At the BWF AGM in Chengdu, China Northern Marianas Badminton was announced as the winner of the 2023 BWF Member Association Participation Award; the first time this award has been won by an Oceania Member; highlighting the progress which has been by this small country in Micronesia on the back of hosting two International Challenge Olympic qualification tournaments in 2023.
Northern Marianas received this award for their “TakeCare Public School System Interscholastic Badminton League”, a programme that involved middle and high school students from private and public schools. The goal was to encourage young people to become and stay active and to live a healthy lifestyle by getting involved in badminton. Northern Marianas Badminton President, Merlie Tolentino says “Our youth learnt the importance of not only acquiring athletic skills, but also healthy habits that they can carry on through their adult life”.
Delivering the BWF Shuttle Time sessions was the starting point, gaining interest from the students in badminton. To continue the early success and to boost the program, the Northern Marianas Badminton Association delivered Teacher and Youth Leadership courses to ensure the programme was sustainable going forward. Players from the High School gained a better understanding of badminton, and the rules were then recruited to act as Umpires and Line Judges for the younger age groups, also serving as good preparation for the CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open and the Saipan International tournaments to be held in July this year.
In 2023 the PSS Athletic Programs Sports Participation data the TakeCare Public School System Interscholastic Badminton League posted an impressive 81% growth in participation – the highest number among the seven (7) sports played at the interscholastic level.
Through this successful program, Northern Marianas Badminton Association has been able to establish a junior national training squad which saw players attend the u15 Pacific Invitation Team Challenge 2023 in New Zealand and the u17 Pacific Invitation Team Challenge 2024 in Australia with a goal of playing in the 2024 World Junior Championships. A selection of high school players also had the chance to represent their country when they played in the two International Olympic qualifying tournaments that were hosted by Northern Marianas Badminton Association in June 2023.
Badminton Oceania Secretary General, Julie Carrel says; “The significance of this award cannot be understated both for our region and for Northern Marianas Badminton; a small country of 50,000 people where badminton is now a sport of significance through the development work being done in the schools and with the juniors and the hosting of the two back-to-back international tournaments. I congratulate Merlie and her team for their achievements and know that badminton in Northern Marianas will continue to go from strength to strength.
