Badminton Ontario Junior Competitions Set to Return

Badminton Ontario Junior Competitions Set to Return

Amended Release: January 25, 2022

TORONTO – Badminton Ontario is excited to announce that provincial competitions will return as early as February 19, 2022 following the recent shutdowns as ordered by the Government of Ontario. The announcement to gradually ease restrictions will allow for sporting events to return while maintaining protective measures. 

As we plan for the return to competition, we would like to thank our community and members for their continued respect towards the safety protocols. 

The first tournament to bring our badminton juniors back to the competitive courts will be the Ontario Junior High Performance #4a to be held in Stratford on February 19-20, 2022.  Online registration will begin on January 27, 2022.  The next event would be the Ontario Junior Competitive #3b to be held at Mandarin Badminton Club on February 26-27, 2022; online registration will begin February 2, 2022.

In addition to the public health measures outlined by the provincial government, Badminton Ontario will continue to follow our own set of safety protocols to ensure increased safety.  Please be reminded to always read the tournament regulations for details to each individual event.  Some highlights of the changes include, but not limited to:

• Venue spacing is limited, so parents/guardians may only drop off and pick the junior participants; they would not be allowed to stay inside the facility.
• Extending the minimum age to participate to 5 years old; extending competition categories to include U11 and U13 where applicable.
• Re-introducing doubles and mixed doubles to offer all three disciplines (singles/doubles/mixed).
• Patrons will be required to show the enhance vaccination documents with the government issued QR code for verification. No other forms will be accepted.
• Amendments to our guiding documents:
  • Competition Regulations for the 2021-2022 season:
    • Section A, Point 4: Partner requests will be accepted with the re-introduction of doubles and mixed doubles. Lines c-f will be in effect with regards to the partner pairing process.  Please be reminded of the withdrawal policy.
    • Section A, Point 6: Effective February 2022, singles will be played on Saturday, doubles/mixed will be played on Sunday.
    • Section A, Point 9: Effective February 2022, all three disciplines of singles, doubles, and mixed doubles will be offered.
    • Section A, Point 10 (a): Effective January 2022, the minimum age of participants will be 5 years old at the time of registration.
    • Section A, Point 10 (e, iii): Effective February 2022, participants aged 12 yrs + must be double vaccinated at least 14 days (2 weeks) before the competition date. Participants aged 5-11 yrs must be double vaccinated at least 1 day before the competition date.
    • Section C, Point 4 (b): Effective February 2022, patrons will be required to show the enhance vaccination documents with the government issued QR code for verification. No other forms will be accepted.
  • COVID-19 Protocols for Badminton Ontario Sanctioned Events in the 2021-22 Competition Season:
    • Protocols, Point (a & e): Effective February 2022, patrons will be required to show the enhance vaccination documents with the government issued QR code for verification. No other forms will be accepted.
    • Protocols, Point (e): Effective February 2022, participants aged 12 yrs + must be double vaccinated at least 14 days (2 weeks) before the competition date. Participants aged 5-11 yrs must be double vaccinated at least 1 day before the competition date.
  • Badminton Ontario Return to Play Plan, COVID-19 Guidelines for Hosting Provincial Events:
    • Vaccination Requirements (pg 4): Effective February 2022, participants aged 12 yrs + must be double vaccinated at least 14 days (2 weeks) before the competition date. Participants aged 5-11 yrs must be double vaccinated at least 1 day before the competition date.
    • Check-in Process (pg 8): Effective February 2022, patrons will be required to show the enhance vaccination documents with the government issued QR code for verification. No other forms will be accepted.
    • Modifications (pg 11): Low/Very Low/Negligible Risk levels will offer U11 and U13 age groups.

We would like to highlight that the Enhanced proof of vaccination, and other requirements would continue to apply.  Meaning that the Enhanced vaccination document with the government issued QR code for verification must be shown to verify; no other forms will be accepted moving forward. Get your COVID-19 vaccine certificate here: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/get-proof/ or https://covid19.ontariohealth.ca/.

The appropriate athlete membership for your level of competition is still required. Badminton Ontario has transitioned the membership management portal to the PlayerWeb system. You will need to renew your membership on PlayerWeb here: https://playerweb.com/#!/memberships/badminton-ontario-2021-membership (this used to be done on the www.badminton.ca webpage but transitioned now). It should prompt you to link to your existing BON ID account when you start the process through PlayerWeb. Please select “Performance A” or “Competitive B” and it should link to your tournament software account automatically. Then when you log into your tournament software account, it should reflect that you have the correct membership level.  Once the tournament registration opens, then you will be able to log into your tournament software account to register for the tournament online.

Details and information may also be found on our website and in the tournament regulations.

Badminton Ontario will continue to provide updates as part of our commitment to a safe return to sport for all. Again, we value your patience and cooperation during these times.  As a community, we are all doing our part to bring sport back safely – Thank you!

Safe regards,

Jean Wong, On behalf of the Competitions Committee