Guam’s Low is second winner of Serve-ing Pacific

Guam National Badminton Federation’s Sandra Low, left, was named the winner of the Badminton Oceania’s Serve-ing Pacific award, the association’s volunteer recognition scheme. (Contributed Photo)

Congratulations to Badminton Oceania’s second Serve-ing Pacific winner, Sandra Low, from Guam.

She was nominated for excelling in LEADERSHIP—one of the five organizational values which Badminton Oceania embeds across all program areas.

Serve-ing Pacific is Badminton Oceania’s volunteer recognition scheme, acknowledging the hard work and commitment of volunteers across Oceania as we work towards a common goal of making badminton accessible to all.

Testament to her knowledge surrounding sport development and leadership, Low was approached to act as the president of Guam National Badminton Federation 12 years ago, despite having no previous knowledge of badminton. Nowadays, she is the face of badminton in Guam, with her perseverance and dedication allowing the sport to continuously grow and gain popularity.

Low plays a key role in the promotion and development of badminton. One of her biggest contributions to the sport is her impressive networking skills and her ability to liaise with schools across the country to incorporate badminton into their Physical Education curriculum and getting more teachers to attend Shuttle Time teacher training. The grassroots sports program (Shuttle Time) has been fundamental to the growth of sport in country, with more players progressing through the ranks to attend the likes of Pacific Games and VICTOR Oceania Championships. Currently, Low has her eyes set on forming a team to compete in this year’s Northern Marianas 2022 Pacific Mini Games.

Other key accomplishments for Low include:

• Leading Team Guam to compete in the Gold Coast 2017 Sudirman Cup

• Signing an Memorandum Of Understanding with Special Olympics Guam for the inclusion of Badminton as one of the key sports for Special Olympics Guam

• Developing excellent working rapport with neighbouring country, Northern Marianas and their badminton association

• Hosting tournaments among Northern Marianas and Philippines Badminton Club.

“Working with Sandra for over 12 years, I can attest to her great leadership and commitment for our badminton federation. Despite many setbacks and challenges she never give up and can always be count on. Badminton is synonymous with Sandra and without her there will be no badminton in Guam”, says Sunardi Li, Secretary General of Guam National Badminton Federation.

Low’s personal highlights include finding a new passion which she took up on herself to both participate and volunteer, while also encouraging her friends to get involved too. Moreover, with a strong desire to combat the “sedentary lifestyles” which many children lead nowadays, Low is on a mission to make badminton an option for children in Guam to find a great sense of pride, among several other transferable skills offered by sports.

“There is a great group of people in badminton, so I really enjoy being a part of that. From the Oceania level, down to the community, I can always see the love and the passion for the sport. We are getting a new badminton-specific facility which will allow us to run many more programs.”

“I always believe there is a sport for every child…That is my goal with badminton and children, to offer badminton as a choice as an option to undertake, excel and gives them a sense of pride,” said Low.

As mentioned by Low, another cause for celebration at the start of 2022 is the near completion of ‘Guam Badminton Sports Centre’ in Barrigada. The 10,000 square foot facility will house seven badminton courts which adhere to Badminton World Federation standards.

Once again, Badminton Oceania thanks Low for her ongoing work and her commitment to upholding our values, particularly leadership, and we wish the entire team all success in their future endeavors at their new sports center.

The prize for each winner in Serve-ing Pacific is a local lunch voucher which Low and a guest can use to support local. Additionally, she will be the second to enter the random six-monthly draw (including the other six winners) for the ultimate staycation prize, which will be drawn in May 2022.

Keep your eyes peeled at the beginning of February 2022 to find out who the next winner is. (PR)