Coordinator: Bulgarian Badminton Federation (BBF)
Bulgarian Badminton Federation (BBF) is one of the leading Olympic federations in the country with more than 45 years of history, which aims to develop sport and promotes physical culture; to create conditions for the systematic practice of physical exercise; to develop and prioritize youth sport through youth, student and student programs; to perform sports-educative functions among different age and social groups; to integrate into the sport participants from minority communities, disadvantaged groups and disadvantaged people.
Over the years, the federation has achieved great success with its domestic and international activities, including organizing events of world and European significance. The Federation hosts many prestigious events and championships that require planning, delegation, and resource management precision. This significantly contributes to building a high organizational capacity and establishing a good governance system.
With its network of more than 170 sports clubs all over the country, the Federation is actively working to build networks for cooperation and exchange of good practices, organizing large-scale youth events, information campaigns and campaigns to promote sport, developing attractive tools to promote youth activity and healthy habits. Federation and club leaderships are involved in the creation of sustainable training models to stimulate young people to personal and professional development and to promote sport as a tool for social inclusion and addiction prevention. This reinforces the image of badminton as one of the five social world sports that can be practiced outdoors and without expensive equipment.
To provoke young people to a responsible attitude to their own health and habits, the Federation is making efforts to explore their specific needs and desires. In response to this, in recent years, it has been popularized as a spiderminton, which is a variation of outdoor badminton as well as other rocket sports.
Year-round various demonstrations and campaigns are organized to support young people – physical activity, healthy eating, prevention of harmful habits and addictions. In order to maintain a high level of services and activities, the Federation and the Badminton Clubs carry out numerous projects that add value to organizational capacity. In 2017, the Federation implemented a project to the Ministry of youth and sport for the prevention of addictions (gambling program 2017), with which it managed to have a significant impact on the youth segment of South-East Bulgaria, as well as to spread its public activity.
Part of the projects and initiatives implemented by BF Badminton in the national context in recent years are as follows:
• Project: “Young Volunteer Action” under the National Youth Program.
• Project “Sports for People with Disabilities and Children at Risk” under the Program of the Council of Ministers
• Youth Youth Initiative “Youth Eco-Fitness” Academic – under the “Youth in Action” Program;
• Project “Ecology, Sport and Future” – Youth Exchange between Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria under the Youth in Action Program;
• Sport and Future Project – Youth Exchange in France;
• Regular participation in open-air metropolitan and provincial events in parks and sports grounds;
• Organizing celebrations of sports and health;
• Information campaigns for European Day of Sports and Motion Activity;
• Organizing youth camps and trainings;
• Organization of sports demonstrations and competitions for children and adolescents deprived of parental care;
• Organizing a Badminton National Badminton Program in over 260 schools throughout the country;
Good governance and the built-in system for cooperation and exchange of good practices foster communication between members and club club partnership. The Federation has established and proven athletes with many international awards that contribute to the image of the sport. Among these athletes are:
Petya Nedelcheva, who has won 7 times the European badminton chain in recent years;
Linda Zekiri, who won the bronze medal at the European Championship in 2012;
the sisters Stephanie and Gabriela Stoevi, who are gold medalists from the European Championship for youngsters up to 19 years of age in 2013 in Turkey.
These and many other athletes are popular, recognizable and liked by young people who will have an important role to play in the project. All listed athletes will be involved in the information activities and will demonstrate positive habits as conditions for success.
In addition to its sporting human capital, BF Badminton has highly qualified experts and executives with experience in project management, organizational and training capacity.
Project Manager and Executive Director of the Bulgarian Badminton Federation, Volodya Zlatev, has years of experience in working with children and young people and has initiated various campaigns to improve mental and physical health. He is currently a member of the Anti-Juvenile and Juvenile Delinquency Commission.
The Coordinator, Antranik Kasabian, is an International Associate to the Badminton Federation with considerable experience in organizing mass events, seminars, conferences and sports tournaments. Antranik is also a mentor for interns and volunteers in the field of sports.
The financially responsible person of the project – Daniela Pavlova has many years of experience as an accountant and has a thorough knowledge of all statutory requirements for financial reporting and control.
The Federation also strives to develop volunteering by implementing a system for attracting, retaining and motivating volunteers. Young volunteers receive training support and the opportunity to acquire organizational experience and skills to work on international events. Volunteering is developed throughout the club network and involves young people in activities tailored to their interests and skills. Most often, volunteers support activities to promote sport, the production of promotional materials, the organization of school sports campaigns, logistic support, etc.
The Federation and the clubs have established partnerships with many organizations and institutions, thanks to which many sports halls and playgrounds are used for practicing sport. In order to carry out the organizational and administrative activities, the Federation has an equipped office and a suitable place for team meetings.
