BADMINTON With a two-year delay due to the corona pandemic, IFS Badminton has completed its 50th event, which is today called the ISI Cup.
The badminton competition in Ikast was formerly known as the Pondus Cup.
– Even though corona continues to make its mark on the convention, it was great to be able to meet again, says one of the volunteers behind the convention Karsten Werge.
Precisely because of the corona, IFS Badminton had chosen not to offer accommodation in classrooms and halls, and this could be seen in the registrations. There were not nearly as many participants as in previous years
– But nonetheless, it was a really good event, and we are already looking forward to 2023, where we hope to be back to completely normal conditions without corona cancellation and special restrictions, says Karsten Werge.
Together with Peder Nissen and Jørgen Færch, he forms the competition committee, which together with the club’s senior and elite players takes care of staffing the referee tables in the halls.
– It is very crucial for an event of this caliber that everyone in the club is ready to lend a hand. It helps to strengthen the unity in the club that there are elite players in the club who help the children and youth players to come to the competition, says Karsten Werge.
Mini for seniors
Locally, IFS Badminton has teams from Miniton (five years) and up to 1st division senior players.
– Our annual event ISI Cup helps to bind the whole club together, and then it also means a lot for the club’s finances, says the Ikast leader.
There were 541 participants aged seven to 19 years. In addition to Danish players, there were participants from Norway, the Faroe Islands and Germany.
– The Danish players come from all over the country. And we can feel that the competition in Ikast has a special place in badminton families. Many parents tell about how they themselves were at the convention in Ikast as a child, and now they are off with their own children, says Karsten Werge, who acknowledges that a lot has probably happened over the years.
– But the event is pretty much the same with lots of badminton for players of all levels, and space to be together about the sport.
80 rows
Thus, 80 different rows had been created from U9 to U17 / 19. It is played in the Champion, A – B – C and D series (Badminton Denmark’s rankings).
A total of 995 matches were played – with 950 matches on Saturday and 45 matches on Sunday.
On Sunday, semi-finals and finals in U13, U15 and U17 / 19 were played in the championship series.
These matches were held in Sportscenter Ikast Hall A with trained badminton judges.
On Saturday, 12 halls were set up in Ikast, Herning, Tjørring and Sunds.
For next year, the event organizer expects that they will again make use of both Bording, Engesvang and Ejstrupholm, which have previously also been in use in connection with the event.
– Despite the lower number of participants, we agree that we had a really good badminton competition with lots of happy children and parents, says Karsten Werge.
Danish – Norwegian showdown in the semifinals of U17 / 19 M – mixdouble. Photo: Private photo
