The Revival of Badminton: A Look at the 76th Belgian Championship and Plans for Diversity

© Leen Van de Sande

The 76th Belgian badminton championship will take place next weekend at the Bart Swings sports center in Herent. The racket sport is undergoing a real revival after the corona crisis. With increasing membership numbers and more diversity.

On Saturday and Sunday, the cream of Belgian badminton will descend on the Bart Swings sports center in Herent for the 76th Belgian Elite Championship. There was a large turnout with more than 100 registrations. Both the defending champions for the men (home player Elias Bracké) and the women (Clara Lassaux) as well as the Belgian Olympians Julien Carraggi and Lianne Tan are present. For them, the Belgian Championship is the last tournament on Belgian soil on their ‘Road to Paris’. The international number 2 in G badminton, Man-Kei To, is also present.

Revival

Badminton Flanders notices that interest in the sport among the general public is increasing. At the end of 2022, 22,611 recreational players were affiliated with a badminton club in Flanders. That is 8.3% more than the year before. Official figures for 2023 are not yet available, but many Flemish clubs indicate that, due to the revival, many young people are showing interest in joining. Antwerp and East Flanders in particular appear to be badminton hotspots, with 58 and 53 clubs respectively.

Belgian badminton figurehead Lianne Tan

“We notice that badminton is experiencing a revival after the corona dip in 2020 and 2021, which affected all indoor sports,” explains Bert Vanhorenbeeck, chairman of Badminton Flanders. “Badminton is therefore a very accessible sport financially. For around 200 euros in materials and membership fees together you can play for a whole year. In financially difficult times, it can still be a way for many families and their offspring to indulge in sporting activities. And with the organization of the Belgian Championships in Herent, the Olympic Games in Paris and the European Championships in Heusden-Zolder, we expect that the sport will become even more popular in Flanders in 2024 thanks to the extra interest. International studies by consulting giant EY have even shown that badminton will become the trendy sport of 2024” –

Most diverse sport

For Badminton Flanders, the organization of the Belgian Championship is immediately the starting signal of an action plan to make the sport even more diverse. G-badminton, for both people with physical and intellectual disabilities, has been on the rise for several years. In 2021 there were 127 G badminton players, in 2023 already 180 – an increase of almost 42%.

However, Badminton Flanders goes one step further in its diversity policy. The federation is working on an action plan regarding transgender people in sports. Badminton Flanders entered into a partnership with the non-profit organization Out for the Win, which makes sport accessible, safe and attractive for everyone, regardless of body, sexuality and gender perception.

“We want to become one of the most diverse sports in Flanders. Everyone should be able to feel at home on a badminton court,” says Bert Vanhorenbeeck. “We also want to broaden our base and allow more young talents to progress to the top. In our action plan for the next five years, we also want to provide clubs with additional guidance in this regard. In addition, we will work on more and better training for our trainers. And finally, we also want to diversify the number of partners and sponsors we work with. Badminton is a global sport and offers many opportunities for organizations that want to gain more brand awareness in Asia.”

2024-02-02 15:42:06
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