The Badminton Pan Am or BPA is the governing body

Sport governing body

A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sport governing bodies come in various forms, and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule infractions and deciding on rule changes in the sport...

 for the sport

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 of badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

 in the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

 and is recognized as such by the Badminton World Federation.

The mission of the Badminton Pan Am includes promoting the sport, organizing regional tournament

Tournament

A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...

s, certifying

Professional certification

Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task...

 referees and umpires

Referee

A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...

, maintaining a set of unified rules, and providing a forum for member nations. There are 30 member associations.

The BPA also publishes a magazine called The Smash.

Following a general meeting held in Campinas

Campinas

Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities....

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 back in November, 2006, the confederation decided to change the name from Pan American Badminton Confederation to Badminton Pan Am.

Members

Badminton Pan Am
Argentina	Aruba	Barbados	Bermuda	Brazil
Canada	Cayman Islands	Chile	Colombia	Costa Rica
Cuba	Curaçao	Dominican Republic	Ecuador	El Salvador
Falkland Islands	Grenada	Guatemala	Guyana	Honduras
Jamaica	Mexico	Panama	Peru	Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia	Suriname	Trinidad and Tobago	United States	Uruguay