The ACTBA President, Olaf Schuermann, attended the Liberal Party’s launch on Sunday, 20 September 2020 for the construction of a large multi-use indoor sports facility in the Gungahlin region. The President indicated the ACTBA’s support for this proposal.
The ACTBA’s Policy Submission (http://badmintonact.org.au/
Indeed, reflecting this increased demand to play badminton, most ACTBA affiliated clubs have now had to suspend membership for the remainder of 2020 and not allow casual players. The facilities the clubs currently hire, mostly public school sports halls, have limited capacity and the ACTBA is unable to hire additional periods at existing facilities or at new facilities given the significant competition from other sports to hire school sports halls, particularly during the peak weekday evening period. Further, many public school sports halls are not suitable to play badminton, particularly lacking the necessary ceiling height; it was particularly disappointing to see that the newly built Margaret Hendry School sports halls in Taylor is unsuitable for badminton use.
The ACTBA understands that the Liberal Party’s proposed facility would have basketball as the main ‘anchor’ sport. However, as the facility would be large enough to provide for 4 to 6 basketball courts (which equates to 16 – 24 badminton courts) the ACTBA considers that it would be of a sufficient scale to enable both sports (and others) to effectively share the facility, particularly during the evening weekday peak periods and weekends. If appropriate, the ACTBA may even be able to label the facility as the ‘Home of Badminton in the ACT’.
The ACTBA also understands that the proposed facility would provide for space for spectators, to enable it to be effectively utilised for major badminton tournaments, such as the ACT Open, and potentially allow the ACT to host major national badminton tournaments. The Liberal Party has also indicated that the facility would provide for sufficient office and administrative space for all the ‘anchor’ sports to use, as well as retail space for the sale of sporting equipment; there is currently no dedicated retailer of badminton equipment in the ACT.
The ACTBA looks forward to working with the Liberal Party in the delivery of this proposal should it be successful in the upcoming ACT election. It would also encourage the ACT Government to put forward a similar proposal.
The ACTBA is the affiliated body, representing the ACT, to Badminton Australia (BA). BA is, in turn, the national badminton body affiliated to the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
For any enquiries on the above please contact:
Olaf Schuermann
President
ACT Badminton Association
Ph: 0400472711