Badminton Uganda takes Shuttle Time to Busoga, equips 170 Teachers with skills

Badminton Uganda has continued its nationwide Shuttle Time development programme with a two-week workshop in the Busoga region, equipping 170 teachers from seven districts with skills and knowledge to introduce and strengthen badminton in schools.

The programme, which has been running across different regions of Uganda since the beginning of the year, is part of Badminton Uganda’s efforts to expand the sport at grassroots level by building the capacity of teachers, coaches and technical officials.

The first phase of the Busoga workshop covered Namutumba, Buyende, Luuka, Mayuge, Bugweri, Bugiri and Kamuli, bringing together teachers from schools across the seven districts.

The training focused on equipping teachers with practical badminton skills and knowledge that they can take back to their schools and use to encourage more learners to participate in the sport.

For the teachers, the programme has also provided an opportunity to discover the potential of badminton as an inclusive sport that can be enjoyed by learners regardless of gender or ability.

Grace Mbago, a teacher at St. Paul SS Mbulamuti, said the training had changed her understanding of badminton and its potential in schools.

“I have learned that playing badminton helps. It is a game that enables girls and boys to play together. It is a game that is inclusive.”

Mbago added that the sport provides an opportunity for learners with disabilities to participate alongside their peers.

She pledged to return to her school and encourage both boys and girls, including learners with disabilities, to take up badminton and help promote the sport within the community.

The same sentiment was echoed by Fauza Mudondo, a games teacher at Kamuli Progressive College, who said the inclusive nature of badminton was one of the biggest strengths of the sport.

According to Mudondo, the programme has opened an opportunity for learners with disabilities who may previously have struggled to find sports activities in which they could freely participate.

“As they come back from their holiday, we are going to involve them, especially students with disabilities, because they have been lacking a game they freely enjoy with others,” Fauza said.

For Lamek Gabula, a games teacher at Masadi Seed, the workshop provided an opportunity to acquire skills that were previously unavailable to him and other teachers.

He said that although they had heard about badminton, they had limited knowledge about how to play and teach the sport.

“Very many skills have been acquired here,” Gabula said, adding that he intends to use the knowledge acquired to introduce more students to badminton.

He also pledged to encourage his school administration to invest more in badminton and make it part of the school’s regular sporting activities.

Badminton Uganda CEO Simon Mugabi said the regional workshops are aimed at creating strong local structures capable of managing badminton activities without constantly relying on officials from Kampala.

He explained that the Busoga programme included the Shuttle Time school development component, as well as training in technical officiating and coaching.

“We are finalising our development project, where we have to work on the Shuttle Time programme at Badminton, and then the other part is the technical officials and the coaching part of it,” Mugabi said.

He noted that the programme had moved through the different districts in Busoga, including Namutumba, Jinja, Bugweri, Mayuge, Luuka, Buyende and Kamuli.

The two-week programme, according to Mugabi, is important in strengthening district sports departments so that they can independently organise and manage competitions such as inter-house, inter-colour and district tournaments.

The long-term goal is to ensure that districts have sufficient capacity to run their badminton activities without having to depend heavily on personnel from Kampala.

With the Busoga phase now completed, Badminton Uganda will take the programme to the Bunyoro region, where the federation plans to work with approximately nine districts.

The Bunyoro programme will follow the same model, combining teacher capacity building under the Shuttle Time programme with training for technical officials and coaches.

Badminton Uganda believes that strengthening the skills of teachers and local sports structures will create a stronger foundation for the development of badminton in schools and increase participation among young people across the country.

As the programme moves from one region to another, the federation is positioning teachers as key ambassadors for the sport, giving them the knowledge and practical skills needed to introduce badminton to more learners.

The continued regional rollout is expected to contribute to the growth of badminton at grassroots level while promoting a sporting environment where girls, boys and learners with disabilities can participate together and enjoy equal opportunities.

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