing our chance of victory was very slim as we do acknowledge our opposing team was far more superior. We lost 0-6 but nobody, so far, has said we played to lose. As the arguments progressed, accusations against us became even more serious, and the number of them seemed to increase over time. Needless to say, our team members are extremely upset that we can be accused of trying to lose when we won 5-1! It also seems that many other teams also shared the same opinion regardless of whether they saw us play or played against us that night. It was indeed a terrible, terrible experience for us. It was our first venture just to support the league and badminton community. We had no great hope of winning any prize but, if we do, it would be a welcome bonus. We just wanted to experience the intensity and fun in competitive play. However, after this nightmarish experience, it is also our last.” *Real team name was substitued. “The Federation of Badminton Clubs is continuously looking for ways to cel-
ebrate, promote and experience the sport of badminton. We welcome constructive feedback from all to improve our format, and invite everyone to work with us so that all players young and old can enjoy badminton in the future. As a new league that is in a growth and development stage, we have been trying out various formats for our playoffs. In hindsight, we acknowledge that this year’s format, not unlike the recent Olympics, may have contributed to unsportsmanlike behavior. Learning from our experience with the Adult League, we quickly changed the format of our High School League Playoffs which was played one month after. Some parents, also members of Early Bird, were at the High School League Playoffs and acknowledged the effectiveness of our changes in format. The feedback we received from the other 17 teams in the league were positive with a majority of players returning expressing an interest to play in the league again, and requests for new teams to join our league. “ Federation of Badminton Clubs
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