Another Solibad Day success

On June 29th, badminton fans and elite players from more than 45 countries created events to raise awareness and collect funds for the foundation Solibad, Badminton without Borders.  It was a huge success, with smiles, colours, and funds that will go to Solibad’s children projects in Uganda, Brazil and Malaysia.

Press Release

Once again, the badminton community proved how strong is the link between sport and solidarity.  In more than 45 cities all over the world, badminton addicts, clubs, federations – amongst which a great number of international players – gathered and enjoyed a fun day with a lot of different activities to raise the profile of Solibad and collect funds.

Hans Kristian Vittinghus’s Biggest Team Match was a success in Taastrup, Denmark where over 80 people, aged from 7 to 62 had gathered to play a huge team tie.  The Blue team won, but it was mostly badminton and solidarity which were the real winners of this special day, where money was collected for Solibad’s actions for underprivileged children.

In London, more than 2500 € were raised during the 3-day tournament (This time labelled ISBT for “International Solibad Badminton Tournament” instead of the usual “International Student Badminton tournament”) in a great spirit of sport and party as is often the case for these famous student tournaments, where players come from all over Europe.

In Tokyo, national team players had invited their fans to a barbecue party where they cooked to collect money (¥50,000) and share a good moment for an event that lasted 6 hours instead of the expected 3 hours in a Tokyo park.  It was a great way for recreational players to meet likes of Shintaro Ikeda, Kenichi Hayakawa and many other top players.

Solibad Ambassadors were all over the place to raise awareness – and funds:  Scott Evans in his home of Ireland, where he played an exhibition match, Phyllis Chan and Daniel Paiola, spending their free time off the courts during the Ottawa International Challengeto collect money for Solibad, Maja Tdvry, Matthieu Lo Ying Ping, Hadia Hosny and Agnese Allegrini, live from Athlete’s Village of the Mediterranean Games posing for a colourful picture, Yao Lei and most of the Singapore players spending some of their time playing with youngsters in a school to raise awareness for the foundation and many others around the world, paying tribute to Solibad’s work, in a joyful spirit.

In Paris, one of France’s top 50 shuttlers, Maxime Francois, left for an incredible journey of 2500 km to visit badminton clubs, during his own “Tour de France”.  On Saturday, he and his fans enjoyed a ride in the French capital before a symbolic departure was given to his amazing journey in front of the Eiffel Tower.  In Benin, West Africa, more than 70 youngsters performed a Flashmob and created “human letters” to write S-O-L-I-B-A-D on the ground for what will remain one of the most symbolic images of the day.

In Tahiti, badminton fans recorded themselves doing a “Solibad Harlem Shake”, while in India, former star Aparna Popat gathered club members in Bangalore to perform a Flashmob.  In Moldova, a real fashion show and open air tournament to celebrate Solibad was held by the Moldovian Federation – one of the greatest supporters of the foundation since its foundation in 2009.

Lesser known badminton fans were also happy to contribute, sending images of Solibad’s new mascot “Solibad Man” – a shuttlecock with rainbow feathers – in front of iconic monuments in their own spots, which gave magnificent images to share.

“All these amazing ideas show how Solibad has made an impact in only 3 years of existence and we keep receiving images – photos and videos – since last Saturday. It’s very emotional for us, and I am sure that it will be even more emotional for the children of our projects who will see all this soon and realize how many people all around the world are helping them,” said Raphael Sachetat, founder of Solibad.

“This also shows that the badminton community is really keen on helping out when it matters.  I’m not surprised, but overwhelmed by all these people, using their imagination and creativity to make this day special,” added the French photo-journalist.

More surprises were coming in at the time of this writing.  Images can be seen on the Solibad’s Facebook page

A centralized website with all cities involved is available here

All the money raised during these events will be sent directly to the projects.  As always, Solibad takes no administrative costs from donations and actions of fundraising.  100% of the money collected goes to the projects.

Solibad’s latest project is a long-term partnership with “Rowan” (Rural Orphans & Widows AIDS Network) – a local foundation in Uganda, which takes care of a community of children and their mothers living with HIV/AIDS.  The money collected on June 29th will be going to help fund a year of school for 15 extra kids – Solibad has already sent US$4,500 for the first cohort of 15 children (US$300 per child to support a year for school equipment, transportation, etc.) as well as other Solibad projects in Brazil or Malaysia.

More information can be found on the Solibad website