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.

Para badminton is now recognised as a Paralympic sport and was inaugurated for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The International Paralympic Committee (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 about upcoming tournaments, or past results.

2022 EVENTS

VICTOR Oceania Para Badminton Championships 2022

TOKYO 2020

Para badminton made its debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Find out more, including the classifications and results here.

PREVIOUS RESULTS

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

Paralympics

Para badminton is now recognised as a Paralympic sport and will be inaugurated for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which was postponed until August 2021. The International Paralympic Comittee (IPC) recognises the Badminton World Federation (BWF) as the world governing body for Para badminton.

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Find out more about Para badminton at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (including results) here.

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 (SH 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 here.

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 2020, Badminton Oceania planned to organise and deliver two Para badminton training camps to further develop and prepare players and coaches for competitive play. The first camp took place in January 2020, originally to be held in Canberra but had to be moved to Melbourne due to the Australian Bushfires. Unfortunately, no further camps were able to run in 2020 or 2021 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are plans to host several throughout 2022 and 2023. A Para badminton development camp was held in Melbourne in July 2022, in conjunction with a coaches workshop with representation from both Australia and New Zealand.

Contact ian@badmintonoceania.org to find out more.

Photos from Para Development camp and Disability Coaches Workshop – July 2022

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 was held 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