Awang Putrayusrie (back row, right) and Kuching Badminton Association president Dr Ong Kong Swee, on his right, in a group photo with the top Boys Under-13 shuttlers, taken after the conclusion of the SSC-SJBC grand finale at Petra Jaya Multipurpose Stadium in Kuching recently.
KUCHING (Jan 28): The Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) Sarawak Junior Badminton Circuit (SJBC) would be a bigger affair this year, with more legs to be run especially in smaller towns across the divisions.
This edition would be managed by Kuching Badminton Association.
In announcing this, newly-appointed SSC chief executive officer Awang Putrayusrie Awang Redzuan hailed the SJBC as ‘a very good tournament’ aimed at developing badminton at grassroots level.
“We want to bring this circuit into the rural areas, and run the competition in the divisions that we have not covered since the implementation of the SSC-SJBC programme in 2019.
“From 2019 to 2022, RM117,000 had been spent on running the programme, and last year, we attracted 595 players to compete in nine legs of the circuit taking place in Kuching, Miri, Bekenu, Bintulu, Samarahan, Sibu, Sarikei and Lawas last year.
“For this year, we are hoping to allocate more funds to run more legs and hopefully, to stage the circuit in more divisions and even districts,” he told The Borneo Post here on Friday.
Awang Putrayusrie said he would talk to members of Parliament and the assemblymen about developing sports infrastructures and facilities in their respective constituencies.
“We can provide the technical assistance to organise and hold sports events; on their (MPs and assemblymen’s) part, they can help secure funds to build sports facilities in their constituencies.
“We are also looking forward to working closely with all the stakeholders in developing sports, including the Youth and Sports Department Sarawak,” he said, adding that he would also meet up with those from the Sarawak Badminton Association (SBA) to see how they could work together in the development of badminton in Sarawak.
“There have been complaints from the parents about their children not being allowed to participate in SBA junior tournaments after having played in the many SSC-SJBC legs.
“We want to host more tournaments for the junior players, and this circuit is very good because we can get more young children to participate in more matches too.
“For 2023, we are going to reschedule the programme so that all the legs could be held and completed throughout the year,” said Awang Putrayusrie.