Ong (centre), KBA president Johnny Ng (left) and SSC wall and net sports unit head Mohamad Ikmal Afandi hold the circuit schedule.
KUCHING: The much-awaited Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) Sarawak Junior Badminton Circuit 2021 will finally kick off with the first leg here on Feb 6-7 at the Sarawak Multipurpose Indoor Arena in Petra Jaya.
The first such event in the country was initially scheduled for Jan 11-13 but was postponed due to the spike of Covid-19 cases in the state especially in Kuching and Sibu in recent weeks.
“We cannot delay the running of this circuit anymore and the organising committee has decided to hold the first series in yellow and green zones,” said SSC chief executive officer Dr Ong Kong Swee.
“Kuching, currently a yellow zone, is set to organise the curtain-raiser of the circuit,” he added.
Ong said due to the inter-zone movement restriction, the first leg would be participated mainly by juniors from Southern Zone (Kuching, Kota Samarahan, Serian and Bau.
“The main aim of this circuit is to identify new talents to be absorbed into Centres of Excellence in Kuching, Sibu and Miri and all junior players can play in this circuit, in line with the slogan “Now Every Junior Can Play”.
“We have planned to organise at least 16 series of this circuit, with the Grand Final scheduled for Dec 31 in Kuching.
“Other venues include Miri, Mukah, Sibu, Limbang, Kota Samarahan, Kapit, Lawas, Serian, Sri Aman, Subis, Sarikei, Bintulu and Betong.”
According to Ong, the categories to be competed are Boys U15, U13, U11 singles and Girls U15, U13, and U11 singles.
Ranking points will be awarded to winners in the respective categories and will be recorded and carried on “tournamentsoftware”.
The series are managed by Kuching Badminton Association (KBA) with the coordination of the local associations or clubs.
Ong said the participants must first register for the circuit at KBA website www.kuchingbadminton.org and pay RM30 registration fee.
Every participant will get a tee shirt and a synthetic shuttlecock.
An additional RM10 is to be paid for the player’s ID which serves as a licence for them to play throughout 2021.
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