A Shuttle Time demonstration was held in Pilar city, located 358km from Paraguay’s capital of Asuncion, in early August.
A group of certified BWF Shuttle Time teachers – Brahian Molinas, Ariel Benítez and Carlos González – presented badminton and shared the benefits of the sport to a big audience at the Regional Education Center of Pilar on 9 August 2019.
A total of 240 participants, consisting of 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade students, attended the demonstration. The sessions were delivered to different groups of students and physical education teachers who got the opportunity to participate and have fun with the activities.
The idea of conducting the demonstration by Paraguay Badminton Federation came up when the federation realised that the local community was not aware about badminton. This was one of the challenges that the federation faced in developing the sport in clubs and at regional, national and international levels.
Briefing session before Shuttle Time activities starts.
To address this, Paraguay Badminton Federation started the Shuttle Time Demonstration activity to promote the sport by visiting schools in regions such as La Paz, Encarnación, Pirapó, Fernando de Mora, San Lorenzo, Independencia, Iguazú, La Colmena, Asunción and Ciudad del Pilar.
Objectives of the demonstration:
Present and conduct Shuttle Time activities with children to experience badminton.
Motivate children and teachers to initiate badminton in their institutions.
To give children and adolescents the opportunity to enhance their skills in another sport, motivating them to succeed, and not stick only to popular sports in the region.
Promote badminton in the city of Pilar to facilitate the creation of a club that represents the city at the national level.
Students started off with Balloon Tap exercise.
Following the acceptance of badminton by the students and teachers, several ideas emerged to sustain and further develop badminton in the region. This include the possibility of establishing regional badminton clubs and implementing the Shuttle Time University Course in local universities.
The Paraguay Badminton Federation is excited to see the interest of the community to promote a healthy lifestyle in children and adolescents through badminton. The emphasis is not only to encourage children to be great athletes but also to create develop exemplary values in them.
