BALLARAT welcomed one-hundred-and-forty-four of the state\u2019s best young badminton players last weekend.<\/p>\n
The 2021 Ballarat Junior Tournament was hosted by Ballarat Badminton and Badminton Victoria at Ken Kay Stadium on Saturday, 20 and Sunday 21 March.<\/p>\n
Organiser Rhonda Cator said the local association was \u201cfortunate\u201d to secure the event for under-19, under-15, under-13 and under-11 division athletes, making a bid for state junior competitions each year.<\/p>\n
Due to the pandemic shutdown, last weekend\u2019s tournament was also the first since the Ballarat Open which was held exactly 52 weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had eight local players. The majority of junior players are from outside of Ballarat, mostly from Melbourne. As far as entries go, this is the biggest response we\u2019ve had in recent years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe quality has been really high, considering most of them have been 12 months without any tournaments. From here, selectors will pick state teams, and players get points that go toward their national rankings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a really fantastic learning experience for our local players, with some playing their first-ever tournament. There\u2019s been challenges with COVID, but it\u2019s certainly been worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Referee Sandra David said 350 games were played across the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Saturday was busier, with about 190 games, and the rest were on Sunday,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe brought umpires up from Melbourne for it, and we will be encouraging locals to get involved in refereeing, especially considering Brisbane could be hosting the Olympics in 2032.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a really exciting selling point for umpiring.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BALLARAT welcomed one-hundred-and-forty-four of the state\u2019s best young badminton players last weekend. The 2021 Ballarat Junior Tournament was hosted by Ballarat Badminton and Badminton Victoria at Ken Kay Stadium on Saturday, 20 and Sunday 21 March. Organiser Rhonda Cator said the local association was \u201cfortunate\u201d to secure the event for under-19, under-15, under-13 and under-11 […]<\/p>\n