On March 8th, we celebrated International Women’s Day by playing badminton! A training session, a coaching workshop, and to wrap it all up – a women’s doubles tournament. What a day!
On Saturday, March 8th, girls and women had the chance to play badminton at the VBV hall in Dornbirn. At 10:30 AM, we kicked off with a free, open training session for girls and teenagers, which I led with the support of top player Matilda Simma. The goal of the session was to inspire girls to keep training and to encourage them to explore their potential in a sports career. Matilda, who’s been nominated for this year’s edition of EYOF, was a huge inspiration for the younger players.
Right after the open training, I held our first-ever free coaching workshop focused on girls and women in badminton. Together with three coaches, we talked about the stereotypes that girls often face, but also discussed ways we can motivate and support them in sports. Coaches shared their thoughts openly and talked about their experiences in their clubs with great honesty.
After the workshop, the long-awaited women’s doubles tournament began. Female players of different ages gave it their all on the court. The atmosphere was incredibly friendly, but full of passion and dedication to the game.
This was the first time International Women’s Day was celebrated in this way in the region of Vorarlberg. The energy throughout the day was amazing, and the positive vibes filling the hall led to people already asking for more events like this to promote badminton among women.
When I was organizing this event, I had a lot of doubts about whether it would actually attract coaches and players. But my worries turned out to be completely unnecessary – and the feedback I received afterward convinced me even more that it’s worth creating spaces like this for girls and women in badminton.
I truly hope that International Women’s Day becomes a regular part of our regional badminton calendar.
Make sure to follow me on Instagram, where I regularly share updates on my coaching journey. You can also read an article (in German) covering the entire event on VBV website.
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