The History of BAFET

It all began in one sunny afternoon of July 2004 when a group of Filipinos started playing badminton regularly at the Staff Recreation Center, Obrigado Barracks, UNMISET (now UNMIT) Compound. Pinoys Oscar, Amphie, Jayvee, Jane, Tonette, Violy, Mario, Joy, Delia, Mervin, Sherwin and Gerard, energized by chips and Powerade, wore their “pampa-pawis” outfits and sweated it out using mostly borrowed badminton rackets. No one knew of Yonex Muscle Power, or Armortec, and words like Isometric and Nanospeed. Dropshots, smashes, slices, Taufik Hidayat, Lin Dan were practically unheard of.

And what began as a means to pass the time away became the ultimate Pinoy activity in this country of new beginnings. And before the month was over, two Pinoy badminton experts joined the group, namely, Maj. Gary Nigos of the Philippine Army and Maj. Jun Felix of the Philippine Air Force.

And the games began!

Marilou, Amy, Elena, Shirley, and Joey joined the group sometime in August. Joy, Redj, Ruby, Ruel, and Boy soon followed them in early September.

The idea of a formal badminton association was conceptualized towards the end of July during a get-together, hosted by Gary and Jun. Amidst the merrymaking at the Dengue Bar, the possibility of an association was discussed. The most popular joke then was that of naming the group TABA, an acronym for Table Tennis and Badminton Association.

From its humble beginnings, the group grew to around 20 members, all of whom were enthusiasts who believed that a game of badminton would be the perfect way to end the day. The subsequent games moved on to another level --- with body stretching becoming mandatory before each game. Regular badminton games were held after office hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

A badminton clinic was then organized on the first week of August. Lessons on basic badminton skills like serving and footwork were taught by Jun Felix. Kababayans present during the clinic were later paired according to level of skills and the clinics would be followed by men’s doubles and mixed doubles. And the highlight would be a game of advanced players, with Jun and Gary playing against Oscar and Etus (aka Indiana Jones at the time).

Equipped with the basic skills of the game and in search of a higher level of sports competency, the group decided to hold the first Badminton Tournament on September 26, 2004. And thus was born the Badminton Association of Filipinos in East Timor. The first tournament had 18 participants divided into 9 mixed pairs.

The resounding success of the first tournament naturally led to a second tournament, which was held on November 6 and 7, 2004. More Filipinos participated in the second tournament. Boni, Walter, Marie, Mervin, Lani, and Mylene joined the group at that point.

So what started out as a health activity, colored by the Filipino penchant for social gatherings, has gone a long way to become what we now know as BAFET. Armed with a strong sense of camaraderie, and strengthened by the spirit of kabayan, kapuso at kapamilya, the association offers a haven or a home away from home for Filipinos here in East Timor. From the beginning, it was hoped that BAFET will foster unity among members and that camaraderie will help build bridges and bring down walls between Filipinos and likewise spread and extend beyond cultures and races.