Markham hosts 2018 World Junior Badminton Championships November 5 to 18

MARKHAM, ON – November 2, 2018 –  Join the City of Markham to support Team Canada at the Li-Ning BWF World Junior Badminton Championships 2018, hosted in partnership with Badminton Canada and Badminton Ontario from November 5 to 18, 2018 at the Markham Pan Am Centre.

Cheer on Brian Yang, Canada's first-ever Olympic Badminton medalist and top ranked male junior singles player. Brian competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia and won the Canadian Junior Open in singles, doubles and mixed doubles back in March. He will lead Team Canada at the 2018 World Junior Badminton Championships next week.

“Badminton is the number one participatory sport in Markham schools and the second most popular sport in the world,” says Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. “Support Team Canada at the Markham Pan Am Centre, a global sports destination where exceptional athletes and role models strive to achieve greatness and make us proud.”

Team Canada will play their first match against Ukraine on Monday, November 5 at 8:30 a.m. Click here for a schedule of all Team Canada matches. Individual schedules will be released on Saturday, November 10 following the team event.

Join the community and be a part of the action! Full-week passes or individual tickets are still available for purchase at www.wjc2018.ca.

The World Junior Badminton Championships is an international sporting competition, featuring 400 athletes from close to 50 countries. Many of the Canadian athletes proudly call Markham, and York Region, home. This is only the second time in the history of the sport that the World Junior Badminton Championships will be hosted in Canada. 

"Canada is hosting the best junior players in the world, athletes that are well on their way to the Olympic podium" says Marty Deacon, Chair, Li-Ning BWF World Junior Badminton Championships 2018. "We believe this experience will help prepare our Juniors for the best success possible, as they continue their journey on the high performance athlete pathway."

The Markham Pan Am Centre is recognized as a world class venue that hosted four sold out events during the 2015 Pan Am & Parapan Am Games, including badminton. Celebrating our Canadian identity through sport unites our community and makes the City of Markham an international sports destination.

Media are welcome to Culture Day on Saturday, November 11 at Bill Crothers Secondary School from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. Athletes and coaches will enjoy a showcase of Canadian culture performances, activities and cuisine.

What:
Li-Ning BWF World Junior Badminton Championships 2018

When:
Monday, November 5 to Sunday, November 18, 2018
View full competition schedules

Where:
Markham Pan Am Centre
16 Main Street Unionville

Note to Media: Pre-register for accreditation before November 5. Click here to register. 

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Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti's Office: Lama Nicolas, Senior Communications Advisor at lnicolas@markham.ca or 416-671-2890.
For all other media inquiries / interview requests for the City of Markham:
Erynn Sally, Media Relations Coordinator at esally@markham.ca or 416-737-2684 

Media registration, media inquiries and requests for the World Junior Badminton Championships: media2018wjc@gmail.com