Over the next eight days, Sherwood Park will host the Canadian National Badminton Championships at Millennium Place.
The invitational tournament will see more than 200 players compete, including an Olympian and a Pan American Games champion, from under-11 to senior age categories.
This is the first national event of this scale since the postponements of COVID-19 in 2019.
“It’s exciting for us because for the U11s and U13s, we have them in their first national championship playing in the same venue as our Olympic hopefuls, some current Olympians, including our new shorts, para (wheelchair, standing and small size) competitors,” said Jeff Bell, tournament director.
“Our 13s and 11s are sheltered, only play provincial events and aren’t always exposed to the best, and their role models may be the best players in other countries,” Bell said. “We would prefer their role models to be players from our country.”
One of the tournament’s competitors, Talia Ng of Thornhill, Ont., is ranked 74th in the world and is thrilled to perform in front of an Edmonton area crowd.
“It’s good to have these big tournaments in places where badminton isn’t too big because then we can promote the sport and the locals can come and watch it,” Ng told CTV News.
“Badminton is not such a big sport in Canada,” she added. “It’s slowly gaining recognition.”
After recently graduating from college, Ng focused on badminton full-time, completing a European Tour of three consecutive tournaments. She hopes to raise her world ranking next year.
“That’s my goal, to get to the Olympics and compete against world-class athletes,” Ng said.
Residents of Sherwood Park and Edmonton can watch the competition for free with proof of residency. For more information, visit the tournament website.
With files from Steven Dyer of CTV News Edmonton
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