shuttler the
$9.95 Volume 1 Issue 4
Official Magazine of Badminton Ontario
2011
YONEX
NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS quite possibly the most exciting one yet
Canadian Publications Mailing Agreement #40069570
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coaches corner 2015 pan am update b.on the wall national championships where are they now canada winter games With Edith Hayman. Question for the coach? Send an email to theshuttler@badmintonontario.ca
Town of Markham promises to build a permanent badminton facility.
Let your voice be heard! Have an opinion on something and feel like noone’s listening?
Pictures and winners of this event. Pictures taken by B.On photographer Terry Ting.
Martha Deacon, lifetime badminton enthusiast, recently won a prestigious Olympic award.
Team Ontario makes history with fate of the flag resting on badminton’s shoulders.
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Badminton Ontario 209-3 Concorde Gate Toronto, Ontario M3C 3N7 tel: 416 426 7195 fax: 416 426 7346 www.badmintonontario.ca jolande.amoraal@badmintonontario.ca robyn.caton@badmintonontario.ca
Board of Directors President: Eduardo Gregorio eduardo.gregorio@badmintonontario.ca
Vice-President: Dave Kumar dave.kumar@badmintonontario.ca
Treasurer: Jeff Sum jeff.sum@badmintonontario.ca
Director: James Duncan james.duncan@badmintonontario.ca
Director: Warren Brownlee warren.brownlee@badmintonontario.ca
Director: Eric Lee eric.lee@badmintonontario.ca
Director: Anne Lim anne.lim@badmintonontario.ca
Director: Jordan Hearn
jordan.hearn@badmintonontario.ca
District Presidents TDBA: Pry Gnana pry@badmintonbirds.com
WOBA: Jeff Goldsworthy goldy@golden.net
ODBA: Fei Tam kanatajrbc@yahoo.ca
COBA: Russ leBlanc russleblanc@rogers.com
NOBA: Frank Boulanger nobafb@yahoo.ca
GBDBA: Alan Henry siralan.62rogers.com
Badminton Ontario gratefully acknowledges the funding support of the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport
On the cover: Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng win the Men’s Doubles title at the 2011 National Championships
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m h Hay t i d E with
S E H C A
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As one of Badminton Canada’s master course conductors, I am very pleased to be able to offer a small refresher comment to our Ontario coaches and athletes, on how to “coach the badminton stroke” to the beginner. Remember, the most important coach in an athlete’s life is their first coach. Each stroke has x number of basic components i.e. racquet foot position, non-racquet foot position, body position, racquet arm and racquet position, racquet head position, non-racquet arm position, and finally the perfect contact point. When doing all strokes, all basic components for each stroke, smash, clear, drops, straight and cross court, should be biomechanically correct. Each stroke utilizes either a pronation or supination turn of the forearm, whether backhand or forehand, big or little, and all this before hitting the shuttle. Footwork is very important and should always be incorporated along with the stroke components. When all components are perfect, the following will result. The student will have more power and thus the shuttle will travel faster, there will be greater deception, greater control and accuracy, a faster recovery and all using less energy. It is important for the “Coach” to make sure the student is performing the stroke with the correct biomechanics.
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I have seen many coaches teach the stroke, watch for a minute then leave
(please stay with the student). The student must shadow the stroke, i.e.do the stroke “without the bird”, many times over (say 20 –30 times, plus) until the movement and stroke are perfect and in muscle memory, then introduce the shuttle. When all the basic stroke components are perfect, the student will excel. When the player becomes expert at all the strokes, they then develop their own style, and because they have a good understanding of the basic shots they are always in control.
reintroduce the shuttle. Don’t forget to demo often, it is a great learning tool. A great show of excitement from the coach at seeing a perfect shot really is so encouraging for the student. Please never be negative. Do not say “No, that is wrong”. Please gently say, “ that was great…but it would be a lot better if we did “this” which would increase our speed of recovery…etc.”. Also, when trying to correct a poor grip (in our opinion), please try the following: tell the student that it is “OKAY” to hold it their way but it will give only 40 percent of power, accuracy and deception, but if they use the universal grip, which you would have shown them, then this grip allows development of accuracy, control, deception, recovery and will use less energy. The student has a choice and of course will be open-minded to change to the ‘universal grip”. Please do not put down their grip (which is not good), but rather praise the universal grip. They will want to try and do what you suggest. Many a student balks at changing their comfortable grip. If they understand why they should change, they will be more open to trying to change. I do hope that these comments will be of some help. Remember it takes a long time and many coaching hours to finally have ‘coaching the badminton stroke” in hand.
The above picture depicts all the components of the underhand clear with a deep lunge. Note the small isosceles triangle formed by the non racquet foot heel and toe, with the racquet foot heel.
When the student has finally got the movement and correct stroke production, introduce the shuttle. If the stroke is not correct, then go back to “shadow swing” until all components are correct. It is actually an easier way for the student to learn the strokes and movement plus to store them into muscle memory. Once into muscle memory, (for sure) then and only then
Player is in still stance, ready to do a backhand underhand clear with a deep lunge, near the net. again, note the components are correct and the isosceles triangle formed with the feet.
Markham to host Pan Am Badminton Event The town of Markham met in January 2011to make the final decision on supporting Badminton in the Markham community. The push for this came largely from the president of the Markham Badminton Federation, Philip Chow, “badminton is pretty big in Markham. More than 600 people showed up to our exhibition game.” Anticipated to be an ongoing event, another Pan Am exhibition has already been scheduled for December 2011. “We are going to promote the Pan Am Games no matter where it ends up,” he says. In December it was decided that Secondary School, did not meet due to its low ceiling height. The and disappointed. As the Pan Am new facility, the town took it upon Markham. “They feel Markham is as Pan Am is concerned, badactively looking elsewhere,” says manager of planning and policy club alone has grown from 20 to with a waiting list.
original venue, Bill Crothers international standards school was left surprised budget would not allow for a itself to keep badminton in the right location and as far minton is here. They are not Colin Service, the towns development. Philip Chow’s 400 members in 2 years,
The town has formally announced that they will be building a permanent badminton facility. The facility will be 36,000 square feet and can hold up to 20 badminton courts. It will be named the
‘Centre of Excellence for Badminton’. The centre will be
privied to the Markham Badminton Federation, in the attempt to provide a lasting legacy for Markham residents. Complete with a head office and pro shop, this facility will be joined with other sports n a multi-use facility. The Games organizing committee is working with the town to plan an ‘event cluster’ for water polo, table tennis and badminton. The facility will be built near the Unionville GO centre. Badminton is making headway in Toronto and we anticipate the next Exhibition will be more spectacular than the last. Will you be there?
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The Future of the Badminton Brand In my view, the general public’s perception of the brand or image of Badminton in North America is disconnected from the global reality of the sport. The North American public generally sees Badminton as a “hit and giggle” game at a family cook out while Uncle Tom and Dad enjoy cold beer. I think this perception is long over due for change.
B.On th e wall
I am also a strong proponent of change relating to the Old English image that has surrounded badminton for so many years. I believe that insisting on wearing “whites only” is out of date and yes there should be restrictions on what a player can wear but restricting the color of clothing to white only is just plain boring. Anyone that plays badminton likely understands that the sport involves complex racquet and court movement. It also requires a great deal of mental and physical strength as well as a high level of stamina. To summarize, badminton is a physically demanding and explosive sport that is completely opposite of the general publics perception of “beer, hit and giggle”. It is also now far removed from Old English white. Changing or advancing the brand or image of Badminton is no small undertaking. I believe that any initiative to do so must start at the National Level and drill down to the Provincial and club level. Consistency at every point of contact is “cost of entry” meaning the minimum requirement to succeed. It is easy to stand at the sideline and critique the so many volunteers that promote and organize the sport of badminton in North America. So unless you are prepared to get off of the sideline and tackle one of the many issues head on, I would not expect to see much change. I recently attended the first two Provincial Junior “A” Badminton Tournaments and was surprised by a number of players screaming, ranting, and fist pumping at their opponents. When I entered the badminton hall it sounded more like a torture chamber. I think that some noise from the players is more than acceptable but it my view this behavior is outright disgraceful to the sport and the other players. I believe that Badminton is well overdue for a complete brand makeover and I commend Badminton Ontario for the recent steps that it has made in this regard. I think the badminton community needs to understand that winning or losing with grace rather than disgrace is important to the future of badminton. It seems to me that there is an emerging trend towards screaming and fist pumping and I believe that it is partly the coach’s responsibility to teach their players how to win or lose in a respectful manner. It is certainly the player’s responsibility and obligation to badminton to learn how to win or lose with grace. I think that players that are serious about the sport of badminton should consider whether or not their behavior and actions are worthy of a major corporate sponsorship or endorsement. I have worked with some major North American power brands and understand that any affiliation with their brand must enhance the brands image. The affiliation must not tarnish it. I am confident that many potential sponsors would pass on players with questionable behavior regardless of their ability and accomplishments. Players beware; you never know who is watching! In my view, players that know how to win or lose gracefully and respectfully are far more enjoyable to watch. The crowd naturally cheers for them as they play with fierce intensity with the occasional yelp, cry or cheer. So in essence much of the future of the badminton brand in North American is largely up to the players. Win or lose with grace or disgrace. Now is the time for you to take personal responsibility for the image of badminton. I am a strong supporter of winning or losing with grace. With the submission of this article am no longer standing on the sideline. Yours truly, Love for 21
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Want to B.On the wall? E-mail your story to theshuttler@badmintonontario.ca today!
Opninions expressed in this column are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the opinoins of Badminton Ontario.
Day in the life of a High School Coach We call ourselves the Timmins Jr. Badminton club. We are in fact the Timmins High and Vocational School team. In the 1980’s there were very few tournaments in Northern Ontario so we often travelled South to compete. Ajax, Brantford and Ottawa were our most common destinations. The Ajax and Brantford clubs would actually billet the students thus reducing our costs. Moreover, there were Wintario Grants for teams travelling long distances. However, arriving at 6 a.m. on Monday morning in Timmins and going to work after a quick nap was not sustainable.
WELCOME TO
TIMMINS (DO NOT FEED THE BEARS)
“Tucked underneath the letters [of the sign welcoming us to Timmins was] “36 miles to the city centre”. So we actually had 33 km of rock and forest before reaching home. Once we hit the NO feeding the Bear signs we knew home was not far away. [Bears are] another result of having a city that is 3,000 sq km in area that is 99% forest.”
Fortunately, for my health, the North developed its own circuit. Timmins, Kapuskasing and New Liskeard replaced our southern hosts. Over time, the coaches in New Liskeard and Kapuskasing retired and their programs lingered for a few years but the tournaments moved to Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. The first tournament of the season in the Northern Circuit is in Sudbury, three and a half hours due south of Timmins. In the 1970’s they constructed highway 144 to link Timmins directly to Sudbury. Prior to that we had to travel via Highway 11 to North Bay and then east on Highway 17. The highway is not very wide, with barely enough room to pull onto the shoulders. My bus would be partially on the highway if I pulled over. So you are always on the alert for side roads, because they sure beat the alternative. In the winter, you have even less options as the snow along the side reduces the width even further. Unlike the high performance tournaments our tournaments start on Fridays. In this case, the starting time is 1 p.m. I pick up the bus the night before and park it overnight in my driveway. The school has a 24 seater bus, plus two vans, which are mainly used by the Athletic Department, but other clubs within the school have access to them as well. In the high school system the coach (usually a
teacher) drives the players to and from the tournaments. I have been on many of these trips over the years, but now that I am retired the earlier departure requires that I pump my blood with tons of coffee. We leave at 7:30 a.m. which means that the players were probably up at 6:00 a.m. A month earlier I submitted a Field Trip form to the principal and superintendent for Board approval. The form is required for all tournaments, whether it be for one day or several days. I also booked the bus with the phys-ed department head at this time. The form indicates my itinerary; my means of transportation to and from the tournament, the address and phone number of my hotel, a list of supervisors and how I plan on paying for the tournament. In our case, we do several bingos throughout the year, which earns us more than enough money to pay for our trips. A week prior to the tournament I submit a list of players competing in the tournament to the office for the staff memo. The staff memo goes out to all the teachers and lets them know that these players are excused for that day. The players in turn make sure that they pick up any schoolwork that they will miss on the Friday. With an extra large Tim Horton coffee in my hand we departed for Sudbury at the designated time. Fifteen minutes outside of Timmins, we make a sharp left onto highway 144 . In 1999, when I hosted the OFSAA Championships, the photographer from Toronto, asked what route was the fastest
Below: a very rare albino moose spotted in Timmins, Ontario
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way to get to Toronto. I advised him the go via highway 11 as it had more traffic and civilization. He, however, insisted on going via 144 with plans of hitching onto highway 69 in Sudbury. He missed the sign indicating that he had to make a right angle turn onto 144. The photographer continued west along highway 101. By the time he reached Chapleau and found his way to highway 17 and back to Sudbury and Toronto he had been on the road for 14 hours. Highway 144 is an isolated narrow road that travels up and down the granite hills of the Canadian Shield. These are the oldest rocks in the world. The once soaring mountains have been worn down over billions of years into rocky hills. Two hours later we reach the Watershed restaurant. This is the one and only stop on the highway. There are no communities except for Gogama , the Mattagami Nations Reserve and several cottage roads. None are actually on the highway. Most travelers stop at the Watershed for a break. If you want to eat, go the washroom, get gas, this is your last chance. Beyond this point even the cell phones no longer work. At least I have coverage for the first half of my trip. My previous cell provider had no reception 10 kilometres east of Timmins. As the players crowd into the restaurant I take the opportunity to take a catnap. Upon their return I rush in and grab a large coffee to supplement my earlier deposit. An hour and a half later we are in Sudbury. Sudbury is the largest city in northern Ontario with 180,000 people. Whereas Timmins is located on clay
and sand left behind by the last glacier, Sudbury has chosen to blast away the rock to make room for the city. There is no direct route any where in the city; you are always circumventing rocky outcrops to get to your destination. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the mall and registered at the hotel before scrambling to get to the school gym. Despite our efforts we were 15 minutes late. Singles started a 1 p.m. and ended at 8 p.m. All our tournaments are A-B- C draws with a backdoor elimination. This format makes it more worthwhile to travel the long distance. In this case, the draw was smaller than usual and so the team got to eat early. It is not unusual to be roaming the streets at midnight looking for a fast food restaurant that is open. After the completion of doubles and mixed on Saturday we headed north once again. Staying the night would be an extra $600. The Weather Channel is my best friend. I am constantly checking for updates on the weather. You don’t want to get stuck on Highway 144 during a storm. There are no safe ports to ride out the storm. Last May, returning from OFSAA, a winter storm in North Bay forced us to stay over night in Huntsville. Most of the hotels were occupied by soldiers preparing for the G12 Summit, so we were lucky to find accommodation. Without the Weather Channel I would have unsuspectingly driven directly into a major storm. The disadvantage of using the bus is that the driver cannot exceed 14 hours at work. My clock starts when I leave the hotel (at 8:30) on Saturday morning and includes my day in the gym coaching. I had to be home by 10:30 p.m. or face a possible fine if stopped. Departing at 6:30 p.m. meant the players had 20 minutes to gobble down some fast food. Within the hour it was dark, but the sunny skies left the roads dry. And the hunters hopefully had driven the moose deep into the forest. The desolate highway is the ideal place for moose to replenish their supply of salt. At night they are difficult to spot and hitting a 1000 pound moose is your greatest concern outside of the weather factor.
On a Saturday evening there is not much reason for cars or trucks to be on highway. With very little traffic the reverse trip was relaxing. Some of the players slept but most of them played Truth or Dare. This is the first time they player this game and I am not sure that I want to know about the truth, or the dare. We stopped at the Watershed again. Beyond the watershed is the highest elevation in Northern Ontario. It is an unobtrusive hill, but north of this point all the rivers flow towards the Arctic Ocean and to the south they exit into the Atlantic Ocean watershed, thus the name of the restaurant. An hour and half north of that we come across the sign welcoming us the City of Timmins. Tucked underneath the letters is “36 miles to the city centre”. In the 1970’s the city amalgamated the surrounding communities and mines and forestry industries. Up until then these industries did not pay any municipal tax. At the time, this inclusion resulted in the creation of the 2nd largest city in area in North America. Imagine an area the size of Halton and Peel Counties with a city of 43,000 in the middle. So we actually had 33 km. of rock and forest before reaching home. One of my teaching colleagues was from Britain. When his parents visited Timmins for the first time they asked the question “when does the forest end.” They were shocked when he replied “that the road ends before the forest.” I am always amazed as I travel east or west of Toronto along Highway 401 that the city never seems to end. In the north it is the reverse, the forest is everywhere with only a sprinkling of urbanization. Once we hit the NO feeding the Bear signs we knew home was not far away. This is another result of having a city that is 3,000 sq. km. in area that is 99% forest. The city is not only responsible for the roads within its boundaries but also
the bears that go with the forest. Whenever the blueberry crop fails to grow (early frost or drought) the hungry bears invade the city. This year was such a year. For months a six hundred pound bear would come out of the forest at recess in the school down the street. He would wait until the end of recess and then scour the playgrounds for food. I coached the grade 5 & 6s at Earle Miller Public School at recess and had to keep a watchful eye on the trees for any sign of the bear. He did manage to feast on my garbage one night. The lids of my garbage cans have teeth marks on them – a remnant of previous visits from my furry neighbours. To counteract these nocturnal visits the city has a bylaw prohibiting
garbage from being put out until 6 a.m. But no one told the bears that they are not allowed to stay up past 6 a.m. The city of Timmins is their home too, so the Ministry of Natural Resources is reluctant to trap or tranquilize the bears unless absolutely necessary. Fifteen minutes outside the city the players call their parents. When I arrive at Timmins High the cars are waiting and within minutes my loaded bus is empty. Our school gyms are devoted to the high school sports. We have four scheduled slots for the high school teams: 7 – 8:30 a.m.; 3 – 5 p.m.; 5 – 7 p.m. and 7 – 9 p.m. With two gyms every team has ample opportunity to practice. However, on occasion we get bumped for scheduled games. So I remind them that there is no practice after school on Tuesday because of a girl’s basketball game. Two weeks later there is a three-car accident between Timmins and Porcupine when a moose tried to cross the highway. This is a two km. stretch connecting the two communities. A few months later (February) at the NOBA U19, U16’s, a coach received a call from her brother informing her that he had hit a moose the night before. Next year I will likely stay the extra night.
Frank Boulanger is currently the President of the Northern District Badminton Association. He has been a volunteer coach at Timmins High School for the past 35 years and has been an integral part of badminton’s continuation in the north.
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Richmond Olympic Oval legacy to live on with the 2011 Junior National Championships
This word ‘legacy’ seems to be coming up a lot in the Sport Alliance of Ontario. Many Provincial Sport Organizations (or PSO’s as we call them) whose sport is a part of the 2015 Pan American Games, utter this word like it’s their morning coffee. Your first question might be why? My first question is why not? What is legacy? This word seems to have two levels; political and personal. The entire idea of putting a building like this in place is for the community. The immediate goal, like in Richmond’s case being the Olympics, is easy to figure out. Legacy is what continues on after. Politically speaking, a government may see this as a way to excite a community, boost the sale of housing or increase jobs. On a personal level, legacy can be something completely different. This can be for those who are personally affected by the building, its location, its programs and its impact on the community around them.
to the idea of plotting a $178 million project into this grey area but the outcome has contributed largely to the success of its legacy. Another key to its success is the environmental sustainability of the building. Developers took into account the mass size of the building (5 acres, the size of 3 airplanes including wingspan), the amount of potential energy consumption (consumes approximately the same annually as 270 houses), and water conservation. With all this to account for, they are still considered an energy friendly building. On the outside of the building they created useful sculptures, which look like salmon swimming upstream. These sculptures act as gutters, guiding rain water to a man made pond, to be re-used by the building.
If you live close to the Toronto Central-East Waterfront, you will be able to see the Pan Am Athlete Residences slowing escalating on the Toronto skyline. Being able to utilize the venues pre and post Games makes this Pan Am legacy personal. Ultimately, on both levels, the idea is that the full concept of the venue or the Games lives on in people’s lives and in their hearts. When the various committees sat down to plan the creation of the Richmond Oval, it wasn’t just an architect with a great design and everyone saw that it was visually appealing and approved the build. There are many out there who understand there’s more to this process than just a drawing and that there are a lot of technical aspects, drafting and mechanics involved. But when including legacy in any architectural drawing, the complexity of the situation sky rockets. One of the many important planning decisions about a building of this social impact is the location.
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The Oval is located on the Fraser River Waterfront. Prior to 2008 this was a largely Industrial area, much like Toronto’s central-east waterfront. Since the initial transformation, this area has boomed into a new urban zone, with the Oval the heart of the new community. It’s likely that many objected
They also identified that a large environmental concern in B.C. is the pine beetle which burrows into trees and releases a toxin that cuts off nutrients to the tree, causing it to die. These dead trees cause a huge concern for forest fires and as many organizations are doing their best to utilize the wood for bio-fuel and other uses, the developers of the Oval used that as an opportunity to use this excess wood in their building design. Developers used the wood in the supporting beams, which also act as ducts for air circulation and control. The design of the beams was taken from the wings of a heron, the city’s official bird, and the similarity in the hand of a speed skater’s grace. (see right) Sustainable community usage was the concept behind the legacy of the Oval, “In support of the of the Oval’s objective to become an inspiring
environment for all skill levels to progress towards their own personal podiums, the vast majority of the Oval’s operating hours will be focused on community programming. Many of these programs will be highly integrated with coaching/training from our high performance user groups to help inspire our next generation of sporting heroes.” Using their community as their motive for this centre is how the city of Richmond succeeded their legacy on both political and personal levels. Hosting the 2011 Junior National Championships at the Oval only supports the legacy of the building as badminton too wants to get involved. Why stand on the outside and envy the aura of the building? Why not involve yourself! The 2011 Junior National Championships will be better than last year, will you be there?
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The 2011 Yonex National Badminton Championships were held January 27-30, 2011 at Humber College. With snow still coming down and frosty air sticking around, it is quite clear that winter is not over. Some Canadians choose to embrace the cold weather, some go into hibernation. Some take this opportunity to indulge in their seasonal temptations and take their pumpkin pie with extra whip. Some vacate to warm foreign lands to enjoy the good life.
2011
YONEX NATIONAL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS www.2011nationalbadmintonchampionships.ca
But there are some who are able to resist a Pumpkin Spice Latte, some who don't avoid GoodLife in January, and who brave the elements and turbulence to compete for something only one Canadian in the country can claim. These are the people we aspire to be, these are the people we look up to on January 30th when were breaking our New Year's resolutions and they're winning theirs. These are the athlete's who warm our hearts and give us goose bumps as we get to experience their accomplishments with them, from the National Championships in 2011 to the Pan American Games in 2015. These are the athlete's who's determination and perseverance make us proud to be a part of this great Canadian family. Turn the page for a full list of winners.
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left: Joseph Rogers of Ontario dives for a bird in the gold medal match against David Snider of Manitoba.
above: Joseph Rogers gets a pep talk from coach Stephane Cadieux
above: Derrick Ng and Phyllis Chan get ready for their semi final match against Toby Ng and Grace Gao, right: the eventual National ChampiPhilippe ons. Charron left: Jon Vandervet of British celebrates Columbia in his Men`s his win with Doubles finals match. partner Florence Jon and partner Toby Lavoie. Ng lost an exciting below: Fiona Mckee, battle against currently competing in Derrick Ng and Denmark, returned to play Adrian Liu. with ex-Olympian Val Loker below: in Women`s Doubles. Many Derrick Ng athletes at this level of play in the choose just one event to train in. gold medal match
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below: Adiran Liu and Derrick Ng (left) celebrate their victory over Toby Ng and Jon Vandervet and graciously thanked the Official.
01 1 top: Many Junior players from all provinces tried their luck at claiming a National title. above: Toby Ng celebrates a crucial point in the first game of the gold medal Men`s Doubles match.
above: Florence Lavoie of Quebec takes her time on her technical time out. Her and partner Philippe Charron had some exciting games along the way but eventually fell to first seeds Toby Ng and Grace Gao. left: Grace Gao and Toby Ng celebrate their National gold medal win with a sweet embrace.
Final Standings
Mixed Doubles Champions: Toby Ng and Grace Gao Finalists: Phillipe Charron and Florence Lavoie
Men`s Singles Champion: David Snider Finalist: Joseph Rogers
Men`s Doubles Champions: Derrick Ng and Adrian Liu Finalists: Toby Ng and Jon Vandervet
Women`s Singles Champion: Michelle Li Finalist: Joycelyn Ko
Women`s Doubles Champions: Michelle Li and Alex Bruce Finalists: Phyllis Chan and Christin Tsai
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where are they now? Martha Deacon is no stranger to the world of Badminton in Canada and especially Ontario. She has represented Canada worldwide at almost every kind of major Games.
“I still believe that every day we get out of bed, we can make a difference, we can work hard and we can achieve more.” Martha Deacon
game. “In the fall of my grade 9 year, John Gilbert [a University of Toronto grad student at that time] was hired to teach us the game. He was a very important influence in my life. He taught us how to play, how to push ourselves, how to set priorities, to have a very strong work ethic and continue to work hard at school and life at the same time.”
players in clubs, this is changing. The more we can get players and coaches playing in public facilities, this will help.”
MARTHA Martha, from Oakville, is currently an Executive Officer with the Waterloo Region District School board, and was previously the president of Badminton Canada for seven years. She was recently the recipient of the International Olympic Committee’s trophy for ‘sport inspiring young people’. The annual award is given to those who have made a significant contribution to their sport in their respective country. “Martha has been an integral part, and an unfailing ambassador of Canada’s ongoing development and leadership in the blending of sport and education,” said COC President Marcel Aubut. “Canada is becoming a true international leader in bringing Olympic values to the grassroots level.” (COC www.olympic.ca)
Her passion for badminton carried throughout her life and allowed her to travel to many exciting places. After the Beijing Olympics, Martha was offered the role of the Chef de Mission for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “Applying and being selected to be the Chef in Delhi was an absolute humbling honour, a highlight of my life!”
Receiving this award is a very big honour as it stretches internationally to people across the world. “This was a surprise,” says Martha, “Since I was very young, I recognized the important capacity of sport, what it can mean for individuals, for communities and for countries. I have tried to instil the values of sport with every young person I have met, coaches or influenced in some way.”
Martha is still involved with badminton a great deal, coaching mainly at summer camps. She has spent the past 20 years volunteering in many roles as a coach, a high performance coach, at the Canada Games, on the National Team, at 3 Commonwealth Games, 2 Olympic Games and 2 Pan Am Games. But with all the excitement on the International frontier, she is hoping that 2011 will be a little quieter. Martha will continue to support badminton as the Events Chair for the Pan American Badminton Confederation. They are very busy planning the Junior Pan American Championships in Jamaica, the Pan American Championships and the Pan American Games in Guadalajara. She is also continuously involved in projects with the Canadian Olympic Committee, doing community outreach projects. If all this is gearing up for a ‘quiet’ year, imagine what she is capable of when she’s in full gear. Martha has inspired many great athletes and leaders among us and we hope she will continue to inspire and promote badminton with great enthusiasm.
deacon Martha was also recently named one of Canada’s top most influential women in sport in 2010. Honours such as these don’t come without hard work, but above all that hard work is heart.
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Martha started playing badminton in Grade 5, after her family home burned to the ground and were renting a home in Oakville. “I wanted to get involved in a sport, and started playing recreational badminton, taking lessons on Saturday morning.” Martha understood from an early age the importance of a quality coach who could mentor you not only in the sport, but teach you to take your lessons beyond the
Travelling around the world has allowed her see how different cultures have come to appreciate the sport she loves. “Badminton is a fantastic game, a great sport for many reasons. In Canada, except for some pockets, very few people understand the game, and how fantastic it is. Yes, sometimes people are shocked, especially when you say you went to the Olympics with the badminton team. In Asian and Danish countries it is amazing to see how popular it is.” She has seen the impact of grassroots development and believes the key to marketing our sport starts from the bottom. “We have our very best
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Soong Badminton Academy continues to build success in Ottawa region
The Soong Badminton Academy (SBA) has evolved over the past 15 years into a badminton training organization which has become the envy of many, setting standards not only for training excellence, but also for the mentoring of leadership development within their coaching team. The success of the Academy is a result of strong team efforts, a commitment to excellence, and a passion to provide all players a quality training experience. A look back in history highlights the foundation for the growth and success of the SBA, and some of the factors that have made the Academy a benchmark to which many clubs across the country are now aspiring to reach. In 1978 Dominic Soong brought to Canada the name recognition of a world class athlete with numerous international medals. Highlights of his achievements as a player include a 1976 Thomas Cup silver medal in doubles with partner Cheah Hong Chong, and a silver medal in doubles in 1974 at the World Invitational Championships in Scotland with partner Punch Gunalan. Arriving in Canada as the resident badminton pro at Montreal’s prestigious MAAA club, Dominic began his contribution to the development of Canadian badminton running the club, and developing players through coaching clinics, camps and tournaments. An early introduction in 1980 to Edith Hayman formed a 30+ year professional and personal relationship. Dominic has been the featured guest coach at well over 75 camps hosted by Edith in Brantford, supporting the development of hundreds of eager and talented youngsters, including former Olympians Mike Beres, Helen Nichols, and Charmaine Reid.
MBA, Dominic’s wife - Janet Hugli brought her management, teaching, and business development skills to badminton to form the Soong Badminton Academy with Dominic. (The “SBA” acronym is in nostalgic memory of Dominic’s home club in Malaysia: Selangor Badminton Association). While Janet’s “leave” was intended to be for only two (2) years to rebuild badminton in the Ottawa region, the success of the Academy growing from two coaches, one training session and 7 students to its current state of 6 locations, 25+ coaches and almost 500 players made requisite an “extended” leave to which there have been few regrets.
While the focus of the Academy has been on “grass roots development”, many players have continued with SBA throughout their competitive high school years, earning strong results at regional and provincial competitions, including a strong representation on Winter Games teams and on University varsity teams. It is often heard that “any Ottawa player who has had any success, has likely trained with the SBA at some point in their career”.
The success of the Academy is a result of strong team efforts, a commitment to excellence, and a passion to provide all players a quality training experience.
The collaboration of Edith’s amazing analytical skills with Dominic’s profile and success as a great player and coach put Dominic on demand across the province and across the country. Dominic has delivered training camps in every province except B.C. and Alberta, including a weekend camp for the Arctic Winter Games team in Iglooik, NWT. In 1996, while taking a leave of absence from the corporate world to complete an
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The Soong Badminton Academy is more than just a player development program. Much of its success has come as a result of the strong efforts in leadership development. While at any one time, 25+ coaches are working to support the SBA programs and over 80 coaches have had leadership opportunities with SBA since its inception. Mentoring and training of the coaches is a big part of the leadership role Dominic and Janet play to ensure a positive experience of all players. While NCCP certification (see page 3) is an expectation of all SBA coaches, the leadership development and training also includes: NOCP (National Officiating Certification Program), First Aid and Sports Taping, Epipen administration, Creative Discipline Methodologies, Child Abuse Reporting and High Five Training.
High Five is a national program targeted for coaches/supervisors working with children between the ages of 6 to 12. The objective of the program is to enhance the coach’s understanding of the emotional, social and cognitive characteristics of this age group making sure that the children have a positive experience in whatever activity they try. The SBA has been consistently evaluated by the City of Ottawa as being awarded the highest score of all programs delivered on behalf of the City. Dominic and Janet are also members of True Sport (www.truesport.ca). This organization aims to make sport
“healthy, fair, inclusive and fun” and stands against “cheating, bullying, aggressive parental behavior and win-at-all costs behavior”. Regular comments during tournaments can be heard indicating that the SBA players can be easily identified – not just for their playing skills, but also for their good sportsmanship and good manners. While both Dominic and Janet have received a number of awards for their coaching excellence, sport leadership, and volunteer contributions to the development of badminton, Dominic was also named a “Top 20” Most Valuable Coach in 2009 in TSN/CAC/Chunky’s first year of honoring coaches across Canada, across all sports. Dominic’s life in badminton has touched thousands of individuals of all ages, and all of them have had a positive experience with him, and with the sport he promotes so well. Janet & Dominic both work hard to continually re-invent their programs to help players take their games to the next level, and stay involved in the sport. A successful Saturday night competitive program for teens aged 15-19 has resulted in long term friendships, and a feeder system for leadership development in the region. The latest innovation was the introduction of an all-female training team, which has already shown strong results in both local and provincial competition, and a strong camaraderie among members. Studies show that early teenage girls tend to have very strong peer connections and are therefore strongly drawn to team sports. This is perhaps badminton’s answer to the all too common club problem of how to get and keep girls playing. Personal memories of Dominic shared by many reflect a warm, caring, fun-loving individual. Whether hitting the bird with the youngest participants while waiting for the camp day to begin, playing cards with players and coaches, challenging anyone brave enough for buffet eating contests, and/or with Janet, turning their home into a boarding house during those wonderful Ottawa camps, the irrepressible smile and laughter remains. While the road has not always been smooth sailing, teamwork, unceasing hard work, and an emphasis on care and competence have helped to drive the SBA to success. The impact of the Soong Badminton Academy on the sport of badminton, its players and coaches is causing a rippling effect that will forever change the badminton landscape in Ottawa and beyond. Details of the Soong Badminton Academy programs can be found at: www.soong.ca
Above top: Leadership team members Dominic Soong and Janet Hugli Above: Dominic coaching a mini-group Right: Dominic with Antonin Bergeron 17
Success is what Team Ontario found at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax this year. Team Ontario was made up of ten athletes who were selected based on their results from a Team Selection tournament held at the Badminton & Racquet club in October 2010. The team consisted of Michelle Li, Alex Bruce, Tracy Wong, Surabhi Kadam, Bethany So, Nyl Yakura, Joseph Rogers, Andrew Tai-Pow, Nathan Lee and Peter Butler. In the individual event, Team Ontario took home a gold medal in both Women’s Singles and Doubles, a silver medal in both Women’s and Men’s Doubles and a bronze medal in Mixed Doubles. The Team event was a very exciting and unusual position for Team Ontario to be in. On the last day of competition, no other sport had yet to compete except badminton. Quebec was leading the way in flag points which had literally left the future of the coveted Canada Games flag in our badminton team’s hands. If Ontario was to win the Team event, it would put us ahead of Quebec, capturing the flag. If Ontario was to lose, we would lose the flag to Quebec by only 1 flag point. Before facing the battle for the flag with Quebec however, our team had to face British Columbia. The battle for the Team event began with Women’s Doubles. Michelle Li paired up with her regular partner Alex Bruce to face Christin Tsai and Phyllis Chan. Michelle and Alex recently played the BC team at the National Championships in January, beating them for a National gold medal. With Michelle’s injury however, they fell short to the BC team, starting Ontario off 0-1. Next was the Men’s Singles match with Joseph Rogers facing Clinton Wong. Joseph, also injured, managed to beat Clinton convincingly bringing Ontario to a tie with BC 1-1. In Mixed Doubles Nyl Yakura paired up with Alex Bruce to face Nathan Choi and Phyllis Chan. It was an exciting game to watch but sadly Ontario fell short of a victory and was
sitting at 1-2. Another singles match, this time Women’s, Michelle Li played her second game and easily defeated the young Christin Tsai. As if the excitement in the air wasn’t thick enough, this put Ontario and BC at a tie, 2-2, leaving the next match (Men’s Doubles) the deciding factor.
Nyl Yakura teamed up with Nathan Lee to play an exciting 3 game match. In the first the boys made too many errors, losing 16-21 to Clinton Wong and Eric Hsu. The second game they came back with vengeance, winning 21-14. Taking anticipation to the next level, Nyl and Nathan battled back and forth with BC in the third game. With a full team cheering squad supporting them at the sidelines, the boys
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dominated the third game offensively taking the game 21-15. Nyl and Nathan not only helped to bring home a Gold medal for Badminton but also were the crucial and deciding factor to Ontario winning the Team Flag. For so young a team, they definitely handled the pressure with Ontario pride. Michelle Li, with two gold medals around her neck and a team gold in her heart, was one of the athletes chosen to represent Ontario in bearing the Canada Games flag. "Michelle has been the epitome of Team Ontario excellence," said Blair McIntosh, team Ontario’s chef de mission. "She is a best in-class athlete, displays sportsmanship on and off the court, and is a wonderful teammate. We're very proud of Michelle and are honoured that she will lead us in the closing ceremony." (www.yorkregion.com)
Top left: Michelle Li takes gold in the Individual event. Phyllis Chan won silver and Christin Tsai won bronze. Top right: Nyl Yakura with Anna Rice Above: Michelle Li one of the honoured flag bearers at the Closing ceremonies. Picture courtesy of the Canada Games Right: Rick Mercer takes his chances with a Black Knight trainer during the Rick Mercer Report at the CWG. Below: Badminton’s Team Ontario pose with their medals. Thank you to Susan Yakura for the photos!
With only one goal in mind, its clear our young team was more than relentless when it came to pursuing their stand on the podium. Badminton’s Team Ontario would like to thank the city of Halifax and the many volunteers who helped bring our team to success and to our coaches, Stephane Cadieux, Melissa Hill and manager Deb Singer, for guiding them as they fulfilled their dreams.
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Getting the attention of local media may seem to be a challenge for some, yet it can be pretty easy if you know the secret question; “What’s in it for me?”
SSSScoring with the Local Media
This is a strategy that revolves around filling a “need”. Sure, groups in some geographic areas can get their tournament results listed in the local paper with little effort and without having to ask that secret question. Yet these groups are filling a need… the need for the local paper to fill space with local content. But local tournaments don’t happen every week and even if they did, would such publicity help you if your goal were to increase membership? The answer is “probably not”. It’s highly likely the majority of the people reading these results would either be the players themselves and/or their family and friends. So why is it almost impossible to promote your club (using media) when it comes to attracting new members especially when there is a fee or dues involved? It’s not impossible at all if you’re willing to pay. That’s when the needs of the media outlet’s sales department come into play. But that isn’t always the case (remember I said next to impossible) if you’re willing to dig a little deeper into the media outlets needs. When it comes to media (in this case we’re talking traditional media as in newspaper, TV, and radio) and local content there’s nothing like a feel good local story highlighting an achievement or notoriety. It’s a local media “need” no matter how big or small the market. People enjoy reading, seeing, and hearing about these stories. These stories fill a “feel good” need. They can also fill your need to attract additional members, if you take the time to look within your group. Is there a feel good story just waiting to be told? Perhaps one of your members credits badminton as a major factor in saving their life through weight loss? Maybe you have a member who is about to celebrate a major birthday milestone and credits a life of playing badminton as one of his/her stay young secrets? (A member of one of the clubs I belong to is well over 80 and is still making some remarkable shots!) These are just a couple of examples. Who knows what you might find? Today’s media and the people they target eat these stories up! The bonus part about all this is you’re not only promoting badminton in a positive light, you can also add details on how to become a member of your club. You’re filling all sorts of needs. The media’s needs, the general public’s needs, and your group’s needs. Everyone wins! And you don’t have to stop there. Television sport’s departments (especially cable community channels) love to go on location. Invite them to come out to one of your club nights for a demonstration. Better yet, get the reporter to hop on the court! Such a gesture could lead to having a reporter as a club member! So the next time your badminton group needs a bit of media PR to help achieve an important goal be sure to implement the “What’s In it For Me” strategy. The results could amaze you! Russ Le Blanc Russ is the President of COBA, a communications consultant and a former national broadcaster. russleblanc@rogers.com
Be sure to check out badminton’s only podcast “Cross Court”. The latest edition contains: - Part 2 of our interview with renowned badminton coach, Lee Jae Bok - a health segment titled “The Agony of Da Feet” - and our regular “Did you Know?” segment.
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Visit www.cobaonline.ca the link to “Cross Court” a presentation of The Central Ontario Badminton Association
Mark Grantham Team Tournament
Ontario Senior Games Ontario Senior Games was held in Haliburton, Ontario Feb 15-17, 2011 Four players from the Ottawa District Badminton Association participated in the Ontario Senior Winter Games hosted by the Haliburton Highlands. Although only a small number of players attended the games, the results were most gratifying for ODBA. Both teams won medals as follows: Bronze medals of Ladies Doubles 55+ won by Fei Tam & Beverley Harvey Bronze medals of Mixed Doubles 55+ won by Roger Huestis & Shirley Birnboim ODBA congratulates all four team members for representing Ottawa East District 6 and for their well-earned medals! This is the 1st time ODBA players have participated in the Ontario Senior Winter Games and would love to send representatives in future games. The games were well organized and
If you have any feedback, questions, or information for ODBA you can send an email to: ODBAweb@gmail.com
executed. The province of Ontario provided the initial $250,000.00 to put on the games with an additional $50,000.00 from private sponsors. Approximately 950 athletes participated in ten events and the Haliburton Highlands was the perfect backdrop for the games. The organizing committee did a tremendous job to ensure everyone was taken care of from accommodations, food, bussing, and of course excellent venues for all sports. A special thank you must be given to the 350 volunteers who made Winterfest 2011 possible for without their commitment the games would not been the success that it was this year. ODBA is looking forward to the next Ontario Senior Games to be held in Brampton August 14 to 16, 2012. It is hoped that ODBA will be able to put together a full team of 55+ and 65+ players.
The Mark Grantham Team Tournament was held on Feb 5 and 6, 2011. 16 teams (of 8 players each team), had participated. It was a smashing success as usual. We appreciated teams from Toronto, Montreal and Petawawa. They have brought up the competitive edge of the local players. We regret that teams from Pembroke, Montreal & Missausaga had been turned away this year. We will set this game on the same weekend next year and hope you all can make it! The results and pictures are posted on www.badmintonottawa.com Below: Beverley Harvey of ODBA
The official website of Ontario Senior Games Association: www.ontarioseniorgames.ca Line Judge Training We have trained a total of 100 Line Judges: 1. Oct, 2010 - 30 2. Nov, 2010 – 10 3. Feb, 2010 – 60 The trained line judges were able to practice on the local tournaments in the district.
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eats determination for breakfast
David Snider was a multi-sport athlete in high school, dabbling primarily in badminton and volleyball and received the athlete of the year awards 3 times. He comes from a family of five with two sisters, one older and one younger. His parents involved him in the sport from an early age, as his father played as a younger man and both parents volunteered regularly. When he was in his U19 year he had decided to give up badminton to pursue another passion; volleyball. After following his dad’s recommendations Quick Stats: to play the DOB: April 27, 1988 first Junior Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba Elite and just Club: Winnipeg Winter Club/Wildewood Club see how he Secondary sport of choice: Running felt after, he Who do you look up to? Andrew Dabeka ended up because A) His regimented/professional making the approach to the game B) His willingness to finals and help others C) His self awareness D) His decided to patience. keep going. David credits How often do you train? I do on court his good training about 5 times a week, running spirit and about 4 times a week, muscular fitness ability to training 3 times a week. What are your goals in the sport?I want to travel around Canada to be able to take the lessons I learned from the support the sport and use them for the rest of of his family. my life. Also, I hope to inspire others to “My parents play badminton within my community. would always Human interest: I volunteer at a sports support me injury clinic and I am studying science and never put pressure in school and plan to eventually become a on me which sport doctor.! I attribute a lot of my success to,” says David. Although his parents funded him to travel throughout his Junior years, David took it upon himself to start finding more creative ways to help him travel Nationally and Internationally. “My results were getting better and the trips and training started to become more expensive and my
quick fact: David recently won the Men’s Singles title at the 2011 Yonex National Championships
family did not have unlimited money so I needed to make the process sustainable on my own. The way I cover my costs is with my carding money, sponsors, coaching/stringing, fund raising, prize money and scholarships/ bursaries.
I have created a tremendous support network in Winnipeg with my sport and have energized people to support me throughout these last few years. Too much of the time we as high performance athletes get way too negative about the funding situation and I have learned the best remedy is to take things into your own hands and creating the opportunities with creativity and hard work.” After making the move to compete in Badminton full time he learned that it was not the only thing that was important to him. “I tried the ‘badminton as my life’ approach and it was not what I expected it to be. I have learned that it is important to be balanced. I have learned that I have great inner strength and I always challenge myself to push myself beyond my limits whether it [is] athletically or academically.” David has found different ways to encourage himself over the past couple years, whether through his support network back home, through his passion for badminton and ultimately, through himself. “I inspire myself. I know that when I want something bad enough I will literally do whatever it takes to get it.”
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Mixed Doubles U12 A Champion Sheldon Groenevelt / Kiersten Hillman (B) U14 A Champion Levi Hughes / Katie Harris (B) A Finalist Dylan Hodges / Nicole Dun lop (B) B Champion Hannah Duck / Carson Hill (B) U16 A Champion Chris Cluett / Kim Car swell (B) A Finalist Chris Murphy / Dorothy Duck (B) B Champion Jeremy Kielbiski /Heather Borsos (A) C Champion Zachary Secord / Kate Skelton (M) U19 A Champion Ryan Payton / Mara Goodyear (B) A Finalist Cory Stegelmeier / Eryn Belanger (B) B Champion Viktor Grabovsky (N) / Vivian Chau (A) C Champion Brett Sontag (G) / Kerri- Anne McFarland (A) Girls Doubles U14 A Champion Katie Harris / Elsa Tan (B) A Finalist Nicole Dunlop / Hannah Duck (B) B Champion Aleasha DeWeerdt / Gabrielle Norris (B) C Champion Amy Whitehead (M) / Kiersten Hillman (B) U16 A Champion Kim Carswell / Dorothy Duck (B) A Finalist Vanessa Dunlop / Eryn Belanger (B) B Chamipon Heather Borsos / Abigail Kennedy (A) C Champion Maggie Qutiaquq-Oliver / Kate Skelton (M) U19 A Champion Kaitlyn Foster / Kerri-Anne McFarland (A) A Finalist Vivian Chau / Heather Hol lands (A) Boys Doubles U12
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A Champion William Lewis / Geoffery Vissers (N)
A Finalist Sheldon Groenevelt (B) / Brandon Lafond (M) B Champion Kane Creed / Tyler Blair (B) U14 A Champion Levi Hughes / Carson Hill (B) U16 A Champion Chris Murphy / Chris Cluett (B) A Finalist Zachary Secord / Glen White head (M) B Champion Pouria Keshoofy / Jeremy Kielbisky (A) C Champion Cameron Bradshaw / Dylan Hodges (B) U19 A Champion Viktor Grabovsky / Wyatt Kirby (N) A Finalist Ryan Payton / Cory Stegel meier (B) B Champion Brandon McNeil / Brett Sontag (G) Girls Singles U14 U16 U19
A Champion Katie Harris (B) A Finalist Elsa Tan (B) B Champion Gabrielle Norris (B) C Champion Kiersten Hillman (B) A Champion Kim Carswell (B) A Finalist Eryn Belanger (B) B Champion Heather Borsos (A) C Champion Kate Skelton (M) A Champion Mara Goodyear (B) A Finalist Valerie Gagnon (A) B Champion Kerri-Anne McFarland
Boys Singles U12 U14 U16 U19
A Champion Geoffrey Vissers (N) A Finalist Sheldon Groenevelt (B) B Champion Tyler Blair (B) C Champion Kane Creed (B) A Champion Jeremy Kielbiski (A) A Finalist Levi Hughes (B) B Champion Dylan Hughes (B) C Champion Glenn Whitehead (M) A Champion Zachary Secord (M) A Finalist Chris Cluett (B) B Champion Mark Shelley (A) C Champion Bobby Moyer (A) A Champion Brett Sontag (G) A Finalist Adam Ager (B) B Champion Tyler Bourke (A) C Champion Ryan Payton (B)
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