ONTARIO WINS BID TO HOST THE 2017 PAN AM JUNIOR BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIPS – PAN AM CENTRE (MARKHAM)
Badminton Canada – OTTAWA (Badminton Canada) – Badminton Canada and Badminton Ontario are proud to announce that the 2017 Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships will be hosted by Badminton Ontario at the Pan Am Centre in Markham, Ontario – this will be the first “legacy” international badminton competition hosted by the Centre since the 2015 Pan American Games. Dates for the competition are July 21-28th, 2017. The Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships are held annually and feature over 250 athletes from 15-20 countries in the Pan Am zone. The 2016 Championships are being hosted in Lima, Peru.
Canada last hosted the Pan Am Junior Championships in 2012 (Edmonton). “Badminton Canada is proud to again host this prestigious Championship” stated Anil Kaul, President of Badminton Canada. “This championship will allow us to showcase on home turf the best junior players in Canada in one of the premier badminton facilities in the world. We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with Badminton Ontario and the City of Markham towards hosting a successful event”.
For Badminton Ontario, hosting this competition signals the start of an aggressive hosting strategy. “Ontario, and particularly the GTA, is a hotbed for Badminton in Canada and we want to make sure that the sport is profiled in this city at the highest level possible – we certainly intend to continue bidding for the highest level national and international competitions possible into the future” said Ian Moss, President of Badminton Ontario. “Of course, the Pan Am Junior Championships are a great fit for our junior elite athletes as they are a major stepping stone in their technical development and international sport experience – I know that our athletes and coaches will be thrilled to compete in front of a home audience”.
“We are extremely proud of the Markham Pan Am Centre and its continuing popularity for high performance international sports competitions since the 2015 Pan Am Parapan Am Games”, said Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti.” “We just finished hosting the table tennis qualifiers for the 2016 Rio Olympic Summer Games, and are thrilled to learn we will be hosting the 2017 Pan Am Junior Badminton Championships. It’s a testament to the quality and legacy of our facility, and Markham’s strong commitment to sports development at all levels.”
“The opportunity to maintain our relationship with the City of Markham and the Pan Am Centre is critical to the development of our sport in Markham, as it is for the continued development of our technical officials and volunteers from the area who were trained for the 2015 Pan Am Games” added Moss. “The Pan Am Centre is a world class presentation facility for the sport of Badminton and we want to make sure that it continues to be utilized for that role well into the future”.
For further information, please contact:
Badminton Ontario (Sarah Miller)
(905) 749-0361
City of Markham (Janis Cookson)
(905) 477-7000
Badminton Canada (Joe Morissette)
613 569 2424
About Badminton Canada
Badminton Canada is the national governing body of the sport of badminton in Canada. Our mission is to be an innovative and highly respected sports organization that is the leader in contributing to badminton becoming the most successful racquet sport in Canada and the world by enabling Canadian Athletes, Coaches and Officials of all ages, cultural background and skill level the opportunity to excel in badminton and in life. For further information, visit www.badminton.ca.