Badminton in the spotlight

THE Namibian Badminton Union (NBU) held its first tournament of the season at the weekend.The mixed-doubles round robin started on Friday evening and, due to the competitiveness of the games, it lasted until 01h00 on Saturday morning.

After a tense competition and a couple of close games, Heidi Spinas and Alfred Sumaili emerged as the winners of this section. They were given a go all the way by the runners-up, Liza Hanekom and Arno de Waal.Saturday saw the men’s and women’s round robin.The men’s section was hard fought, with Alfred Sumaili and Axel Rothauge winning after tight games against the runners-up, Arne Stier and Maxi Bingel, who upset the second seeds, Arno de Waal and Louwtjie van Aswegen.However, the latter got a consolation prize as the best-dressed couple.Heidi Spinas and Gudrum Murray won the women’s doubles easily, without dropping a set.The tournament employed the new service rules and scoring system of the International Badminton Federation, where a set now lasts for 21 points.Instead of the old system where one can only score a point when serving and sets last 15 points, the new system allows a point to be scored from every rally.A player can still expect to “travel” 2 km during a single match, but the feeling is that games do not last as long as before, that the pace is quicker, that there is no time to adjust to the pace of the game as that will cost you points right away, and that serving ability is crucial.In comparison to the traditional system, speed, reflexes and consistency become more important under the new rules.”The changed system should take badminton to a new level of competitiveness and was enjoyed by all participants.The challenge now is to implement it at club level, where many members are just participating in social play,” said Axel Rothauge, the secretary of NBU.The winners of every section each received a prize consisting of a 1 kg pack of biltong and droëwors, sponsored by African Car Hire, instead of the traditional cash prize.In addition, the youngest participant, Wanyo Kollmitz (aged 13) from Omaruru, and the oldest participant, Juergen Schmotz (aged 63) from Windhoek, each received a special award for demonstrating that badminton can be played over a whole lifetime, said Rothauge.”Appreciation is expressed towards the company Namibia Construction, who modified the interior of the church hall such that play was possible during the day.Normally, the church windows allow in so much light that the shuttles are not visible during daytime play.In addition, Siemens also contributed to the prizes,” he said.The tournament was well attended by players from northern and central Namibia.Unfortunately, the Mariental floods prevented players from the south from attending.”The selectors used the opportunity to assess the current availability and fitness of players.Fitness and skills will be honed during subsequent training camps, the first one scheduled for Henties Bay on March 31 to April 2.This is also an opportunity for coastal players to become involved in the game,” said Rothauge.A badminton demonstration and practice session will be held at the University of Namibia’s gym hall on Wednesday, March 15 from 17h30.Anyone is welcome to attend, particularly students and staff of Unam.All equipment will be provided by the NBU.For more information on badminton, contact Rothauge at (061) 206 4044.They were given a go all the way by the runners-up, Liza Hanekom and Arno de Waal.Saturday saw the men’s and women’s round robin.The men’s section was hard fought, with Alfred Sumaili and Axel Rothauge winning after tight games against the runners-up, Arne Stier and Maxi Bingel, who upset the second seeds, Arno de Waal and Louwtjie van Aswegen.However, the latter got a consolation prize as the best-dressed couple.Heidi Spinas and Gudrum Murray won the women’s doubles easily, without dropping a set.The tournament employed the new service rules and scoring system of the International Badminton Federation, where a set now lasts for 21 points.Instead of the old system where one can only score a point when serving and sets last 15 points, the new system allows a point to be scored from every rally.A player can still expect to “travel” 2 km during a single match, but the feeling is that games do not last as long as before, that the pace is quicker, that there is no time to adjust to the pace of the game as that will cost you points right away, and that serving ability is crucial.In comparison to the traditional system, speed, reflexes and consistency become more important under the new rules.”The changed system should take badminton to a new level of competitiveness and was enjoyed by all participants.The challenge now is to implement it at club level, where many members are just participating in social play,” said Axel Rothauge, the secretary of NBU.The winners of every section each received a prize consisting of a 1 kg pack of biltong and droëwors, sponsored by African Car Hire, instead of the traditional cash prize.In addition, the youngest participant, Wanyo Kollmitz (aged 13) from Omaruru, and the oldest participant, Juergen Schmotz (aged 63) from Windhoek, each received a special award for demonstrating that badminton can be played over a whole lifetime, said Rothauge.”Appreciation is expressed towards the company Namibia Construction, who modified the interior of the church hall such that play was possible during the day.Normally, the church windows allow in so much light that the shuttles are not visible during daytime play.In addition, Siemens also contributed to the prizes,” he said.The tournament was well attended by players from northern and central Namibia.Unfortunately, the Mariental floods prevented players from the south from attending.”The selectors used the opportunity to assess the current availability and fitness of players.Fitness and skills will be honed during subsequent training camps, the first one scheduled for Henties Bay on March 31 to April 2.This is also an opportunity for coastal players to become involved in the game,” said Rothauge.A badminton demonstration and practice session will be held at the University of Namibia’s gym hall on Wednesday, March 15 from 17h30.Anyone is welcome to attend, particularly students and staff of Unam.All equipment will be provided by the NBU.For more information on badminton, contact Rothauge at (061) 206 4044.