21/11/2003 BY RAJES PAUL KUALA LUMPUR: Junior players will no longer be “second class citizen” in the Badminton Association of Malaysia's (BAM) set-up. They received a major boost yesterday with the BAM signing a lucrative five-year deal worth RM1.125mil with 100Plus Power as their title sponsors of the national junior circuit. The new circuit is expected to revive the BAM's effort to churn out more world-beaters. Beside the sponsorship boost, the BAM president, Datuk Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, also announced that they would launch a new junior development programme throughout the country next year to groom a bigger pool of players at the grassroots level. “China are the most successful badminton nation in the world. They continuously churn out top players because they have a big pool of players,” said Nadzmi. “Today, our junior circuit has received a tremendous boost and I expect more juniors from the states to feature in the tournaments. “We want to identify talent early and have a bigger pool of players to choose from. Our hope is to see greater participation in the circuit and stiffer competitions at the national level. We want to stay close with China.” However, there may not be any immediate changes on the structure and format of the circuit. There are plans to eventually increase the number of legs and present bigger prizes. Currently, the circuit is played in two stages for players in the age-groups of Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18. In the first stage, two legs are played in three zones – north, south and east-west. A total of 11 players – five each from the north and south and one from the east-west zone – advance to the second stage, where they are joined by the top five players from the Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS). The top eight in the second stage will qualify for the Finals. This year's Finals will be staged at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association Hall (KLBA) from Dec 5-7. The BAM spend about RM30,000 on equipment as prizes for the winners in the circuit tournaments. On the nationwide junior development programme next year, Nadzmi said: “It is crucial that we have a solid programme to ensure the continued success of the country on the world stage. “We hope our new sponsors will also look into our junior development programme, which we hope to start in all states.” The signing of the five-year partnership between BAM and the beverage company yesterday was witnessed by Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
New Straits Times Online - Badminton: BAM gets another RM1.125 million boost K.M. Boopathy Nov 21: THE BA of Malaysia (BAM) received another financial boost as 100Plus Power signed a five-year contract worth RM1.125 million as title sponsors of the national junior circuit but BAM is still not ready to begin a nationwide development programme. Under the five-year contract 100 Plus Power, a non-carbonated sports drink, will contribute RM225,000 annually to BAM to run their national junior grand prix circuit. The circuit, which began in 1989, is likely to be expanded next year to give players at State level more chance to gain experience. However, lack of facilities and development programmes have often deprived the State BAs to send more players to junior tournaments but BAM president Nadzmi Salleh said the association needs an additional RM2 million to start a nationwide development programme. "We are still not to launch a nationwide development programme as we need an additional RM2 million. We do not want to hasten the process of development at State level as there might not be continuity in the future if the funds are not sufficient. "As for now, we would like to focus on making the national junior circuit more competitive and encourage more players to compete in tournaments. "China are doing very well on the international stage as they have an exceptional pool of talent, so we also need to increase our number of competitive juniors. "The sponsorship is timely as we can now focus on increasing our pool if talent." However, much depends on the effectiveness of State BAs who are generally struggling without sound development programmes. The latest sponsorship deal has increased BAM’s total funds to almost RM5 million annually. BAM receives RM1 million each from its Rakan Muda partners Proton and EON while equipment sponsors Gosen and National Sports Council (NSC) also contribute close to RM1 million every year. The association also receives an additional RM840,000 in rent from the Seri Garden School, who are utilising BAM’s premises in Taman Maluri. However, BAM has yet to initiate a launch of a nationwide development programme despite its sound financial situation.
sound financial situation? didn't the BAM had to cut the number of players due to cost issue just not too long ago? but this is in general a good news, training more juniors will means that Malaysia will have more rising players for the future.
I think BAM will never be in financial trouble as long as there are some badminton stars. If BAM can produce more good players, they will get even more money.
Good news ! Certainly the right thing to do. Malaysia has many badminton talents that need financial commitment and incentives to explore and develop them into world class players. "Malaysia Boleh" Alan
