From Friday 8 – Monday 12 December 2022, 17 participants from 8 member associations joined Badminton Oceania staff in Auckland to take part in the National Administrators’ Programme – delivered by Nadia Bleaken (Badminton Oceania Development Manager) and John Shearer (BWF Head of Continental Development), in partnership with the World Academy of Sport (WAoS).
Held at Massey University, the workshop aimed to identify key goals relevant to each member association and develop a draft strategic plan and operational plan to reach the targets.
One male and one female attendee from each country was required to attend, contribute ideas and share knowledge relevant to their environments.
Across the four days, Badminton Oceania staff and John Shearer delivered a number of session to prepare members, covering a variety of topics including player development, strategic and operational planning, governance, finance, communications and more.
Among the contingent of Pacific-based members, two young female leaders attended to assist the future development of their national badminton federation: Janelle Pangilinan (Northern Marianas) and Dorna Longbut (Papua New Guinea).
Janelle is a player (having won bronze in the women’s doubles at the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games) and has invested interest with Northern Marianas Badminton Association as one of their Board Members. She is also on the Oceania National Olympic Committee’s Athlete’s Commission (Voice of the Athletes), while Dorna Longbut is also a Pacific Mini Games medalist (although in Para-Athletics) and one of the leaders in the Inclusive GymBad – PNG program.
“I’ve learnt a lot about good governance, action planning and partnerships which will be useful to our federation. It has been interesting to learn about other federations and their problems or successes. While we are different countries, there are some similarities between the problems we face. There is much we need to do better as a federation and I hope I can help the board, players and members to grow the sport in the Northern Marianas ”, says Janelle.
“I have learned more about funding, planning and how it all links together. I particularly enjoyed the interactive activities that had us standing up and moving around the room more. As I am a player too, it’s been interesting to learn more about this side of the sport and I’m excited to go back and help our federation with the planning”, says Dorna.
Moreover, the likes of Leo Cucuel (Tahiti) and Kinivanagi Karo (Papua New Guinea), who have attended similar capacity building workshop’s in the past, were delighted by the ongoing development opportunities:
“I have learnt to make a more realistic four-year strategic plan. The biggest highlight has been sharing experiences and learning from each other and I think we have learnt some really good tools that will help us to achieve our goals and meet our vision”, says Leo.
“Having worked in this space for a really long time, there is an assumption that we already know everything. But this course has helped me in many ways. It helped me to understand the greater ways we can work together to develop the sport and how all areas link into the overarching strategic plan. There are lots of things I will take away from this, but mostly I am excited to implement this with a team who is factored into our strategic plan”, says Kini.
By the end of day four, participants were required to present back to the group with their strategic goals and operational plan, evaluating each other’s draft and offering constructive feedback.
“This was the first time we were able to gather so many leadership figures from our member countries in a scenario like this since before the global COVID-19 pandemic began. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for all of us to be transparent and realistic when preparing for the future of badminton in Oceania. There were some great ideas and presentations from all attendees and I look forward to seeing them put the plans into action over the near future”, says Development Manager, Nadia Bleaken
“It has been a very enjoyable a productive four-day workshop, with lots of interesting interactions and sharing from the Member Associations. I was particularly impressed with the level of commitment from the candidates, who approached each session with open minds and a willingness to share their views and local contexts. To grow badminton globally, we need well-structured and governed Member Associations, who have the knowledge and capacity to identify their needs, plan strategically and implement effectively at the local and national level; I believe this workshop has provided much assistance in those areas. It is now the responsibility of the Member Associations to be pro-active and to put into action the learnings from the workshop; Badminton Oceania and the BWF are here to support and guide as required”, says BWF Head of Continental Development, John Shearer
