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In further evidence of the ever-strengthening partnership between Special Olympics and FIFA Badminton World Federationa global art training and regional competition was recently held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Delegates from 13 countries gathered to participate in the training at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, which was held in conjunction with the inaugural session. Special Olympics Middle East and North Africa (MENA) The Gulf sub-regional badminton competition, hosted by the UAE Special Olympics.
Over the course of five days (8 – 12 May), 14 international delegations participated in a series of training workshops focused on developing their skills as referees/technical delegations and Unified Sports delegates in the sport of badminton.
Workshop participants – some representing Special Olympics programs as coaches and experts, and others coming from the badminton community as referees, referees and certified coaches – participated in a series of trainings focused on delivering high-quality badminton competitions at the Special Olympics national, regional and international levels.
The workshop opened with a speech by Emirati Special Olympics athlete Ali Saif Bin Sumaida, who welcomed the global participants to the UAE and promised an eventful week of learning and competition.
Filming of four people watching a man working on a laptop.
Over the next two days, workshop participants enjoyed a series of sessions focused on exploring the unique aspects of Special Olympics competitions, and the technical aspects required to deliver high-quality badminton competitions in a fully comprehensive manner.
After the training, a three-day badminton competition was held in which players from six countries participated, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. Players competed across divisions in the women’s and men’s singles competition and the women’s and men’s doubles competition.
After completing their training, workshop participants experienced first-hand how athletes successfully break down the competition and monitor individual skill levels as they supported the three-day badminton competition.
Speaking about the experience of one of the participants, Meg Bowman, her badminton coach Special Olympics North America He said the combination of training workshops and three days of competition resulted in a rich learning experience.
“Badminton World Federation and Special Olympics training brought together a group of people with one thing in common: our love for badminton. It was enough. We worked well together right away and were able to get the most out of the training. We were ready to put this training into practice in “MENA Badminton Championships I left feeling confident and ready to take the next steps to bring Special Olympics North America Badminton to the regional level.”
The joint workshop and competition represents an important step forward for Special Olympics as it is the first technical training ever to be delivered jointly between Special Olympics and an International Federation partner. The workshop training is another critical step in enhancing the delivery of Special Olympics badminton competitions while raising the level of athlete experience and setting a precedent for other international federations to work more closely with Special Olympics in this area.
Badminton is set to make its debut at the Special Olympics Latin American Regional Games in Paraguay later this year. While in 2025, the Special Olympics Badminton Competition will be held in the Asia-Pacific region, with the education and training achieved at the workshop and competition in Abu Dhabi, UAE being transferred to those events to ensure top-tier badminton competitions.
John Shearer, Head of Continental Development at the Badminton Federation, celebrated the success of the training and competition, commenting that the growing popularity of badminton across the Special Olympics movement will create more competition opportunities for players.
“The training of referees/technical delegates and Unified Sports Delegates in Abu Dhabi is the first step in a process that will see hundreds of athletes competing in regional competitions over the next two to three years. The caliber of participants in the 14 workshops was extremely high, with significant Olympic experience Special Olympics and badminton within the group and based on the enthusiasm, experience and knowledge sharing of the new referees/technical delegate and the workforce of the Unified Sports delegation, I am confident that Special Olympics athletes will experience a very high level of organization and event delivery when attending future regional competitions.
Special Olympics Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is the Gulf’s sub-regional badminton competition grades
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