Our community project

In the 2023-2028 associative project, we aim to reaffirm our identity, values, missions, and our desire to evolve, develop, and progress. It is structured around three key areas, confirming our ambition to position Badminton Lachine as a major player in Montreal’s badminton scene, as well as a committed actor in the social and solidarity economy, working together to build an engaged society and ensure access to sports for all.

To achieve this, we propose a new vision of the associative environment—one that encourages engagement across all activities of the organization to foster a sense of belonging, sharing, and social connection among our members.

Over the past 10 years, we have learned to experiment, improve, and enhance our expertise. We now want to promote and preserve these skills by maintaining our practices in a closely related sector, ensuring the quality of our services, managing service complementarity, and providing professional and volunteer training.

In this context, it is essential that the organization has the necessary resources and support from its members. This project is therefore aimed at all stakeholders of Badminton Lachine: partners, families, professionals, volunteers, and members. Rooted in our history and focused on the future, it establishes a unifying vision for the next five years.

Over the past years, significant changes have occurred in the economic and social landscape.

The unfavorable economic climate, along with the impact of COVID-19, has deeply disrupted the nonprofit sector, pushing it to develop new relationships with members, volunteers, and partners. In a context where resources are increasingly difficult to secure while demand remains high, our associative project has been built on a key principle: adapting our responses and developing solutions to encourage and engage our partners and members in the life of the Organization to support its growth.

This challenge compels us to rethink how our services operate and to explore new ways of strengthening the connection between our members and the Organization.

This project is the result of a collaborative effort involving the Board of Directors and the organization’s professionals. This approach has allowed us to identify needs and define, together, a coherent strategic plan aligned with our values and associative missions.

Designed with a sense of continuity between the past, present, and future, this project was conducted in three major stages based on the following questions: “Where are we now? Where do we want to go?”

Thus, it is from these two reflective themes that the different chapters presented here were developed. The present is based, on one hand, on the characterization of the organization, particularly its missions and values, and on the other hand, on the analysis of our activities, unmet needs, and context. As for the future, it results from a complex combination that considers the aforementioned elements as well as our development aspirations. It is reflected in the strategic plan defining the organization’s direction for the next five years.

Badminton Lachine is a non-profit organization with the following missions:

•Promote badminton among residents of Lachine and the surrounding areas by offering programs and activities accessible to all.

•Ensure easy access to the sport for all age groups under good conditions.

•Contribute to the educational and athletic development of children in Lachine and the surrounding areas through sports.

The Organization offers a variety of activities to meet the needs and interests of all badminton community members in the Lachine borough. Our activities are divided into two sections: youth and adult.

For young people aged 5 to 17, the Organization offers a comprehensive program consisting of five skill-level groups, ranging from beginner to elite. This allows children and adolescents to develop their skills and passion for the sport. During the season, we organize two events for all youth members to celebrate the Christmas holidays and the end of the season. These events allow coaches to congratulate athletes who have achieved good results or demonstrated exemplary behavior.

Competitive adults benefit from one training session per week, specifically designed to refine their game, while recreational adults can enjoy open badminton sessions every evening of the week.

Families are also welcome to enjoy friendly playtime between young and old.

For occasional activities, we organize each season:

•One provincial tournament and two regional tournaments;

•Two training camps for young players (open to both members and non-members): one dedicated to high-level players in early September, and the other open to all skill levels during the March break;

•Various exclusive events reserved for our members.

In September 2010, Stéphane Fortaich, a Lachine resident and dedicated volunteer, took over the organization of badminton for the citizens of Lachine, a sport that was at risk of extinction. Gradually, players began reaching out to Stéphane as they were concerned about the sustainability of their sport. This led to the gathering of the first members of the board of directors: René Breyel, Vickel Coossa, Steve Gagné, Stéphane Fortaich, and Julie Bérubé. These first volunteers organized the very first Badminton Lachine Classic with the help of the Bon Départ Foundation and Black Knight. This tournament brought together around fifty players of all levels, both young and adult, and even included a parent-child division! It became the club’s first tradition, designed to be inclusive, recreational, and full of sportsmanship. Local businesses in Lachine contributed by providing door prizes for the players. Over the years, the tournament grew, focusing less on recreational adults and more on provincial-level players. Every May, you can count on the Classic to provide intense emotions on the courts!

Officially, Badminton Lachine became a nonprofit organization in June 2011. Thanks to the support of Bon Départ, Black Knight, the Member of Parliament for Marquette, and the Borough (not to mention Collège Sainte-Anne), the club expanded its services to citizens. Initially, all youth players were in the gym at the same time. Gradually, different levels were established: beginner, intermediate, and competitive. Over the years, the skill level of the youth players improved thanks to dedicated coaches such as Mike Ngo, Thi-Van Luong, Martin Lafond, Denyse Julien, Christophe Boulanger, and more. After a few years of hard work by the coaches and volunteers, a structured curriculum was established, including an elite level. A great source of pride is seeing the club’s young players grow, continue the sport, and eventually get involved as instructors, assistant coaches, or even head coaches.

At the same time, adults wanted more technical training. Clinics, internal tournaments, and friendly competitions with other clubs were no longer enough. A coach then began offering training for the competitive adult group.

In 2013, our head coach, Thi-Van Luong, saw the potential of the team to organize a stage of the provincial adult circuit. In November 2013, the Invitation Lachine was held for the first time as part of the Yonex circuit of Badminton Quebec. The quality of the services provided, the gyms, and the proximity contributed to the event’s success. Ten years later, the club is still a key organizing committee member! And let’s not forget the club’s involvement in the Jeux du Québec. For the Lac-Saint-Louis region, the club organized selection tournaments for the region for many years. Another successful volunteer-driven project!

Behind every coach, there is a team of volunteers who organize and plan. The founding board members were volunteers for many years, and René and Vickel are still active after 12 years! The team has shown great stability thanks to dedicated people like Stéphane Fortaich, Francis Colpron, Martine Javelas, Myriam Leonard, Yannick Raby, Emilie Wong, Vanessa Blanchette-Luong, Christophe Boulanger, and many others. The involvement of members, whether short-term or long-term, has fueled the progress of projects at the club. We should also mention the addition of an administrative agent, Camille Deschamps, who greatly helped the volunteers. In 2022, the club welcomed its first General Director, Jean-Samuel Lampron.

Several awards have been won by club players: champion banners at the Jeux de Montréal, the Jeux du Québec, annual provincial championships, and awards from Badminton Quebec recognizing the exceptional seasons of certain players. Let’s not forget the awards won by volunteers: recognition awards from the Borough, organizational awards for a stage of the provincial circuit, and mentions for the best club in Quebec.

The club’s history is one of dynamic teamwork, innovative ideas, development, and, above all, kindness toward players. Young and old, everyone is welcome!

The future of the club is yet to be discovered. During my 11 years as president, every year, I saw our goals realized and even surpassed. Only one dream remains: for the club to find a home in the future sports center in Lachine, finally providing a “home” for our athletes, our banners, and the volunteer spirit that powers the club!

Julie Bérubé

President of Badminton Lachine (2011-2022)

Values ​​bring together the ideals sought by the Organization. They unite members, administrators, professionals and volunteers, and shape our ways of thinking and acting.

Respect

The Organization is committed to encouraging people involved in the organization, directly or indirectly, to treat with respect and consideration all the people they come into contact with, to respect the equipment and to accept the decisions of Badminton Lachine.

Ethics

People involved in the Organization must respect the principles, values ​​and code of conduct of Badminton Lachine and the sports community, which includes all badminton stakeholders.

Sharing

People involved in the Organization must share the resources made available to them (material, equipment, human and financial resources) in order to contribute to the achievement of Badminton Lachine’s objectives. They also undertake to share their knowledge and expertise in order to advance the Organization’s projects before their personal interests.

Accessibility

The Organization undertakes to make its activities accessible to all persons without any discrimination whatsoever.

The Organization relies on a range of essential resources to support its activities and promote the development of badminton in the region.

The Organization uses two categories of human resources, people paid for their services and volunteers

Concerning the first category, our team includes a general manager dedicated to the overall management of operations, as well as an administrative officer responsible for the organization and coordination of daily administrative activities. We also rely on a team of qualified coaches who work passionately to train our young athletes and competitive adult players. For the recreational component, our facilitators are there to create a friendly environment during free badminton sessions and events.
In addition, we can count on the valuable help of a large team of volunteers dedicated to ensuring that the Organization achieves its objectives and fulfills the missions it sets for itself. Permanent volunteers fill roles on the Board of Directors or are responsible for an area essential to the proper functioning of the Organization, such as equipment and registration management (see organization chart). While some volunteers fill more occasional roles during the season to organize or help with events and activities.

Regarding material resources, we have access to a large number of hours of training and free badminton facilities thanks to the support of the Lachine borough, which collaborates with various organizations that have sports facilities (Collège Saint-Anne, Collège Saint-Louis, etc.). These infrastructures are essential to offer training and game times to our members, 7 days a week. In addition, we have access to these same facilities for our special events, which allows us to organize tournaments and camps for the entire badminton community, members and non-members.

We receive four types of financial resources each season:

member registration fees, as well as guest fees, which constitute the largest share collected by the Organization, without which we would not be able to set up our activities;
profits generated by the events we organize, such as provincial and regional tournaments;
regular subsidies from the Lachine borough for all of our youth activities as well as the participation of the Conseil du Sport de Montréal (CSM) which supports our young athletes in the elite group joining the Quebec team;

Thanks to these human, material and financial resources, the Organization continues to thrive and offers exceptional opportunities to badminton fans of all ages and levels.

The Organization benefits from several strengths that contribute to its continued success.

First of all, its current team, composed of the Board of Directors, permanent volunteers, the Executive Director and the Administrative Officer, is highly committed to the Organization’s mission. Their dedication and expertise ensure efficient management and smooth operation of the Organization.

The Organization has also established an excellent relationship with the borough of Lachine, which provides low-cost access to quality sports facilities. This collaboration also strengthens development opportunities.

Another major strength lies in the quality of the youth training that we have consolidated over the years, which translates into a strong demand from young people who are passionate about these activities.

Finally, the low competition in the region means that the Organization is in a privileged position to meet the needs of local amateurs, thus reinforcing its central role in promoting sport in the region.

The Organization, while presenting undeniable assets, can improve on certain points.

First, the connection between the members and the Organization is lacking. Currently, volunteer involvement remains a challenge, partly due to the prolonged stability of the board of directors, which could gain in diversity and dynamism through a periodic renewal of the directors. But also, due to the lack of communication and opportunities for exchanges between the people involved and the members.

In addition, the Organization depends largely on the borough of Lachine for its material resources, which can lead to constraints in terms of the availability of sports facilities. This dependence can limit flexibility and development, or even be a medium-term risk for our activities. This could require reflection on how to diversify the sources of material support to respond more effectively to the growing demand of its members and avoid a decline in activities.

Moreover, the limited availability of sports fields in the Lachine borough compared to demand is a major challenge to meet the needs of players. Since they are mainly (or even exclusively) located in schools, the access times to these fields are limited. The hours are therefore suboptimal for playing badminton, especially for our young athletes (late evening hours).

Finally, the Organization must face challenges related to the stability of its staff, particularly coaches and facilitators. Part-time student jobs, with few hours and fixed schedules, can make it difficult to retain badminton professionals and create a stable and competent team. It is essential to review the professionalization of these positions to make them more attractive and rewarding.

The strategic development plan is the roadmap that the Organization will follow for the next five years.

Designed in a participatory manner, it is the result of the combination of several factors. It is part of a logic of coherence and balance between, on the one hand, what defines us, that is to say, our values, our missions and our principles and, on the other hand, the actions to be implemented in order to meet the needs identified in the framework of the established analysis, while taking into account changes in the environment.

It is broken down into development axes which themselves have strategic objectives and form the development master plan.

Community involvement is the most important development axis for the next 5 years. In order to nurture the value of sharing, we want to allow members to express themselves and exchange with each other, but also with the Board of Directors. This will create a sense of belonging to bring members closer to the stakeholders who enable the Organization to function properly. The aim is therefore for members and the Board of Directors to develop the Organization together.

This axis will result in four underlying strategic objectives:

Bring members together on and off the badminton courts
Develop a policy of recognition and support for volunteering
Improve internal communication regarding the Organization’s actions
Understand the needs and motivations of members

Due to the quality of our services, for several years, we have not been able to meet the demand from Lachine citizens. We have to turn away people, both young people and adults. Also, as mentioned in the analysis, our access to sports facilities is limited and at suboptimal times for our members. In this context, we want to expand across the territory of Montreal to share our expertise, give our members the opportunity to practice in the best conditions and, above all, sustain our activities.

This axis will result in three underlying strategic objectives:

Hire a stable and quality human resource
Search for new practice locations
Consider creating new activities

This axis is an extension of the first two, it allows them to be consolidated and will help them to be achieved. Visibility will allow the recruitment of new members who are passionate about badminton in addition to making us known to future partner bodies.

This axis will result in two underlying strategic objectives:

Improve the dissemination of information to Montreal citizens
Develop a relationship of trust with the boroughs and sports authorities

Our actions will be focused on the development axis “stimulating associative commitment” for this season, because it is the first step that will allow the Organization to be sustainable and to develop.

Here is a list of actions proposed by the Board of Directors, for each strategic objective of this axis:

Bring members together on and off the badminton courts
Organize badminton activities on Saturdays for our members
Organize a 5 to 7 during our Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, October 17
Organize an end-of-year event for all members

Develop a policy of recognition and support for
Search for a person responsible for associative engagement
Creation of an “associative engagement” committee
Define and implement a policy of recognition for volunteers and employees

Improve internal communication regarding the actions of the Organization
Appointment of a person responsible for club communications
Improve the monthly newsletter for members

Understand the needs and motivations of members
Systematically send a satisfaction survey to our members at the end of each season
Data analysis and integration of results into the action plan
Setting up an idea box for our members

If one of these actions interests you, we encourage you to contact us by email (contact@badmintonlachine.com) or directly in the gym or during an event, the volunteers of the Organization will always be there to listen to you and happy to talk with you.

The strategic exercise described in this document allows us to realize that despite its challenges, we can rely on our long history, our commitment to the development of badminton and the support of the local community to overcome these obstacles. By implementing strategies aimed at strengthening the sense of belonging of members; diversifying and engaging more volunteers, coaches, facilitators; exploring other sources of funding and collaboration for access to sports facilities, we can continue to prosper and promote badminton in the greater Montreal area.