Malta to host 2016 International School Sport Federation World Badminton Championships

 The Championships, aimed towards youths aged between 14 and 17 years of age will see both school and national teams battle it out on local courts. 

From the 28th March until the 2nd April, Malta will be hosting around 275 athletes representing nineteen countries including Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, India, Pakistan, England, France, Germany, Greece, Islamic Republic of Iran, Luxembourg, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and of course host nation Malta.  Malta will be fielding two teams – boys and girls who are being coached by coaches Edmond Abela and Patrick Cassar, assisted by George Camilleri and Aldo Polidano respectively, who have a wealth of experience in the field, both as athletes and coaches.

“At this time and day sports is very crucial for the holistic development of the child in education. It gives them both the physical skills they need in their early educational years and their mental skills as they develop through their whole educational system.  In a society where students are becoming more sedentary it is crucial that sports becomes an integral part of the whole educational system” said David Azzopardi, Chairman of the Malta Schools Sport Federation. “Through the International championships that International Schools Federation offers each year, Federations in those countries are given the opportunity to hold a high level sporting event with full collaboration with the schools’ sports organizing committees”, concluded Azzopardi.

The Schools Teams fixtures are scheduled to take place at Tal-Qroqq Sports Complex, whilst the selected teams’ fixtures will take place at the Ta’Qali Basketball Pavilion.  Since all competitions will be held during school holidays the general public are encouraged to attend and show support to the athletes. 

“The Championships are very important for Badminton Malta as not only do they give its young athletes the opportunity to compete at international level but we are hopeful that this event encourages other athletes to start practicing this sport” commented Chris Spiteri, Federation President. “We are grateful towards the Malta Schools Sport Federation and Sportmalta for the support and drive they are giving this event”.

During the official Group Draws which took place earlier on this week, it was announced that Malta Girls Schools Teams were placed in Group B and will be facing France, Bulgaria and Greece, whilst the Boys Schools teams will be part of Group D facing teams from Chinese Taipei, Portugal and Scotland.

“We are all very excited the draws are out, even though it’s a challenging tournament for Malta, the smallest country to have ever organised International School Sport Federation World Badminton Championships, with the largest number of participating teams, but we are confident that these games will be a success” commented Joanne Cassar, Secretary General of Badminton Malta. “The Maltese squad players and coaches are motivated more than ever to obtain positive results on home territory”

More information on the 2016 International School Sport Federation World Badminton Championships and fixtures will be available on http://badmintonmalta.org.  The public is invited to like the Federation’s Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/BadmintonMalta/?fref=ts for the latest update on the event.