Vuela PanAm Launches to Elevate Badminton and Athletes in the Americas through a New Lens

Vuela PanAm, founded by Oliver Chen and Guillermo Buendía, aims to not only improve access to badminton in the Pan American Regions but to use the sport in empowering athletes’ social mobility and amplifying underrepresented athletes across the Americas.

Canada, 8th Jul 2025 – The first shuttle Oliver Chen ever struck carried more than feathers and cork. Inside a Toronto community center, with the scent of instant noodles lingering and the gym floor gleaming with polish, a six-year-old picked up a racquet and saw a world open before him. That vision would eventually lead him from Canada’s suburban courts to Pan American venues, where the echoes of a shared dream rang louder than the condition of the facilities in which they were pursued. 

Canada’s Oliver Chen faces Peru’s Guillermo Buendía during a high-stakes semifinal match at the 2022 Junior Pan Am Games—a meeting that would spark not only a friendship, but a movement to reshape badminton and its significance across the Americas.

Across the Pan Am region—including Canada, the U.S., and Latin America—badminton remains broadly underrecognized, lacking the crucial structural support available to athletes in Europe or Asia. In Bahia, Brazil, under a corrugated metal roof dripping with condensation, Chen played in one of his first Pan American tournaments. There were no medical staff for players struggling with the heat. The conditions stood in stark contrast to his Canadian training environment, although the lack of support for the sport was evident in both regions. One athlete stood out, however—Peru’s Guillermo Buendía. His passion on court was unmistakable, his commitment unshaken by limited resources. That encounter not only sparked a friendship but eventually a shared mission: to create structural change through elevating the sport.

Vuela PanAm: Stories as Catalysts

The sport of badminton is often described as accessible—requiring little more than a shuttle, a racquet, and an open space. But as athletes progress, financial barriers quickly rise. Coaching, equipment, travel, and tournament fees accumulate, often forcing talented players to leave the sport prematurely. Canadian athletes had to pay approximately $5000 just for a spot on the court in last year’s BWF World Junior Championships, while their Latin American counterparts bathed in the sun selling grocery bags to raise funds. 

Chen and Buendía founded Vuela PanAm not just as an organization but as a platform—one that recognizes that in the Americas, potential exists broadly, but opportunity is minimal. Instead of simple funding, however, the organization’s focus is on storytelling: gathering the experiences of athletes across the region and transforming those into podcasts, multimedia zines, and grassroots programming.

“From NanChang’s polished courts to Bahia’s rusted rooftops, badminton taught me talent is universal—but opportunity isn’t,” says Chen. “Vuela PanAm’s first step is to change that.”

So far, Vuela PanAm has hosted long-form conversations with Olympians, national team members, and community players and developed a podcast. Their podcast includes interviews with Michelle Li, Brian Yang, Inés Castillo, and even recreational players whose stories form part of a growing narrative archive. 

Sport as an Unexpected Lifeline

Chen and Buendia’s organization use a unique methodology; instead of purely increasing support through basic funding, they strive to improve badminton access in the Americas not only through recognizing it as an underdog sport, but illustrating its power to overcome inequality and transform lives. As part of an academic research project with Professor Luis Duno-Gottberg of Rice University, Chen traced the journeys of youth athletes in Latin America, part of which included badminton players from Brampton to Lima. What emerged was a deeper understanding of the sport’s quiet contributions to social mobility. In some communities, it offers connection, identity, and personal structure. In others, it helps individuals build resilience against systemic challenges.

Team Peru cheers passionately during the 2023 Junior Pan Am Games team event, even while trailing against Canada.

In Lima, teenage siblings string racquets at a roadside stand to support night school attendance. In Toronto, newcomer youth have found badminton to be a space where friendship and focus converge under gym lights. While not a universal solution, the sport offers unique value in environments where few such outlets exist.

“A shuttle begins its arc almost weightless”, Chen notes. “Gravity makes the second half heavier. Our mission is to lighten that falling half—by stitching together the narratives that remind players why the racquet felt magical in the first place, and by showing policymakers that magic, properly supported, can lift whole communities.”

A Soft Launch, A Growing Vision

After over a year of preparation, Vuela PanAm launched a few weeks ago with an initial round of pilot programming, partnerships, and a modest fund of nearly $1,000. Though early in its public operations, Chen notes that “the number is a humble yet tangible proof that a story, told well, can move money faster than any grant proposal.”

The team continues to explore new ways to share athlete stories with policymakers, educators, and sport federations. Whether through a zine page, a recorded conversation, a photograph, or a page on a journal, Vuela PanAm treats each story as an essential building block toward a more inclusive and transformative future for the sport.

About Vuela PanAm

Vuela PanAm is a nonprofit initiative founded by Canadian athlete Oliver Chen and Peruvian athlete Guillermo Buendía. The organization focuses on amplifying athlete voices in badminton across the Americas through storytelling, community outreach, and cultural documentation. With programming that includes podcasts, multimedia publications, and local engagement, Vuela PanAm highlights the transformative potential of sport to shape individual lives and community outlooks.

Stay connected with Vuela PanAm for the latest updates and initiatives by following us on Instagram: @vuela.panam. Their official website and podcast will be released soon.

Media Contact

Organization: Vuela PanAm

Contact Person: Oliver Chen

Website: https://www.instagram.com/vuela.panam/

Email: Send Email

Country:Canada

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