Humans of Shuttle Time: Gabriela Alejandra Sepúlveda Aravena
Shuttle Time Tutor, Badminton Federation of Chile
I had a fairly happy childhood. I had friends, I played in the street and we invented things all the time to have fun. We had a middle-class economic situation, and we never lacked for anything.
Tryst With Badminton
I studied PE and when I was in my last year in 2009, a professor from the university went to Spain to take a course and learned about badminton, so he brought it as a new sport to the university and there I started with some classmates to learn and play in a recreational way. Then I attended several courses by the federation and I started taking classes at the university. After a while I did an umpires’ course and that was where I participated for the first time as an umpire in the Sudamericano, Chile 2013.
I was interested in badminton because it was a new sport, and it was fun, fast, easy to learn and not so difficult to play at a recreational level.
Memorable Events
As an umpire I have attended many international events and I have met many people. As a teacher since 2018, we have attended national events with my group of players. In 2022 we organised the Shuttle Time training in Lonquimay, which was a success both at the organisational level, and in the achievement of my athletes. At events you interact with other teachers, learn from them, and bonds are formed within our small badminton community.
What Badminton Means
Badminton is my current job, to which I have dedicated a large part of my working life. I have known places and people thanks to badminton. So it’s an important part of my life.
What Makes it Different
I like that there is no physical contact that allows aggression. Obviously there are situations where players lose control, but the game depends only on you, only on your effort on the court and if you play doubles, it’s already a team, but it’s still a small team, which makes it more intimate. I also like that it is a sport where respect for your opponent and umpires is promoted.
Developing Badminton in the Community
As badminton develops in the community, I believe that the experience as a teacher grows, as I said, by meeting other teachers, then teaching other teachers what you know, sharing experiences, seeing how your players grow and develop. Everything, the good and the bad, is transformed into experiences that make you grow. As a Shuttle Time Teacher I had the opportunity to take a player from my club to Sudamericano, Peru 2022, which was a great experience for me and my player.
Impact of Shuttle Time
In 2016 I started working as a Shuttle Time Teacher, then as a Shuttle Time Tutor I taught a course for teachers in my community, where most of the physical education teachers attended and then they began to implement badminton workshops in their schools. Then, since 2019, we began to hold community badminton meetings, where about 50 children meet once a year to compete and play badminton. This situation makes me very happy, having worked in the development and massification of badminton in Lonquimay.
