Western Ontario Badminton Association

Please see below for some important details regarding the 2024 Ontario Winter Games in Thunder Bay!

Dates: Friday February 16 to Monday February 19, 2024

Location:
Superior Collegiate & Vocational Institute
333 High Street N
Thunder Bay ON P7A 5S3

Cost: Anticipated cost of $130/player

Participant fee includes competition, accommodations, meals, and ground transportation in Thunder Bay.
There is no fee for coaches or managers to attend and their accommodations, meals, and ground transportation are also provided.
Districts/individuals will be responsible for the cost of air travel to and from Thunder Bay for all athletes and coaches/team staff.
Districts/teams will also be responsible for any costs related to uniforms, team gear, etc.

Team Selection Deadline: WOBA plans to have our team selected by mid/late-November 2023 (exact date TBD).

Competition Format:

Mixed gender team competition
10-12 athletes total per team
- 5 males + 1 alternate and 5 females + 1 alternate per team
- Teams are not required to include alternates if unable to field a team size of 12, though it is highly recommended for injury management and athlete development.
7 events per tie – 1x boys singles, 1x girls singles, 2x boys doubles, 2x girls doubles, 1x mixed doubles
- Each athlete must be listed in 1 event and a maximum of 2 events per tie.
Ages 14-18 (U15, U17, U19)
- Exemptions: Districts may apply for an exemption to include players aged 13 if unable to field a competitive team size of 10.
- Athletes under the age of 13 will not be considered.
- Athletes over the age of 18 (e.g. U23) will not be considered.
All athletes will be required to be registered BON members in good standing for the 2023-2024 season.
Any U19 athletes selected by Badminton Canada to represent Canada in any international competitions (e.g. World Junior Championships, Junior Pan-Am Championships etc.), regardless of their participation in the event, are ineligible to participate in the Games.
- In the case of any U15/U17 athlete selected as above, each District is permitted to make their own decision on eligibility.

Coaching & Team Staff Requirements:

1 Coach and 1 Manager per team
- Must include one male and one female staff per team
NEW! For the 2024 Ontario Winter Games, coaches will not be required to be NCCP Provincial Coach certified. This is a COVID recovery measure aimed to help districts rebuild their pool of certified coaches and to account for the unorthodox back-to-back Games schedule and the number of exemptions provided in 2023.
- Coaches will temporarily only be required to be NCCP Regional Coach certified
- BOn still highly recommends that coaches be NCCP Provincial Coach trained or certified (if possible)
- Note – This change is for 2024 only! Moving forward, districts will have 2 years to develop Provincial Coach certified coaches for the 2026 Ontario Winter Games.
Coaches will also be required to have:
- A valid BOn provincial coaches license for 2023-2024 (which requires NCCP Regional Coach certification, 2023-2024 BON general membership, Criminal Background Check & Vulnerable Sector Check, and completion of Respect In Sport for Activity Leaders certification).
The manager will be required to have:
- Valid 2023-2024 BON general membership
- Criminal Background Check & Vulnerable Sector Screen
- Respect in Sport for Activity Leaders certification

OWG is almost here!