One year ago, scandal rocked the badminton world at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Four women's doubles teams -- two from South Korea, one each from China and Indonesia -- were accused of deliberately trying to lose their matches to manipulate the draw and were tossed out of the Olympic competition.
While the disqualifications left the sport with a black eye, Lisa Davison says there were some positives that came as a result. The thought of Olympic-level athletes not trying their best to play a game had millions of TV viewers tuned into replays and YouTube feeds that showed their premeditated ineptitude and all of a sudden, badminton had the world's attention.
As sport leader for badminton at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, Davison is trying to get the city's attention focused on her sport next week at the College of New Caledonia gym and she's rounded up some ringers -- including a member of the 2012 Canadian Olympic team -- to put on a demonstration of how the game is played at a high level.
Next Friday night at CNC, Toby Ng of Vancouver will demonstrate in a series of exhibition matches the skills that got him a top-25 world ranking and a spot on the Olympic team. Ng, 27, will be bringing his 25-year-old brother Derrick and two of the country's top female players -- Phillis Chan, 21, and Christin Tsai, 17.
"Toby played in the London Olympics [in mixed doubles with Grace Gao of Calgary] and I'm totally thrilled that he's coming," said Davison, head coach and co-ordinator of Shuttlesport North Central Badminton Academy.
"People don't think of badminton as a mainstream sport and a lot of people haven't seen it played at a high level. I'd like people to check it out to see something they haven't seen before."
Now vying for a spot on the 2014 Commonwealth Games team, Toby Ng teamed up with Gao to win gold in mixed doubles at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Tsai, a world junior championship semifinalist and 2011 Canada Winter Games mixed doubles gold medalist, is eligible to qualify for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George.
At CNC, local players Olivia McClair, 15, and Amanda Tomm, 17, will play with Tsai and Chan in a women's doubles match. Jonathon Goodkey, 17, of Prince George, and Jeremy Cote, 24, of Fort St. John, will each team up with one of the Ng brothers for a men's doubles match.
Next week's exhibition is a foreshadowing of the Canada Winter Games test event the city will host March 28-30, 2014 at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre, site of the Games badminton competition in February 2015. Davison said there could be as many as 13 teams from all provinces and territories involved in the test event.
The Winter Games badminton event will be open to men under age 23 and to women under 21.
Davison and the Shuttlesport Academy brought national-calibre players to Prince George in October 2011 and while the quality of play was excellent, the crowd turnout was sparse. She's hoping this time around, with badminton one of the featured sports in the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, next Friday's matches and pre-event barbecue will pack the stands at CNC.
"You'll have a new respect for the sport and what you need physically to actually play it -- it's not backyard or recreational badminton," said Davison. "It's the fastest racquet sport."
Tickets are $15 each or $25 for two, available at CNC and the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre. Children 12-and-under will be admitted free.
