2 NMBA officials complete Shuttle Time tutor course

Northern Marianas Badminton Association’s Janelle Pangilinan, front row left, and Christy Villaflor, second row second left, pose with instructor Ian Piencenaves, second row left, and Guam National Badminton Federation members and officials after the first day of the Badminton World Federation Shuttle Time Tutor Course last weekend in Guam.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Northern Marianas Badminton Association officials Janelle Pangilinan and Christy Villaflor have been certified as tutors after completing Badminton World Federation’s Shuttle Time Tutor Course over the weekend.

Pangilinan and Villaflor completed the course in Guam, joining several members of the Guam National Badminton Federation in event. Ian Piencenaves, a regional development officer at Badminton Asia, conducted the two-day course that was divided into five components: introduction to Shuttle Time tutors, resources, learners, training, and planning. The course covered both practical and theoretical sessions and focused on equipping tutors with the right skills and establishing effective methods in delivering Shuttle Time lessons to teachers/educators.

Shuttle Time is a program launched by BWF in 2012 with the goal of making badminton one of the world’s most popular and accessible school sports. It offers school access to free resources, training, and equipment to support the teaching of enjoyable and safe badminton activities to children in the 5- 15 age groups.

Under the BWF Shuttle Time Tutor Course, Villaflor and Pangilinan received guidance on delivering teaching training course to badminton coaches of schools and physical education teachers. They performed drills, identified the best possible approach for teachers that has badminton experience or without, and were introduced to the technologies that will make teaching Shuttle Time lesson easier and more accessible.

“The teachers will serve as our bridge to students. They are the ones who have the time and opportunity to work with the students, so it’s important that as tutors we know how to help them teach badminton to the children in a fun, easier, and safe manner,” said Villaflor, who also serves as NMBA’s general secretary and initially helped the NMBA conduct a clinic for teachers last October in preparation for the TakeCare Interscholastic Badminton League.

Pangilinan, an NMBA director and member of the NMI National Team that will compete in the Pacific Mini Games 2022 this June, said the course was very different from the other Shuttle Time courses they attended.

“The easiest part of the course is having access to teaching resources. It’s easier for teachers to remember the program when they are teaching the sport because they will have a Shuttle Time app with them. The challenging part is I am used to teaching children, therefore I must adapt to educating adults,” said Pangilinan, who was among the NMBA officials that conducted Shuttle Time sessions for students last year.

Meanwhile, NMBA president Merlie Tolentino acknowledged that P.E. teachers or educators interested in learning badminton and teaching the sport to their students are their essential partners in growing badminton in the grassroots and interscholastic levels.

“The more coaches we can develop and train, the more young players we can encourage to join and stay with the sport. Through coaches and educators, players are taught badminton skills and are also provided with activities that help them stay active,” Tolentino said.

The NMBA president thanked BWF for providing the grant for the tutor course and the GNBF, led by its president Sandra Low and secretary general Sunardi Li, for hosting Villaflor and Pangilinan. Tolentino added that with the two NMBA officials getting their certification, the association can now conduct more tutor courses to help grow their local capacity as far as identifying and developing coaches are concerned. (PR)