PARA-BADMINTON

Badminton is a sport for all, meaning that it is accessible to men and women of all ages and for people with a wide range of impairments.

Badminton is now recognised as a Paralympic sport and will be inaugurated for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The International Paralympic Comittee (IPC) recognises the Badminton World Federation (BWF) as the world governing body for Para-Badminton.

Badminton Oceania works with our member countries to promote and develop Para-Badminton in the region including delivering the Disability Module as part of our coach education programme.

In 2018, Australia was the first country in Oceania to stage a BWF sanctioned Para-Badminton tournament; this was followed by the Oceania Para-badminton Championships which will be held every second year.

Para-Badminton athletes compete in men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles, where they are classified into one of six different sport classes to ensure fairness in competition.

Events

In 2018, Australia was the first country in Oceania to stage a BWF sanctioned Para-badminton tournament; this was followed by the Oceania Para-badminton Championships which will be held every second year. Click on the links below to find out more information or view the results.

2019 EVENTS

Australia Para-Badminton International 2019

Please note, the next Oceania Para-badminton Championships will be held late 2020. Badminton also part of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. To find out what classifications and what events are on the programme, click here.

2018 EVENTS

PREVIOUS RESULTS

Find out the results from the previous Para-Badminton events to take place in the region on our Past Events page.

Classifications

Wheelchair 1 (WH 1)

Players in this class requires a wheelchair to play badminton. Players in this Sport Class usually have impairment in both lower limbs and trunk function.

Wheelchair 2 (WH 2)

A player in this class could have impairment in one or both lower limbs and minimal or no impairment of the trunk.

Standing Lower (SL 3)

In this class a player must play standing. The player could have impairment in one or both lower limbs and poor walking/running balance.

Standing Lower (SL 4)

A second standing class where the player has a lesser impairment compared to Sport Class SL 3. The player could have impairment in one or both lower limbs and minimal impairment in walking/running balance.

Standing Upper (SU 5)

The player in this class has impairment of the upper limbs.

Short Stature (SS 6)

These are players who have a short stature due to a genetic condition often referred to as “dwarfism”.

Source: Badminton World Federation

New para-badminton players who wish to be classified need to go through a Classification process. To know more about this process and which documents are needed, click here.

Regulations

The Badminton World Federation statutes outline the rules and regulations surrounding the sport.

You can find the para-badminton specific regulations in the following sections:

Section 5.5 – Para-Badminton Competition Regulations
Section 5.5.1 – International Representation Chart
Section 5.5.2 – Specifications for International Standards Para-Badminton Facilities
Section 5.5.3 – Time Lines for Para-Badminton Tournaments
Section 5.5.4 – Tournament Sanction Policy
Section 5.5.5 – Para-Badminton Classification Regulations
Section 5.5.6 – Regulations for Para-Badminton World and Continental Championships
Section 2.6 – Para-Badminton Offences and Penalties
Section 2.2.7 – BWF Classifiers Code of Conduct

World rankings

The latest world rankings for Para-Badminton players are available to download on the Badminton World Federation website. Click on the downloads tab to reveal a list of the most recent rankings.

Development

The role of Badminton Oceania is to assist Member Countries to develop their own in-country para-badminton programme providing opportunities for players, coaches, classifiers and technical officials.

Our development programme is closely aligned to the BWF Para-Badminton development structure.

In 2019, Badminton Oceania will be organising and running two para-badminton training camps. The aim of the camps is to build on the in-country programmes to further develop and prepare players and coaches for competitive play.

The first camp will be held in June at Altona, Melbourne. The second camp will also be held in Australia and will be held just prior to the Australian Para-badminton International in November.

Coaching

For coaches working with players with disabilities, it is important to keep in mind the BWF’s inclusive philosophy of “One Sport – One Team”.

The principles in the Shuttle Time and Coach Education resources are applicable to ALL players, including those with physical or intellectual disabilities. In essence, disability coaching is good badminton coaching.

As the inclusivity statement in the Coach Education manuals explains, coaches should not be afraid to apply and adapt:

the “How to Coach” and “What to Coach” principles and practices
technical practices according to the needs and abilities of the players
questioning skills to identify the best ways to provide meaningful and appropriate practice

Badminton Oceania organises and delivers a Para-Badminton Coaching module; in 2019 this will be hold in conjunction with the second player development camp in November. To be eligible to undertake this course the coach must already hold a BWF Level 1 Coaching qualification.

For all enquires, please contact robbie@badmintonoceania.org

For more information on Para-Badminton, please contact ian@badmintonoceania.org