Engaging the Community
The first inclusive badminton session was held on 24 May 2025 at Active Badminton Centre with the programme lasting for 10 weeks until 26 July. It was delivered every Saturday for one hour on three courts with 14-22 participants each week. The sessions were designed to help participants find success in developing their badminton skills at whatever level was suitable for them.
To meet this objective, the participants were normally split into two groups. One for players with some badminton experience who could play rallies and doubles badminton with each other, and one for beginners who would be introduced to badminton for the first time.
The Shuttle Time content was well utilised in these sessions, and the suggested variations to make activities harder or easier proved useful.
By the end of the programme, regular participants had made improvements in their badminton skills, built new friendships, and largely enjoyed a sense of achievement. The final session concluded with a pizza lunch and lots of excitement to continue playing badminton in the future.
The organisers intend to continue the inclusive badminton offering at Badminton North Harbour, and to grow the number of local inclusive badminton programmes for people with intellectual disabilities around New Zealand.
Enthusiastic Response
Shuttle Time Teachers Fabian Max and Lynne Dobson were all praise for the programme.
Fabian Max: “My wife actually made me aware and passed my name on. She works with people with disabilities and knows how much I love the game. To me it was a meaningful time to be able to support those with disabilities to be able to play and enjoy themselves. The Shuttle Time Teachers course helped me to develop my skills of coaching beginners. They went from no skills to where they could hit the shuttle and even play a game. I was so proud of everyone in such a short time. We couldn’t do this without the parents and extra volunteers. Big thank you to Sam from Oceania and North Harbour Badminton. The social and friendships amongst everyone was amazing.”
Lynne Dobson: “I got involved with the programme as I’m quite involved with badminton, and I’m aware of the needs of those with disabilities and the few opportunities they have to become involved in a sport.
By helping with the Shuttle Time sessions it was very rewarding to see not only the progress the players made but the joy they showed by being involved in something that for most of them was a new experience. Most of them would like the sessions to continue on a regular basis. It was definitely well received by having the courts regularly booked and rackets and shuttles provided.”
