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Humans of Shuttle Time: Andrii Ohnystyi

TEXT BY BWF STAFF

This is the 62nd story in our Humans of Shuttle Time series, in which we present the perspectives of those who are involved with badminton at the grassroots level. Andrii Ohnystyi, Shuttle Time Tutor with Ukraine Badminton Federation, speaks about his journey in badminton:

Childhood

At the age of seven, my mother took me to a sports club. For 14 years I was engaged in artistic gymnastics, first at a sports school, then at university. Every day and often on weekends I came to the gym and performed gymnastic exercises. Now I understand that this was not enough. However, I became student champion of Ukraine.

Sports instilled in me perseverance, will, and hard work, developed my mental abilities, and as a result, I successfully defended my PhD thesis in Physical Education and Sports, and was appointed Associate Professor of the Department of Physical Education at the university.

Tryst with Badminton

The first time I became interested in badminton, I was already working as a teacher at a pedagogical university. I was head of the PE department. My teacher friends and I would get together at the end of the working week to play badminton, chat, and relax.

We drew a badminton court in the gym, bought decent rackets, and played. Players from other clubs who gathered on weekends for games would come to play with us. These were older, experienced players who had been playing for more than 20 years. They were the ones who helped me truly fall in love with badminton. It became my hobby and my life.

I read a lot of special literature, watched videos, played, and as a result, I started teaching the basics of badminton to students. I read about tutor training under the Shuttle Time programme on the internet, applied, completed the training, and started teaching teachers in my town of Ternopil.

Within a couple of years, all the teachers in our city had gone through the Shuttle Time courses, and I started looking for ways to teach students and got acquainted with the Shuttle Time University Course for universities, and then the ST Youth Leadership Workshop programme for high school students.

Memorable Moments

Getting the opportunity to teach or be part of a practice with teachers, students, and players is something I really love about this job.

One of the most memorable events was the 2021 European Badminton Championships, which was held in Ukraine, in the city of Kyiv. I participated as a line judge. Then there was the judging of the Victor Ukraine Open 2022 and the inclusion of Ternopil Pedagogical University, for the first time in Ukraine, of the Gold Accreditation certificate for the Shuttle Time University Course programme.

What Badminton Means

Badminton is a huge part of my life from my work at the Pedagogical University and the federation. I love working, especially with students and PE teachers, and to see the steps they will take for their students in the future. It is worth all the hours I invest in their training and in this sport.

I have been teaching badminton for over 20 years and I see that badminton gives children and adults the opportunity to play a sport that does not involve physical contact and they can play at their own level. My wife Kateryna, a certified Shuttle Time tutor, helps me and my children Andriy and Anna love and play badminton.

Impact of Shuttle Time

We have common goals — to help each child become a comprehensively developed personality, able to independently create their own life, to be free in thoughts and aspirations; to teach children mutual respect, camaraderie, team spirit, motivation, tolerance, equality, autonomy, self-esteem, mutual support. Why badminton? Why Shuttle Time? Badminton is an ideal sport. It is perfect for both boys and girls, for any age and level of fitness. Badminton is an easy, safe and low-trauma type of physical activity. Health cannot be acquired once and for all at some stage of life. A person can be healthy only when he develops, is replenished with new useful habits and, thus, improves. Therefore, a healthy lifestyle must be constantly learned and the need for it must be cultivated. Badminton will help with this.

Working with Special Children

We are proud that during 2020-2025, more than 200 teachers and students — future physical education teachers — underwent training under the “Shuttle Time” programme at the Ternopil Pedagogical University.

Our pedagogical university, one of the leaders in the implementation of the international BWF Shuttle Time programme among students in Ukraine, is working for the future. Only together can we contribute to the development of badminton in Ukraine and form a truly healthy, physically developed nation.

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