DUBAI: Having proved a smash hit during last year’s Dubai Sports World, badminton will again be one of the most popular activities this year, with eight free to play courts available every day this summer – courtesy of Shuttle Time Dubai, the grassroots Badminton World Federation (BWF) initiative led by Dubai Sports Council and facilitated by Falcon and Associates.
After the unprecedented demand for court space last year, a further two courts have been added this year to bring the total to eight, allowing Dubai’s ever-increasing number of badminton enthusiasts to practice and play from June 5 to Aug. 27 at DSW. The Shuttle Time Dubai program is designed to encourage people from all walks of life – regardless of age, ability or fitness level – to play badminton as a fun and social way of staying active, and the badminton courts will again be a hive of activity with a full calendar of Shuttle Time Dubai activities operating for the duration of DSW.
In addition to the complimentary courts available for all members of the community, Coach Education Courses for Levels 1 and 2 will be held on 19-23 June and 7-11 Aug. respectively, along with the One Badminton Challenge and the Friday Smashers Tournaments in June and July. And to round out what is again expected to be a hugely successful DSW season, the ever popular Shuttle Time Dubai Club Championships will again bring together players representing all clubs from across the UAE. The first round of the five-week event will be held on Monday, 1 Aug., with subsequent rounds held each Friday, before the Club Championships winners are decided in the Grand Finals on Friday 26 Aug.
Shuttle Time Dubai was introduced as part of the partnership between the Dubai Sports Council and the BWF to bring the Dubai World Superseries Finals to Dubai each December from 2014 to 2017.
Now in its third year of operation, Shuttle Time Dubai has made huge strides in the development of the sport with ongoing promotion and introduction of the sport to schools and the community across the emirate. This has been supported with the delivery of teacher, coach and technical official education courses to support the competition and training programs in schools and clubs and to improve the skills and standard of play. In addition Local Training Centers have been established, and the Shuttle Time Dubai Schools Championships have become an important feature on the annual school sporting calendar.
It is an exciting time for badminton in the UAE with the recent formation of a National Federation, the UAE Badminton and Table Tennis Association. This is a major milestone for the growth and development of the sport, and will no doubt further enhance the governance, development and administration structures currently in place and see continued growth in participation numbers in the UAE.
“Our participation in Dubai Sports World is intended to encourage more people to enjoy badminton and to provide the opportunity for them to participate free of charge. It complements our current community and school programs and offers a great opportunity for new players to come and try badminton,” said Jaffer Ebrahim, Project Co-ordinator, Shuttle Time Dubai.
“DSW is also a great opportunity to bring together the UAE badminton community, to strengthen the clubs by training coaches and teachers, and to give the more experienced players the chance to test their skills against other clubs in the UAE in the Shuttle Time Dubai Club Championships.
“We will also be giving participants the chance to win tickets to see the world’s leading players contest the highlight of the professional calendar – the Dubai World Superseries Finals which will be held in Dubai for the third time from December 12-18 2016.”
To book a badminton court at DSW, go to http://www.dubaisportsworld.ae/Pages/sports/RequestBooking
For more information on Shuttle Time Dubai visit Badminton Shuttle Time Dubai on Facebook, or log on to www.dubaisuperseriesfinals.ae
Shuttle Time Dubai returns to Dubai Sports World
Shuttle Time Dubai returns to Dubai Sports World
