VILLE DE GATINEAU IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE SENIOR BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP AT THE GATINEAU SPORTS CENTRE, JANUARY 30 TO FEBRUARY 2, 2013

Gatineau, January 30, 2013. – Ville de Gatineau, in association with Badminton Canada and the Association régionale de badminton de l'Outaouais, is proud to present the Canadian National Senior Badminton Championship at the Gatineau Sports Centre, from January 30 to February 2, 2013.

"The City of Gatineau is delighted to host Canada's top badminton players, several of whom gave outstanding performances at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. In addition to generating significant economic and tourist spin-offs, this type of event helps raise Gatineau's profile across the country. I'm inviting the public to come and cheer on the hundred or so participating athletes, who promise to entertain with non-stop action," stated Gatineau Mayor Marc Bureau.

"This is a unique opportunity for local players like Joseph Rogers and Sergiy Shatenko, currently seeded first and sixth respectively in the national singles ranking, to showcase their talents on their home turf. Andrew D'Souza, 2012 Canadian junior (19 and under) champion, and Qufei Chen, currently third in the junior national rankings in singles and doubles, will be defending their titles. Also appearing on the players list is Kyle Hunter, Executive Director of Badminton Canada and multiple Canadian and Pan American champion. Players Félix DeBlois-Beaucage, currently the top seed in junior national singles, brothers Alexis and Guillaume Grenon, as well as Benjamin and Émilie Fleury-Larocque will proudly represent Gatineau and the Outaouais region. Spectators can therefore expect exhilarating performances", noted André St-Jacques, President of the Association régionale de badminton de l'Outaouais.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

The tournament starts Wednesday afternoon, January 30, and runs until Saturday, February 2, with finals commencing at noon. The quarter-finals will be played at 5 p.m. on Thursday, and semi-finals will begin at the same time on Friday. Admittance is free throughout the tournament.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

• 11 a.m.: Journalists, elected officials and sponsors will be invited to come out for friendly matches against the tournament players
• Noon: Start of finals round

TOURNAMENT RESULTS

The tournament's progress can be monitored at:
http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=C77D2BA3-485A-47F5-89A5-D8DE48F70890

For more information on badminton in the Outaouais region, visit the ARBO site at:
http://www.badminton-outaouais.ca/

PLAYERS LIST

Below are a few of the players attending on Tuesday evening:

Alberta
Martin Giuffre: Third seed in men's doubles with Philippe Charron. Won the 2012 Canadian championship and university/college nationals in the under-23s.

Ontario
Alex Bruce: 2012 Olympian.
Joseph Rogers: Ottawa player, seeded third in men's singles, #1 ranked singles player in 2012-2013.
Mikes Beres: Three-time Olympian and multiple national champion in men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.
Jocelyn Ko: Won the national women's doubles championship and finished second in women's singles in 2012.

Québec
Maximilian Koreny: 5/8 seed in men's singles, currently training in the Czech Republic and competing in Europe.
Maxime Bélanger: 5/8 seed in mixed doubles with Roxanne Fraser.
Roxanne Fraser: 3/4 seed in women's doubles and 5/8 seed in mixed doubles, she won mixed doubles at the 2012 university/college nationals.
Philippe Bourret: 5/8 seed in men's doubles with his brother François, and 2004 Olympian.
François Bourret: 3/4 seed in mixed doubles and 5/8 seeed in men's doubles with his brother Philippe.

British Columbia
Adrian Liu: Top seed in men's doubles, won 2012 Canadian men's doubles championship and the mens's doubles at the last Pan Am games.