Who is our BCer who started this rumour? . So who is our BCer who started this rumour that the SS Finals are only for players who have played in 8 SS events? .
i think that if the worlds top players don't compete then this tourney isn't going to be that prestigious. especially for the mens singles. if the current world and olympic champion cannot qualify, then something if flawed.
The problem with our Badminton tournament entries today . This is the problem with our Badminton tournament entries today. Most players are pawns to their National Associations. The flaw is not in the tournament itself. We sometimes hear of a player wishing to participate in a tournament but he/she is not allowed by his/her National Association. On the other hand, we sometimes hear of a player wishing to rest, but his/her association says that he/she has to participate. .
So the possible 8 MS players who will come to Kota Kinabalu are Lee Chong Wei, Sony Dwi Kuncoro, Joachim Persson, Chen Jin, Peter Gade, Lin Dan/Bao Chunlai (?), Taufik Hidayat and Przemyslaw Wacha.
^^The only name..^^ ..from your list that will not appear in this yr's SS Finale is LinDan; remember BWF only counts this yr's SS tourneys & LD is ranked outside of the top 10. And if KJ has really retired, then that'll open up only 1 more spot as the rest of the top 8 MS players will likely hold on to their respective ranking. Only way for LD to sneak in into the top 8 ranking is if: 1. He wins both of the last 2 SS tourneys and 2. 1 or 2 of the current top 8 MS SS-ranked players totally tanked/go belly up in the last 2 SS tourneys. And even then LD has his work cut out for him.
Well, if LD puts his mind into it, winning 2 back-to-back titles on home ground shouldn't be much of a problem ..... It would be worth our investment at the Super Series Finals if he is part of the cast.
A possible flaw is that BWF could not keep its own obligations to hold a SS Finals last year as promised... then announced only last month that this year's SS Finals is actually going to be played... Many players just didn't take BWF's commitments seriously throughout the year and not attend that many SS events as a result...
Where will our first 5 or 6 SS Finals be held? . Krisna ... Have you read Post#55 of this thread? At the moment, we don't have a schedule of host cities for our annual SS Finals. Let's look at it this way... If there are no cities wanting to host the Olympic Games, can we say that IOC have not kept their promise? Actually, we should be glad that there are some 5 or 6 countries where Badminton is popular. And, this I might be able to guess... Our first 5 or 6 SS Finals would be held in China, Denmark, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and England. .
I have read post #55, I just do not agree with what you wrote. I didn't feel the need to write anything about it because some points were obviously wrong. Managing money is part of management and organization behaviour... If BWF cannot manage money, conduct business, negotiate well, time things well, communicate things well, ...then they cannot manage! It is their fault. I have met BWF people. Some knew [and admit] they've mismanaged things.
Yep..as I said that BWF has to be blamed.....it is poorly organized.....even some of BWF did not know badminton well too....thats scary!! and it is true..
I know BWF is trying their mightiest to promote the sport... ...but why is the Super Series Finale being held in Kota Kinabalu???...Not to underestimate the charming tourist town of KK, but out of many cities in and around SE Asia region, like Jakarta, KL, S'pore, Manila, why did they choose KK??... If possible, maybe those who are going to the SS Finale might want to ask the organizer/BWF abt this??...hmm.. Btw, i found this news, on IEC's website, the other day. Apparently the plan to hold the SS Finale in Kota Kinabalu was actually approved this summer. Can someone confirm it? http://www.iec.se/ ======================================================= BWF appoints IEC to handle Super Series Finals 7/11/2008 - Stockholm, Sweden - The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has exclusively appointed IEC in Sports to handle worldwide television distribution, for the inaugural BWF Super Series Masters Finals. Malaysia’s beautiful tropical island of Kota Kinabalu will play host to the four-day extravaganza from Dec 18-21 2008.The event offers total prize money of US$500,000 making it the richest tournament in the history of badminton, more than double the All-England Championships. “I an delighted to announce this spectacular season-ending finale, which primarily benefits the players. We have confirmation that China, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia will all send their Olympic medallists who qualify, as we again showcase badminton stars in the Olympic Year.” said BWF President Dr Kang Young Joong. IEC in Sports will be delivering over twenty (20) hours of first class television production from the host broadcaster Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) to ensure the fullest coverage of a Super Series event. “The end of year finale for badminton, on the back of a tremendous showing at the Olympic Games will make 2008 a stand-out year for the sport. We have seen increased broadcaster interest across the 12-leg Super Series and are delighted to be appointed by BWF to distribute the Super Series Finals and envisage global interest.” Said Jonas Persson, CEO of IEC in Sports. Eligible to compete are the top eight ranked players in each discipline, based on their overall 12-leg Super Series performance, who qualify for the Finals. “We are pleased to have brought together the Malaysian Government, Sabah Tourism and Badminton Malaysia, who have been reliable hosts for badminton events as well as key sponsor Yonex Sunrise. It is only right they should make history by holding the inaugural Super Series Finals.”. Added Dr.Kang. For further information, please contact IEC
Thanking Kota Kinabalu for hosting our 2008 SS Finals . Perhaps post(#55) wasn't clear enough. It shall be repeated: (1) BWF wanted to remain as an international non-governmental and a non-profit organisation, but just an organiser of Badminton tournament schedules. (2) BWF allowed all National Associations to bid to host the SS Finals. The city is to provide a venue for the tournament, accommodation (like an Olympic Village) for players and officials, advertisements/ticket sales for the event, etc... All other incomes/expenses shall be earned/incurred by the host city. It's just like what IOC do for the Olympic Games, FIA do for Formula One Grand Prix Car Racing, FIFA do for World Soccer, etc... (3) BWF said they will supply the prize monies of US$500,000.00. Because Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, bid for it, after our attempt in Melbourne, Australia, failed (because we couldn't find a $250,000.000 loan). In fact, if KK did not bid for it, our 2008 SS Finals would not be held again. While we are on this topic, click here . Even our kwun and Badminton Central wanted to hold our own BC Tournament. But we haven't yet achieved it. But can we to blame kwun or Badminton Central for it? .
To me it is obvious that BWF failed in point number (1)... BWF officially announce there will be a SS Finals when the new SS system began in 2007, yet, they failed to organize the 2007 SS Finals and only announced a month ago that the 2008 SS Finals will actually be held. That's terrible! It is their job to organize and manage all the difficulties in making the SS Finals possible and communicate it well to all member associations and players involved. They did not do that well! BWF is to be blamed and any knowledgeable the association members know that! Chris, are you saying that BWF is doing a good job in organizing tournament schedules for the SS Finals in the past 2 years? If you do, then we disagree big time! Are you also saying that managing money is not part of management? [That's what you clearly wrote in post #55] On this, we clearly disagree. That's all. I clearly have a different interpretation on what good management means. Please don't compare the BWF SS Finals fiasco with Kwun's dream & discussion of holding a BC tournament. It is not an official announcement from a Worlwide Sports Governing Body that affects a lot of people's professional livelihood. If the SS Finals is in the dream & discussion stage, then it is not an official announcement. But it was not! It was an official announcement that affected a lot of people's actions throughout the year [and thus, their future].
^^Lack of money??...or Lack of management??..And who's responsible??^^ ..(here's my 3 sen rupiahs worth)... chris@ccc, I've re-read your post #55 and i think i see where you're coming from. Looking back and re-reading the thread of the cancellation of last yr's SS Finale (see 2 links below), i have a feeling it's both the lack of funding/sponsorship as well as the lack of BWF's organizational effort which resulted in the cancellation and postponement of the SS Finale. In the beginning when we found out the news, it went from a highly expected SS Finale to a big disappointment with the news of the cancellation. Then we were surprised by the news that it would be held in Kedah (early 2008) and all the BCers (esp. M'sia BCers) were preparing for a big gathering, complete with a satay feast courtesy of our BC satay-handout machine aka X Ball. But to our dismay, BWF decided to postpone the SS Finale. http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45330&highlight=super+series+finale&page=23 (post #376) http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45330&highlight=super+series+finale&page=18 (post #303) Your 3 points (in post #55), and as repeated above, are all quite true. And, as mentioned, money is definitely the tipping factor in holding tourneys. But the thing that caught me was the 3rd point. Did BWF always have the sponsorship money for last yr's SS Finale, as you mentioned?? Or did it come from some other entity?? As far as i know, the initial cancellation was blamed on the lack of sponsorship/fund (2nd link above). If that's true, then does that mean BWF never had enough funding to hold the SS Finale **until** this yr?? Now, as far as the lack of organizational skill/effort/capabililty goes, it would be hard for me to gauge or judge. But if BWF planned this, don't you think they should be the responsible entity (i wouldn't call it as far as "blamed"). I certainly don't know if there was somekind of a contractual agreement with BWF and the initial host city? If there was, and the host city suddenly backed out for whatever reason, then shouldn't BWF have a back-up plan (like have a contingency plan 1 or 2 months prior, in case of a cancellation). I can understand if some unexpected or unforeseen incident(s) occurred to the host city. But with the sudden and very late announcement of the cancellation, it not only threw all the preparation by the different players/countries aside but also put in question the reliability of BWF and what they'd promise. Shouldn't BWF secure a host city with all the funding in place, **before** they announced the event?? Wouldn't that be the wise/best thing to do??.. As we found out, Dubai decided to back out, @ last minute, citing a lack of funding/sponsorship. Did BWF have a contingency plan at that time?? Although rumor did swirl that China was going to be the host. To put it in a different way, imagine this (fictional) scenario: Say, chris@ccc Enterprise decides to hold a yr end Australian National baddy event in Australia with a prize money of AUS$25,000. The plan has been prepared 1 yr ahead. All the AUS players have been told abt the news and they all competed mightily in different tourneys to qualify to be in the event. The committee then finds a reasonable place to hold the event. But at the last minute, the committee cancels the tourney citing lack of sponsorship/fund. But then a few weeks later, they find another place to hold the event but then it gets postponed because it also lacks enough funding. Then who is responsible if not the entity which planned the whole event. How would chris@ccc Enterprise feel about cancelling & postponing the event?? would the entity feel somewhat responsible?? if you think so, then that's the point abt BWF being the responsible entity.. I don't know if comparing IOC and BWF/IBF is similar, IMO. In bidding to be an Olympic host city, it takes a minimum of 7 yrs for a city to prepare everything. And i believe that agreement comes with some kind of a price, an investment price on the host city. In comparison, last yr's SS Finale probably never got any assurance or guarantee from a host city even as BWF announced & promised that there will be a SS Finale; heck, they probably couldn't find a host city til the last 6 or 4 months. Do you think that's enough time to put everything in place??.. Yes, i know there needs to be a bidding process done by cities if they want to hold this event. My query has more to do with my surprise that it's quite puzzling why a larger metro city wouldn't be able (or should i say couldn't) to hold this event?? Wouldn't it attract more people to come & watch in comparison to holding it in a much smaller environment/venue, with who knows how many people will attend?? As for BC not being able to sponsor a tournament, yet, as far as i know it was never promised (as BWF did). It was only a....................................dream..
Here's a scenario where BWF is not responsible if the SS is not held: BWF and a host city had a full and strong commitment to hold the SS Finals, but then an 8.9 Richter earthquake happened 5 days before the event is held. Destroying the stadium where the SS Finals venue should be. BWF announced: SS Finals delayed until further notice due to massive earthquake [that you all have heard in the news]. Now that is a case where BWF is not responsible...
BWF has raised US$500,000.00 for the SS prize money . Hi Krisna and ctjcad, BWF is only a body from all National Badminton Associations around the world. It is controlled by all these associations by votes. BWF has raised US$500,000.00 to offer as the SS prize money. BWF has ask all National Associations to bid for the hosting of the SS Finals. Melbourne, Australia, bid for it and BWF said yes to us. But we couldn't raise enough money from Australian sponsors to stage it. We were hoping that we could get some funds from our government (who has helped in events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Grand Prix Car Racing, World Swimming, International Cricket, etc.. ). But because Badminton is not popular here, no government funds were forthcoming. So, from Melbourne, Australia, we have blamed ourselves for being unable to host it. No way could we blame BWF. That's why in my earlier post, I have said only about 5 or 6 nations, where Badminton is popular, could most probably be able to hold it, namely; China, Denmark, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, and England. I would like to make a comparison of the BWF to that of the UN. The UN have plans for many things. But when it comes to money, probably 5 or 6 richer nations are able to contribute to make those plans to happen. And we cannot blame the UN if they do not go in to do a certain action. It depends on the votes from all the UN member nations. Actually, BCers need to make 'loud' requests to our own National Associations to vote for things that we wish to see happen. If our own National Associations do not relay our message to BWF for us, then it's our National Associations who are at fault. Also, we should ask our National Associations to host the next SS Finals... so that we don't need to travel far to watch it. .
That point you wrote is not true, thus it might start your misperception on how things work. BWF is not controlled by all National Associations. The BWF top officials are voted into power by a number of National Associations. After that, they have executive power to manage things. No need to vote on many issues, including how to make sure there is a SS Finals. Next, BWF management should ensure there are enough interested parties who want to hold the SS Finals first, pre-select them. Then announce there will be a SS Finals. Without ensuring there is going to be one [at least in the 1st year when BWF actually started the SS system], don't announce anything. This is their fault. BWF should be blamed for this! It is so obvious to some of us. Classic incompetent management practice there. BWF is very unlike the UN. Wrong analogy! BWF can impose many more things in badminton compared to the UN towards many global issues. BWF is much more comparable to FIFA. Though FIFA itself is not perfect, but they have done a much better job making soccer/football the #1 sport on the planet. chris@ccc, I think you just have a different perception on how management should work than me, ctjcad, and Hau-ge. This probably stems from our own experiences and examples in our lives on how a good organization should behave. In our eyes, BWF is obviously an example of a sub-par managed organization in the past few years. Badminton deserves better.
