Theย Humans of Shuttle Time series from the Badminton World Federation shares the viewpoints of those who contribute to grassroots badminton development. Kinisimere Liku Qutei, shuttle time teacher from Fiji, shares her story
๐๐ป ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ
I am the only child in the family, born and raised in the maritime rural area known as Kadavu, located on the eastern part of the beautiful island of Fiji. I had a memorable childhood, spending most of my time with family, relatives and friends. Being brought up in a village was an advantage since I had varied experiences. Being in a socially active environment, village life was the norm where everyone is involved in any get-together, ceremony or sporting event. Iโm a jovial person while interacting with my family and friends. During primary and secondary school I played netball and that is the only sport I was interested in. When I became a teacher, I was always in the sports committee and loved to see children playing sports. I enjoyed fishing, dancing and learning new things. Currently I am teaching at the Labasa School for Special Education located in the northern part of Fiji.
๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ฑ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ป
I was introduced to badminton in my second year as sports teacher at my school. The Fiji Sports Commission came to our school in 2020 to assist us in coordinating on a sports programme which included badminton.
My first impression was that this sport is very interesting and I need to learn more about it. Badminton is an inclusive game which children and people with disabilities can play and enjoy.
At first, I had lot of difficulty in understanding it. It didnโt seem as easy as I first assumed. But I was determined and after attending Shuttle Time courses, I came to understand the basics. I started conducting Shuttle Time programmes in my school during PE or sports day and I see the interest of our children with disabilities playing this sport. I attended the Shuttle Time Tutor course that was recently conducted in Fiji by Badminton Oceania and I have been working alongside Shavneel Prasad who is the Assistant Sports Development Officer North under Fiji National Sports Commission.
๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ
The first ever Shuttle Time AirBadminton Competition in 2022 was most memorable as our children with disabilities were included. Being a Shuttle Time Tutor, it gave me an opportunity to explore and teach these skills to participants.
Badminton is the most valuable sport for me now. I like to introduce it to my colleagues, students and family because playing badminton can help strengthen the heart and reduce the risk of congenital heart defects.
๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฆ๐ต๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ
For our disability sector in the Northern Division there was great interest among players from Savusavu, Rabi and Labasa to compete and experience Shuttle Time. Our players representing Labasa performed well during the Special Olympics Talented Games Fiji that was held in Lautoka this year.
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ต๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ
That we have to keep up dating ourselves, on our health and our knowledge and skills on this sport, keep networking, work as a team, and more importantly, develop yourself everyday. Never stop learning.
