Crowdfunding in badminton – Dutch ask for help

By
Raphaël Sachetat
– May 12, 2013Posted in: Features
With the recent cut in budget by the Dutch Badminton Federation, players have to pay for their own travel expenses for tournaments they play in. This is why Jorrit de […]
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With the recent cut in budget by the Dutch Badminton Federation, players have to pay for their own travel expenses for tournaments they play in. This is why Jorrit de Ruiter and Samantha Barnings have called for help from their fans and badminton lovers to raise the 4000 € they need to travel to China to participate in the world championships.

Raphael Sachetat. Photos : Badmintonphoto

The concept of crowdfunding is famous in the world of music and new technology, but for badminton, it’s a first. Of course, this may seem to be a “lost investment” as there is no chance that the Dutch duo of Samantha Barnings and Jorrit de Ruiter will be able to pay it back with the money they will earn at this tournament – the world championships does not reward any prize money. But the help is worth considering if you believe that a pair that works hard to qualify for a major event should be given the chance to participate. This is why de Ruiter has called for help in a plea on his official website.

“(…)recently we were informed that the Dutch Badminton Federation only has € 1250 available for each player of the National Team to participate in international tournaments. We believe that participating in a World Championships tournament without a proper preparation is no option, so Samantha and I have decided to go to the Spanish Open in Madrid at our own expense again and to use the € 1250 of the Federation for a partly funding of participation in the US Open and Canadian Open in July. Thus we have secured our preparation for the World Champs but regular participation in this event is now further away than ever. We, and with us our parents as our biggest sponsors, can not afford an extra journey to China and the Federation has no extra money available. A very nasty setback because also the Dutch Olympic Committee is watching what is happening at World Championships events. For them the European’s and World’s, as well as the , count. This is the stage to show yourself as a Dutch pair and I really don’t understand why the Federation has no extra funds available for such an event.

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“Now we have two options: either we resign ourselves that despite our qualification we have to stay home or we do everything in our power to get funding. In fact resigning is no option for me. A ticket plus accommodation will cost approximately € 2000 per person, so we need a total amount of about € 4000 which is a lot of money. We are aware of that. But we are athletes who are used to work hard for our ideals so why not work for this amount too. We think of demonstrations or clinics, also across the border in Germany, or advertising messages on our shirts or tracksuits. We need all the help we can get and everything is negotiable” states De Ruitter

The duo seems keen on doing anything they can to travel to China – also looking at cheaper options for lodging and travelling, but they are still far away from raising the money that they need to participate.

If you want to give them a hand, pledge some money and help them pass on the message. To contact Jorrit, email : info@jorritderuiter.com

The full badminton blog here

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Raphaël Sachetat

About Raphaël Sachetat

Raphael is the Chief Editor of Badzine International. He is the founder of the website together with Jean François Chauveau. After many years writing for the BWF and many publications around the world about badminton, he now leads a team of young and dynamic writers for Badzine.