The Saudi Badminton Committee (SBC), affiliated to the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, will be organizing a mega event here in cooperation with Evenlode Badminton Club (EBC), Dammam. The two-day badminton tourney, dubbed as Dammam Badminton Open Challenge 2016, will be held at Al-Ittefaq Club on Feb. 26-27. The logo of this event was released at a ceremony at Classic Hotel, attended by the representatives of SBC, officials of EBC and other guests. SBC General Secretary Yousef Al-Thobaiti confirmed that the main objective of conducting this tournament is to promote badminton and build camaraderie among the badminton community in Saudi Arabia. This will also help us to scout the young talents and to mold them into future international players. He also revealed that the inauguration of BWF Shuttle Time program in the Kingdom will take place during this event. This is a World Badminton Federation (BWF) school program with a strategic vision to bring badminton to every child in the world. "We will be implementing this in all the schools later aiming to help teachers and coaches to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to plan and deliver fun badminton lessons to every child," he added. This program will be conducted by the main executives of Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) — Thana Arikrishnan who was the former head coach of New Zealand and present development manager of BAC, along with BWF Dubai Badminton Development Manager Jaffer Ebrahim from Bahrain. Beijing Olympic champion Markis Kido of Indonesia is expected here during this event. EBC President Tony Mathew mentioned it's a great initiative by the SBC to conduct major tournaments which will promote badminton across the region. The implemetation of Shuttle Time program in Saudi Arabia will surely help increase the awareness and popularize the game of badminton in the Kingdom. "This tournament will be giving priority to young talents. Junior Saudi players from Dammam, Riyadh and Makkah, who are under the training of approved coaches, will be seen in action here," said Ammar Awad, official coach of SBC. Top Saudi players Zuhari Almoussa and Alayan Al-Harbi (representative of SBC) will take part in the event. Over 800 players from all over the Kingdom are expected to vie for honors here. Competitions will be held in the following categories: Premier, Championship Men's Singles, Men's Doubles, Veterans (above 45 years), Junior Singles and Doubles (U-17), Sub-Junior Singles and Doubles (U-14). The winners and runners-up will be awarded with attractive trophies and special gifts. The launching of the logo for the event was performed by chief guest and mentor of EBC, Jamal Saad Aldoulab (CEO- Khalid General Contracting), Isa Burshaid (Saudi Airlines), Abdurehman Al-Mughawi and Adil Mukhemer (representatives of SBC), EBC officials Tony Mathew (president), Fahad Khalid (vice president), Abdul Majeed (general secretary), Mansoor Vaisiar (treasurer), Nawab Khan (joint treasurer) and Thaju Ayyaril (executive member). For more information contact Abdul Majeed on 0506828557/0504647288 or visit [email protected]. — SG
