KUCHING, Aug 29: Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) will be organising its future development programmes and events on a smaller scale in order to comply with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) set by the relevant authorities.
SBA president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Abdul Aziz Husain in a press statement today said development programmes, especially in grooming young talents and organising tournaments, will have to be scaled down according to the SOP to be adopted by the association.
“The association will soon be organising a series of junior level tournaments including for school children as part of its calendar of events and it is expected to be held here 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 entry into the venues,” he said.
Abdul Aziz emphasised that future tournaments will be held without spectators, parents and even coaches as the start of a new age for badminton in Sarawak.
According to him, the staging of upcoming badminton tournaments including those for junior players is forced to be held on a smaller scale to prevent the spread of Covid-19 virus during sporting events.
He disclosed that SBA will work closely with the State Education Department and the participating school authorities on the possibility of having weekend-like league badminton matches at school halls apart from having it at SBA Hall in Jalan Lapangan Terbang here.
The association is also grateful to private local coaches who are still conducting their junior coaching lessons at SBA Hall while complying to the SOP in efforts to curb the spread of Covid19 virus.
“With the good cooperation from our local coaches, players and even parents, we are able to maintain high compliance to the SOP at our badminton hall and to educate the young players to play their part in curbing the spread of Covid-19,” Abdul Aziz who is also one of BAM’s deputy presidents said.
Meanwhile, SBA honorary secretary Abdul Hadi Abdul Kadir disclosed that the training for Sarawak’s athletes vying for the coming 20th Malaysia Games (Sukma) to be held in Johor has already resumed with the majority complying with the SOP set by the authorities.
“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 always safeguarded at all times,” Abdul Hadi said on the strict measures undertaken by the association at its training grounds.
He expressed optimism that Sarawak’s Sukma bound badminton players will not be deprived of training and preparation for the coming event which has been rescheduled to March 2021.-DayakDaily
