SBA to scale down development programmes, junior tournaments

KUCHING, Aug 29 -- The Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) will be organising development programmes and events on a smaller scale to comply with the standard operating procedure (SOP) and Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) set by the authorities.

SBA president Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Husain, in a statement today, said they will continue with the development programmes and at the same time organise tournaments that will have to be scaled down.

“The association will soon be organising a series of junior-level tournaments including for school children as part of its calendar events, and it is expected to be held in Kuching first before being extended to other divisions.

“In view of the SOP and to comply with the RMCO, the tournaments will be restricted to a small number of participants while the matches are not open to the public, including the players’ parents who are not allowed to enter the venues,” he added.

He said SBA would work closely with the State Education Department and the participating schools on the possibility of having weekend-like league badminton matches at school halls apart from having it at the SBA Hall at Jalan Lapangan Terbang here.

Abdul Aziz said the association was also grateful to private local coaches who were still conducting their junior coaching lessons at the SBA Hall while complying with the SOP to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, SBA honorary secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir said the training for Sarawak’s athletes preparing for the 20th Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in Johor in March had already resumed.

“They have already started training during the RMCO, and we are constantly reminding them to comply with the SOP so that their health and safety are safeguarded at all times,” he said.

-- BERNAMA