Ahead of the tournament the potential teams were determined in late 2015 as the squad. The squad was then divided into two larger teams of more experienced ‘non-student’ players who have acted as mentors. These teams lead by Head Coach, Billy Kuyper were trained on fitness, tactical and mental play. These teams then went on to participate in the Northern Gauteng Badminton Premier League (NGBPL) from March 2015- June 2015.

The student components of the team then went on to form the TuksBadminton USSA Badminton Teams. They still competed in the NGBPL, but however they trained separately with their respective coaches in preparation for the USSA Badminton Tournament.

Head Coach Billy Kuyper had this to say, “Even though we do not have high profile players at TuksBadminton, our teams are evenly strengthened. This is in our advantage as we do not have any weak points. I’m expecting tough matches, but we are looking to upset the stronger Universities who rely on individual National players.”

A quote from one of the athletes: Anna-Mart Liebenberg: “USSA is going to be tough because there are National players in the other teams. However, our team’s strength is that we are all motivated and play for each other. I believe that we can win more games than expected.”

The USSA Badminton Tournament is being held at the University of Pretoria (UP Sports Campus, Rembrandt hall) from 29 June 2015 to 3 July 2015.