The rights of juniors to play more than one match per event should be protected by the policies and procedures of the USAB. Clubs, tournament organizers, officials, parents, coaches, and the USAB should strive to meet the needs of all players regardless of current level of play. Our community should focus on increasing, not decreasing opportunities for young people to explore and flourish in the life-long sport of badminton. Policies, intended or not, that restrict access to the positive components of competitive sport run counter to inclusive organizations.

We propose the following modifications to the proposed structures that inherently limit the number of competitive games at USAB sanctioned tournaments. Additionally, we respectively ask for representation on the USAB Board of Directors to ensure junior voices on policies that impact current and future generations of badminton playing in the USA:

1. REWARD CONSOLATION POINTS, NOT PARTICIPATION POINTS, FOR ALL RANKINGS JUNIOR TOURNAMENTS: Keep the Current Consolation System reasons supporting the rewarding of consolation points. (please see details in attachment).

Transition Challenges

Skill Development to Reach Higher Potential

Healthy Development of Self Concept and Self Confidence

Assessment and Rankings

Motivation

Coaching

Multiple Purposes for Tournaments

International Standards

Why Change Something that Works?

Equity Fee Allocation

Family Economics

The Needs of Children

2. POSTPONE ANY NEW JUNIOR POLICY CHANGES UNTIL 2018-2019 SEASON SO THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS MORE TIME TO REVIEW IMPLICATIONS: Parents and the community were not informed of the impact of the changes associated with the new structure.

The new structure was introduced as a forgone conclusion. Substantial modifications to the structure should have been introduced to each region, allowing ample time for feedback and clarifying questions. We recommend that any change in structure be presented as a proposal during JN16 Seattle.

Any proposed change to the structure should consider the impact of the change on regions. It is clear that the proposed changes attempt to alleviate a capacity challenge within a select few regions without considering the deleterious impact on the vast majority of regions across the country.

3. CREATE A NEW SEAT ON THE USAB BOARD OF DIRECTORS THAT REPRESENTS JUNIORS:

The voices of juniors and their parents should be heard and valued as much any other USAB group.

Juniors not only represent the future of the sport, but are currently a sizable portion of USAB members. It is not fair that the rights and welfare of adult athletes, officials, and coaches are represented on the Board, when junior have no formal representation.

There is a disconnect between the USAB central office and the community that represents junior/parents’ rights and perspectives. JAG is only a bridge between central office and community, and appears to have no impact on important decisions facing juniors.

We, the undersigned thank the USAB for its commitment to growing the sport and its support for current and future juniors. However, we strongly appeal to the Board to pull back the current structural changes and instead enter into an ongoing dialogue with the junior community before any changes become permanent. The future of U.S.A. badminton shines bright if our junior player community feels valued and connected to important USAB decisions.