The shuttle is flying far beyond Kampala. From classrooms in Eastern Uganda to dusty school grounds and hard courts in the countryside, badminton is quietly building a new army of players, and Shuttle Time is at its heart.

What started as a BWF initiative to take badminton to the remotest corners of the world has grown into one of the sport’s most effective grassroots engines.

The frequent mention of “Shuttle Time” among sports fanatics is therefore no miracle. It is consistency creating magic.

And the numbers are beginning to tell the story. Badminton Uganda has now pushed into more than 30 districts, including Bugweri, Bugiri, Namutumba, Ngora, Pallisa, Padel, Katakwi, Kaberamaido, Karaki, Butebo, Mayuge, Rubirizi, Nakaseke, Iganga, Kaliro, Buyende and Kamuli, among others.

The expansion also fits neatly into the National Sports Act, which requires sports to go beyond traditional urban centres.

The law gives community and grassroots sports organisations a chance to register as formal entities, while amateur associations seeking national recognition must demonstrate an active presence in at least 50 per cent of Uganda’s districts.

Schools and higher learning institutions are also expected to promote sport and provide approved sporting activities to nurture talent, and Shuttle Time is helping badminton answer that call.

No indoor court? No problem

Badminton has another advantage: the sport can be played indoors, but its outdoor version, AirBadminton, has opened an even bigger door.

Many schools cannot afford or access indoor facilities. But almost every school has a patch of grass, sand or a hard surface.

That is enough, and that simple reality has helped badminton travel where other sports struggle to reach. The programme targets teachers, who are trained to take the game back to their schools. Each teacher comes with two students, creating a direct link between training and the next generation.

The teachers, however, are getting more than just coaching; some are learning the technical side of the game, while others are picking up officiating skills they hope to use when their students begin competing.

The bigger ambition is to make schools see badminton as a serious part of their sports programmes alongside USSSA and FEASSSA.

A sport for the overlooked

For students who cannot break into football, athletics or other heavily populated sports, badminton is providing another route. In the Eastern region, some schools admit they cannot match the likes of Bukedea Comprehensive School or Amus College in football.

So they are looking elsewhere, and Badminton offers that opening. Olok Seed Secondary School is among those hoping the racket and shuttle can deliver medals and national qualification.

For Senior Three student Daniel Omoding, the opportunity has already arrived. He had never played in the school competition before then Shuttle Time gave him a chance, and he took it.

Omoding competed in the previous USSSA event at Seroma Christian High School, performed well and now wants to continue. He is regarded as one of the players who could shape badminton’s near future because of his ability and love for the game adapted during the Shuttle Time visit to Pallisa.

Breaking barriers

The initiative is also proving that badminton can be truly inclusive. Para students have received walking sticks to ease their training and improve their participation.

Adeke of Bukedea Comprehensive School is one of the beneficiaries, alongside another student from Kaberamaido District.

At St Theresa SS Bukedea, Games Teacher Wilberforce Kamengo sees badminton as a lifeline for students with disabilities.

“It is an inclusive game. It involves all the disabled students, and in my school I have them. So when I go back, I’m going to impart; I’m going to make it interesting for those students who are disabled.”

“They don’t play football, they don’t run, but I’m going to make sure that they join the badminton club in the school.”

Martha Apio, a games teacher at Bukedea Comprehensive School, left the training convinced that badminton could take her school places.

“Well, I’ve learned so many things. We can spike, we can smash and so on. So I believe after this workshop, from today onwards, we shall find Bukedea Secondary School in the world, which is international.”

From players to officials

Badminton Uganda is now looking beyond simply producing players. The next target is building local officials capable of running competitions without constant federation intervention.

The Badminton Uganda CEO, Simon Mugabi, says the federation will return to districts where time was limited to strengthen technical knowledge.

“We shall be coming back later and then working on the technical aspect, where we have the umpires, the line judges, the referees, the match controller, so that they can also conduct their tournaments without our interference. And then, of course, covering other districts in the area, like Serere, Sironko, Soroti and onwards.”

The response has already exceeded expectations.

“We have found that the people have really loved badminton. They have liked it so much, and I hope that with their love, which they have shown, they are going to be able to see that they can impart our sport in this special land.”

That love could eventually produce more umpires. Badminton Uganda hopes the programme will one day produce an umpire who rises through the ranks to represent Uganda on the international stage, and that would be another Shuttle Time success story.

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Badminton Uganda has continued its nationwide Shuttle Time development programme with a two-week workshop in the Busoga region, equipping 170 teachers from seven districts with skills and knowledge to introduce and strengthen badminton in schools.

The programme, which has been running across different regions of Uganda since the beginning of the year, is part of Badminton Uganda’s efforts to expand the sport at grassroots level by building the capacity of teachers, coaches and technical officials.

The first phase of the Busoga workshop covered Namutumba, Buyende, Luuka, Mayuge, Bugweri, Bugiri and Kamuli, bringing together teachers from schools across the seven districts.

The training focused on equipping teachers with practical badminton skills and knowledge that they can take back to their schools and use to encourage more learners to participate in the sport.

For the teachers, the programme has also provided an opportunity to discover the potential of badminton as an inclusive sport that can be enjoyed by learners regardless of gender or ability.

Grace Mbago, a teacher at St. Paul SS Mbulamuti, said the training had changed her understanding of badminton and its potential in schools.

“I have learned that playing badminton helps. It is a game that enables girls and boys to play together. It is a game that is inclusive.”

Mbago added that the sport provides an opportunity for learners with disabilities to participate alongside their peers.

She pledged to return to her school and encourage both boys and girls, including learners with disabilities, to take up badminton and help promote the sport within the community.

The same sentiment was echoed by Fauza Mudondo, a games teacher at Kamuli Progressive College, who said the inclusive nature of badminton was one of the biggest strengths of the sport.

According to Mudondo, the programme has opened an opportunity for learners with disabilities who may previously have struggled to find sports activities in which they could freely participate.

“As they come back from their holiday, we are going to involve them, especially students with disabilities, because they have been lacking a game they freely enjoy with others,” Fauza said.

For Lamek Gabula, a games teacher at Masadi Seed, the workshop provided an opportunity to acquire skills that were previously unavailable to him and other teachers.

He said that although they had heard about badminton, they had limited knowledge about how to play and teach the sport.

“Very many skills have been acquired here,” Gabula said, adding that he intends to use the knowledge acquired to introduce more students to badminton.

He also pledged to encourage his school administration to invest more in badminton and make it part of the school’s regular sporting activities.

Badminton Uganda CEO Simon Mugabi said the regional workshops are aimed at creating strong local structures capable of managing badminton activities without constantly relying on officials from Kampala.

He explained that the Busoga programme included the Shuttle Time school development component, as well as training in technical officiating and coaching.

“We are finalising our development project, where we have to work on the Shuttle Time programme at Badminton, and then the other part is the technical officials and the coaching part of it,” Mugabi said.

He noted that the programme had moved through the different districts in Busoga, including Namutumba, Jinja, Bugweri, Mayuge, Luuka, Buyende and Kamuli.

The two-week programme, according to Mugabi, is important in strengthening district sports departments so that they can independently organise and manage competitions such as inter-house, inter-colour and district tournaments.

The long-term goal is to ensure that districts have sufficient capacity to run their badminton activities without having to depend heavily on personnel from Kampala.

With the Busoga phase now completed, Badminton Uganda will take the programme to the Bunyoro region, where the federation plans to work with approximately nine districts.

The Bunyoro programme will follow the same model, combining teacher capacity building under the Shuttle Time programme with training for technical officials and coaches.

Badminton Uganda believes that strengthening the skills of teachers and local sports structures will create a stronger foundation for the development of badminton in schools and increase participation among young people across the country.

As the programme moves from one region to another, the federation is positioning teachers as key ambassadors for the sport, giving them the knowledge and practical skills needed to introduce badminton to more learners.

The continued regional rollout is expected to contribute to the growth of badminton at grassroots level while promoting a sporting environment where girls, boys and learners with disabilities can participate together and enjoy equal opportunities.

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