Help badminton players realise Olympics dream
In pursuit of their Olympic dream, they both have to self-fund the shortfall of R97 154 to participate in six tournaments
Badminton superstars Amy Ackerman and Deidre Jordaan’s road to the 2024 Olympic Games is laden with potholes and if not fixed on time, they might not make it to Paris.
They are in a race against time to secure funds to cover travelling costs to several tournaments around the continent and Asia to boost their African and world ranking.
Theirs is a story too familiar to players who are part of small sports federations in the country. Under funding and lack of sponsorship for badminton in South Africa means they are now forced to approach corporates for assistance.
The duo is part of Badminton Confederation Africa’s (BAC) Road to Paris programme, which identifies promising badminton players who have shown potential to qualify for the games in the French capital.
Their inclusion follows their success at the African Badminton Championship in February where they won a silver medal after narrowly losing 21; 18, 22; 20 to Lorna Bodha and Kabita Dookhee from Mauritius in the women’s doubles final.
Currently ranked sixth in the women’s doubles on the continent and 198th in the world, their road to the games is a long one as they have to participate in several tournaments around the world to boost their ranking.
According to the World Badminton Federation (BWF), players need to be ranked number one in their disciplines on their continent and be among the top 50 in the world.
“We are going to Egypt, Maldives, Zambia and Botswana. Also to the South African international in Cape Town, All Africa Games and Uganda. We are also looking at going to Thailand early next year,” Amy said.
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For Amy and Deidre, participation in these tournaments will propel them up the rankings and put them in the main draws of high-ranked competitions before qualification for the Olympics starts next year.
The RTP programme includes co-funding by BCA. However, the funding is limited and BSA has to cover the rest of the costs.
“We are in the B section of the RTP programme. This means BCA will pay for our accommodation, but flights and other costs have to be covered by BSA and us, as players.
“BSA has limited funding available. We are only getting funding for our tournament in Egypt in two weeks from BSA and then our tournament in the Maldives is paid for by us.”
In pursuit of their Olympic dream, they both have to self-fund the shortfall of R97 154 to participate in six tournaments.
“Since I started playing badminton in my backyard and meeting some South African players who have been to the Olympics, I dreamed of representing my country at the Olympic Games. It would mean the world to me and a reward for all the hard work,” concluded Amy.
To donate to Amy click here
To donate to Deidre click here or contact her at deidrelaurens@gmail.com
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