Update from the ACT Badminton Association (ACTBA)

It is now timely to do an update as all clubs have now recommenced.  In this update I would like to mention: the Revolutionise membership system; insurance matters; the Interclub Challenge competition on 28 March, the ACT Open on 2-3 May; and developments since submitting my policy submission to the ACT Government and Opposition seeking co-funding for a dedicated badminton facility in the ACT.

 

Firstly, a big congratulations to Canberra’s own Anthony Joe (AJ) who was part of Australia’s successful team that won the recent Oceania Men’s Team Championships in Ballarat.  They have now qualified for the BWF Thomas Cup Finals 2020 in Denmark in May.  We also all wish AJ the best in his quest to achieve qualification for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

 

I would like to encourage most strongly all club managers to register their members on their club’s portal on the Revolutionise system.  There are 14 ACTBA affiliated clubs and each one has its own portal to list their members.  Please see Jacinta’s earlier instructions for renewing 2019 members and archiving people that did not renew for 2020.  It is vitally important that this be completed by the end of March to enable BA to obtain the listing for insurance purposes.

 

I recently saw the proposed insurance documents that BA is finalising with Marsh Insurance. The BA CEO made an explicit point of noting that clubs should be very aware that membership lists must be kept up-to-date and any non-members attending club sessions for more than four weeks (a ‘come-and-try’ period) will not be covered by insurance.  This puts club managers in a particularly difficult position if a non-member has an accident or causes injury to someone else while playing and is denied insurance coverage; the non-member and club manger could be personally liable.  I would thus suggest that where clubs have a capacity to do so, they quickly sign up non-members before the end of the four-week period.  For clubs that have suspended membership due to exceptional demand to join the club (like the Gungahlin Club that I manage), that they do not allow non-members to play for more than four weeks, if at all.

 

Following on from the successful Interclub Challenge last September, the next one will be held at Amaroo High School Sports Hall on 28 March.  Canberra Grammar School was unavailable and the Amaroo School provides for eight badminton courts, plenty of space to sit down and rest, and is very close to a number of shops, including Coles, and takeaways.

 

The competition will shortly be advertised on the ACTBA website.  Could all club mangers please coordinate, submit and pay for their team entries.  Like last year, each club will be provided with one free entry.  Could you also all ensure that teams are appropriately graded; indeed, as the Challenge is only for ACT clubs, I would encourage people to challenge themselves and step up a grade.

 

The ACT Open will be held at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), with two of the AIS’s basketball courts to be marked up with four badminton courts each.  There will be plenty of room for people to sit and rest in-between games and there will be ample free parking nearby.  The ACTBA is still trying to seek a sponsor for the competition and we are hoping to obtain some media coverage of the Open Grade finals.

Details of the event and registration will be available on the ACTBA website towards the end of March.

 

As many of you would have already seen, the ACTBA’s submission, seeking ACT Government and Opposition support for co-funding a dedicated badminton facility in the ACT, is on the ACTBA website and has been provided to the political parties and various media outlets.  I was interviewed on the submission on ABC Radio’s Grandstand programme.  I was also interviewed by the Canberra Times for an article that appeared on Sunday, 16 February 2020.  I met with the President of the Gungahlin Community Council to discuss this matter as well.  I have encouraged our local and federal politicians to come along to one of our club sessions to see how popular badminton is in the ACT; if any politician visits your club please be friendly and show them the ropes.

 

I have now had a chance to visit a number of clubs and it is encouraging to see the different approaches in running your sessions.  I do hope to visit all clubs when I return from overseas on 19 March, including Bermagui in April some time.

 

All the best.

 

Olaf
President, ACTBA