Conrad’s Canadian Nationals Rant 2007

Well, there you have it�another Canadian National Badminton Championships in the books. For those of you that were there to watch it: Is it me? Or is Nationals just not what it used to be? I put this year�s Nationals on my list of disappointing sporting events of all time. Don�t get me wrong, the tournament was well organized and there were parts that we down-right exciting to watch, like Mike Beres� singles wins and men�s doubles semi-finals (Will and Mike vs Jon and Keith), and�oh wait� that�s it I guess. WHAT HAPPENED TO BADMINTON IN CANADA? I�m a huge fan of badminton and it just pains me to say that the state of badminton in Canada is straight-up terrible.

First of all, what is up with the entry level. Seriously, there were numerous players who played their first match in the quarters! Like Tim Rostrup from Alberta, who hasn�t competed since he was a junior and can�t smash because of an injured shoulder, and Greg Bury, a retired badminton player who isn�t even a doubles player to begin with, makes it to the quarter- finals without playing a match. No offense to Tim and Greg as they are good players (they won consolations), but c�mon now�players like that shouldn�t be making quarters of a National badminton championship tournament. Tim even told me, �I hope I don�t win the quarters cuz it would just be soooo bad for Badminton Canada�. And he�s right!! How bad would that have been?

Second of all, what is going on with women�s singles? I�ll tell you what�s going on�NOTHING, unless we find a way to keep our up-and-coming 15 year olds interested in badminton for the next 10 years. It is not my intention to insult Charmaine Reid as she as nice person, hard-worker and she deserved to win. But seriously, she only won because there�s nobody else to play her. Just look at her path to victory. She barely beats fifteen year old, Phyllis Chan in 3 sets (winning 30-29 in one set), then she goes to three sets with yet another 15 year old, Sarah Kong. And then she goes to 3 sets with a retired 46 year old Denyse Julien by having to catch up from being down 20-17 in the third set. I mean c�mon, are you telling me that all Canada has to offer to beat our national champion are a couple of juveniles (not even juniors yet) and a retired 46 year old? That�s TERRIBLE!! Charmaine is trying to make Olympics and also become a recognized player in the international badminton scene for both doubles and singles. I just don�t see that happening after watching her singles performance. With that in mind, I often wonder how Charmaine feels about her win. If I were Charmaine, I would look back at Nationals and say �Sweet�I won singles at nationals�good for me�BUT jeeez I BARELY won. That was an AWFUL, sub-par performance and I�m pissed off at myself. I need to give my head a shake and really think about how I really stand when it comes to women�s singles.� If Mike Beres or any of the active men�s players who have the similar goals to Charmaine faced a 15 year old or a retired 46 year old badminton player, they would CRUSH them, no questions asked.

On a side note, props to Denyse; she never ceases to amaze me. Also, props to Phyllis and Sarah. I�m sitting in the stands watching these girls play and I�m just flabbergasted at how sound their technique is and how strong they are physically at such a young age. They just need to mature a bit more within time, ladies singles will be where its supposed to be in Canada. I hope that Badminton Canada, or somebody will do something to keep more of these type of players interested in the sport so that we don�t see another 2007 women�s singles display.

Thirdly, what is up with the crowds�there was absolutely no cheering. Yes there was clapping and a few oooos and aaaahhhs but seriously, the level of enthusiasm from the crowd was BRUTAL. I�ve heard louder, more enthusiastic crowds at the opera (yes, I do go to the opera). We all love this sport (I know this otherwise you wouldn�t have drive all the way to St. Albert Saturday to watch), so SHOW IT! Show these players that you enjoy the sport and that you appreciate what you are watching.

I don�t want to sound like a whining babbling person but I�m only doing this because I love this sport and I want to see it be a success in Canada. I know there are tons of people out there who feel the same as I do but are just not voicing themselves. I�m also sure that there are people out there who will want to rebut some of the negative things I have said. So with that in mind I invite you people to comment on this posting.