What is H&D

Background of the Hamilton & District Badminton Association
and the Hamilton & District Badminton Championships.

The Hamilton & District Badminton Association (H&DBA) is a group of badminton volunteers that organize Canada's third oldest badminton Championships (since 1930) and a Hamilton Masters (35+) Badminton Championships.

The H&DBA seeks to assist all local badminton players, of all ages and skill levels, with the organizing of two tournaments. The H&DBA also provides information about local Clubs or organizations; and are willing to consider any other endeavors to improve badminton in our area. For example, the H&DBA ran a badminton league that had, at one point, 22 teams in 4 divisions! That was a few years ago now.

The H&DBA is an independent badminton Association. Becoming ‘officially associated’ with the Ontario Badminton Association (OBA) would be difficult. One of the reasons is due to OBA’s eligibility requirements for an OBA sanctioned event. It is our understanding that to play in an OBA sanctioned event you must belong to an OBA registered Club and have paid their fees. In our situation, the majority (more than 2/3rd’s) of the participants are not tournament players – therefore do not belong to an OBA registered club – consequently making most of our participant’s ineligible to play in an OBA event. And the reality is that non-tournament players will not wish to pay extra fees to become an OBA registered player for the sake of one main tournament a year.

(Note: In the ‘bigger picture’, OBA and Badminton Canada benefits from our historic tournament in the long run. Because we introduce badminton - at a higher level - to thousands of high school students, some of them go on to play our sport at Clubs/organizations because of their positive experience at our Championships.)

The Hamilton & District Badminton Association encompasses the City of Hamilton (including Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek, Waterdown/Flamborough); Halton Region (Burlington, Oakville, Milton, Georgetown, Acton, etc.); Town of Grimsby (as well as Beamsville and Vineland); Brant County (Brantford, Paris, etc.) , Norfolk & Haldimand (Simcoe, Hagersville, Waterford, Caledonia, Ohsweken, etc.) counties.

The Hamilton & District Badminton Championships (H&DBC) is a historic sporting event for our area. It represents a sporting tradition that is unique for a variety of reasons including:

Since 1930, thousands of people (youth, adults and seniors) have played in our Championships
The H&DBC is the second oldest badminton Championships in the Province of Ontario.
The H&DBC is a historic Championship that invites all skill levels, beginners to tournament level players.
High School students can either participate representing themselves or part of their school team. The H&DBA awards a local High School the High School Participation Trophy for the school that collects the most points.
The H&DBC is a four level event. Therefore, each player/team has a reasonable chance to win their division.
Every participant is seeded carefully to give them a better chance of being in the division that best reflects their skill level.

Some Other Great Reasons to Play at the Hamilton & District Badminton Championships

For the elite players - it provides the opportunity to show your great skills at the local level and be recognized at the local area with historic trophies. Note that our trophies are on display in a permanent trophy case at McMaster University for public viewing.

For the B, C, & D level participants, you will have fun because you will feel competitive. You will have a reasonable chance to win your division. That is what a four level draw does.

You also add to our rich badminton history and you will be supporting your sport and maybe walking away with some bragging rights.

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – March 19, 2009
Authored by Fred Gundel, President. Approved by H&DBA Executive