Junior’s Badminton: Child’s Play No More

Junior’s Badminton: Child’s Play No More

- Aggie Mañalac

Badminton has ceased to be merely a Luneta park or street game between yaya and ward.   What has become even more common is the sight of children barely out of their cribs trooping to a badminton court, armed with their first expensive Yonex racquets, to learn the sport from the country’s finest trainers.

Sports, such as badminton, is now a cornerstone of a child’s development.  It teaches him early in life to develop values that will take him through teenage life onto adulthood: cooperation, team spirit, healthy competition, the will to succeed, win fairly and squarely and at times, to accept defeat graciously. It is an avenue where parents can show love and support for their children as they accompany them to their training sessions and to their tournaments. 

During the birth of the Yonex Philippines National Open Badminton Championship (YPNOBC) in 2004, there were only two distinct youth “camps” that participated:  The Golden Shuttle Foundation’s and PnP/Camp Crame’s.  By the time the YPNOBC hit its fourth year, the Juniors events ballooned from 250 to over 800 entries, with participants coming from at least eight (8) distinct training camps in Metro Manila alone.

The ever-growing number of participants annually poses the current crop of winners stiff competition as they are hard-pressed to defend their crowns against fast emerging new champions, now hailing from youth training camps from as far as south as Butuan City. 

But the best result yet springing from the Juniors events of the annual YPNOBC is the confidence gained by these young players from participating in a world-class tournament, enough for some to invest more time, money and effort to compete in other tournaments outside the country.  From this alone, the YPNOBC has proved successful; it plays its part in honing the competitive spirit in today’s youth to give them the confidence to pursue bigger challenges, both in sports and in life.

Catch today’s cream in youth badminton as they compete in the Juniors events of the 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Phils National Open Badminton Championships.   For the past five years, the Juniors participants have grown exponentially in number. Among this year’s expected participants are the new breed of champions from the country’s top training camps. 

The 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships is presented by YONEX-SUNRISE and co-presented by PHITEN.  This event is also brought to us by:  Badminton Hub, Sportshub, My Shaldan, Makati Shangri-la, BSI Medicated Spray, Fish Designs, Potraitme.net, Tacorific, Potato Corner and our official & exclusive print partner, The Philippine Star.    The tournament runs from November 22-30, 2008.  Registration deadline:  Nov 12, 2008