He was smiling again the next day for the youth tournament organized in Waterloo for many years. “The youth tournament attracts a lot of players. We had over 180 registrations and we were full. I even had to refuse five young people from the club who were slow to register despite my recommendations. In the past, we organized this tournament in Chenois. This is no longer possible today, because we need all ten fields at the sports complex. We organize pools for singles in order to allow participants to play several matches.“
There are not enough tournaments reserved for young people. “The ideal would actually be to create additional tournaments.”continues Alexis Degen.
Emphasis on training young people
The Waterloo club places emphasis on training young people. “We have four groups: mini-bad, initiation, improvement and competition. Each group has its specific workouts. We allow young people to also have training with the immediately higher group. Young people are also integrated into interclubs. In division 1 of the league for example, we have three veterans and five youngsters in the team.”
Generally speaking, the Waterloo club is cramped with its 150 members, including 60 young people and 90 adults. It occupies two rooms, at Chenois and Berlaymont. “We have to refuse people, we are full. Some people stop playing badminton at home because they can’t play enough. We are dependent on facilities. Fortunately, we can get the sports center two weekends a year, in October and June for the organization of our tournaments. Generally, to operate, we need all the land we can get.”
The club hopes to have additional space in the coming years. “A new room will be built. We hope to be able to have additional land there to be able to develop.”
