Guam’s Jin Zhe Chung is in the biggest event of his young career – the Northern Marianas Pacific Mini Games 2022 in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. The mixed team event in badminton started yesterday, and while Jin was feeling the pressure in the run-up to the event, he believes the BWF-WAoS Athlete Certificate programme that he completed will help him handle the pressure better.
“The Pacific Mini Games are going to be my highest profile event yet,” the Guam player said. “And while I’m very excited for the opportunity to play on such a large stage, at the same time, these kinds of situations often stress me out and give me a lot of pressure. The BWF online course really taught me how to mentally handle the strain that comes with competing in such a large tournament.”
The BWF-WAoS Athlete Certificate programme is an online course developed by BWF in partnership with the World Academy of Sport (WAoS) for aspiring young athletes aged between 15 and 18 who seek the tools needed to become successful athletes. BWF and WAoS have opened the new cycle of scholarships for 2022, with 100 scholarships for each Member Association to access the online course.
Since 2020, 222 athletes (121 boys and 101 girls) from 63 countries have benefitted from the scholarship.
Chung completed the course two years ago and is thankful for the programme.
“The BWF online course really taught me some of the fundamentals of being an athlete. Among them, to me the most important one was sportsmanship.
“I apply sportsmanship to my everyday life as well as my badminton. It’s important to communicate with your coaches, to respect your teammates and everybody around you. I think in practice, this means that, when you’re playing doubles, you don’t try to blame your partner for a mistake. Or you don’t turn your back on your coach if you don’t agree with whatever he’s saying. And you always try to make practice on time to respect your teammates, as well as the coaches who are spending their time trying to help you be better.”
The course has been designed and written by content writers who work regularly with athletes and has been overseen by an expert reference group representing a number of International Federations, including the BWF. The online course can be completed within 4.5 hours.
Successful applicants will be selected and may receive a full scholarship to allow them to participate in the programme. The BWF will notify all Member Associations and applicants of the outcome of their applications by the end of July.
Applications for the 2022 cycle close 30 June. Click here for details.
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