The countdown has begun in Portland, Oregon USA. During August 1998, 25,000 athletes from all around the globe will arrive to compete in 25 sports in the NIKE World Master Games. The 1998 Games in Portland will mark the fourth time this exciting event has been held. The first Games were held in 1985 in Toronto, Canada. Subsequent Games have been held in Denmark in 1989 and Brisbane, Australia in 1994. At the Australian Games 24,000 men and women from 71 countries competed. In 1998, 25,000 athletes from more than 100 countries are expected to attend.
The World Master Games were established to promote and encourage all to practice sports and to participate in the Games with the awareness that competitive sport can be continued through life. The Games also want to promote friendship and understanding among mature sports people, regardless of age, gender, race, religion or sport status.
Twenty-five sports will be featured in the Games, including athletics (track & field), badminton, basketball, baseball, bowling, canoe/kayak, cycling, diving, fencing, football (soccer), golf, orienteering, rowing, rugby, sailing/windsurfing, shooting, softball, squash, swimming, table tennis, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, water polo and weightlifting.
A committee of 25 individuals is currently busy planning everything for the Badminton event from accommodations and awards to security and transportation. They will be very busy over the next year developing a great event for the 800 competitors expected.
The Badminton competition will be held August 17th through the 22nd at two venues. The Multnomah Athletic Club, with nine badminton courts, is the largest private athletic club in the United States with over 20,000 members. Three of its courts, with green floors, walls and ceiling, rank as the best facility to play badminton in the USA. The other venue is the Tualatin Hills Recreation Center, where a newly constructed gym holds 18 courts.
The competition will be conducted in two flights; Elite and Competitive. The Elite flight will include top regional to international level players while the Competitive flight will be for those players below the top regional category to recreational level. Age groups start at 30+ with five year increments. The highest age group printed in the entry form is 70+. Since the printing of the entry, there have been numerous requests for 75+ and 80+ age groups. If you fall into either of these age groups, please indicate your desire to play in them in a note on your entry. With sufficient entries the Games will add these age groups.
The format for the Singles, Doubles and Mixed Doubles will be a round robin with the winners of each round robin advancing to a single elimination draw. For example; if 31 individuals enter the 35 Men's singles, there will be eight round-robins, seven will have four individuals while the eighth will have three. This will provide everyone a minimum of two matches per event entered with the majority of players having three matches. Entrants are limited to three events plus one team event due to the huge number of matches being played with 800 entries. Women will be able to enter a fourth event in Mixed Doubles if they request a partner. This is being done in a effort to create more mixed doubles teams.
There will also be team competition in the two flights in age groups beginning at 30+ and incrementing every ten years. Each team will consist of a minimum of four men and two women to a maximum of six men and four women. A team match will consist of two men's singles, two men's doubles, one women's doubles and two mixed doubles. Because individuals in the Games represent themselves and not a country, a team may cross national borders.
For registration material, contact 1998 NIKE World Master Games at 55 Yamhill St. Ste. 3000, Portland, OR. 97204-9650 USA. They can be reached by phone at 1-800-98-Games (1-800-984-2637). They also have a site on the Internet at http://www.worldmasters.org.
The Badminton committee has created a web site at http://www.open.org/andystik/Badminton.html to provide information regarding the badminton portion of the competition as it becomes available. The Badminton Sports Commissioner, Don Boje, can be reached at the above telephone number or by email at dboje@involved.com
Come visit Portland. The majestic Oregon coast is only an hour west. Travel an hour east and you are on Mt. Hood. With snow year around it is the summer training site of the US ski team. Among mountain climbers it is the second most popular mountain worldwide. Portland is a great place for athletes and families to enjoy the Games. We are anticipating a fantastic event and look forward to your participation.