Badminton England reveals new transformative vision for its performance programme
At Badminton England, we are proud and excited to begin a progressive new chapter in the delivery of our performance programme.
One of our five key pillars at the core of our ten-year strategy is the Perform pillar – ‘developing a system and environment that enables players to maximise their potential and perform at the highest level’. The foundations to achieve those objectives are already in place and remain both strong and fundamental to the future of badminton in this country. However, collectively we are now taking a transformative stride towards building what we believe will be a revised structure even better equipped to deliver success for our athletes.
Our new configuration is deliberately designed to put coaches and players at the nucleus of everything we do.
The structure will be broken down into three clearly-defined areas:
- Senior Programme
- Junior Programme
- Para-badminton Programme
Going forward, it will be badminton coaches – those with a deep, rich understanding of the sport and what it takes to succeed – who directly manage our athletes, our performance support staff and their fellow coaches. This is to support a laser-like focus on the individual – the athlete on the court and empowering them to get the very best out of themselves will be our very highest priority.
The new structure will enrich the pathway between our junior performance cycle and our senior elite programme. Using this new ideology, our core principles will be delivered consistently across all five disciplines and our flourishing para-badminton set-up. We will also dive deep into the data we collect to inform our decisions and navigate our way towards titles, trophies and medals.
The sights of Badminton England and GB Badminton are already firmly set on the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. Our aspirations are to compete on the biggest stage across all five disciplines and to challenge for medals wearing the Team GB and Paralympics GB crest. We will aim to continue to lead the field with our pioneering and unparalleled para badminton performance programme and we firmly believe we should be one of the top ten nations in our sport – with the implementation of one of the most dynamic and groundbreaking set-ups in badminton we are confident we can achieve great things at Badminton England.
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Morten Frost, Performance Director at Badminton England, said “We are all living life forward, but we understand life backwards. I have been involved in badminton since I was a young child, yet in my two-and-a-half years in the role of Performance Director I have learned so much more about the context of our sport in this country, the performance systems in place to strive for on-court success, and the outstanding people at the very heart and soul of our organisation who continue to drive it forward – and I have seen such a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication.
“As a result of that dedication, we have built a stronger culture and developed a commitment to a long-term strategy to make badminton in England even more competitive in Europe and on the world stage. Now, it is time to redouble those efforts, reassert that commitment and together take a significant step forward towards that goal. We have come a long way already, but there is more to do. We will still make mistakes along the way and we will continue to learn, of course. But, with this new structure in place, I am incredibly excited about what the future can look like for badminton in England.”
Sue Storey, CEO at Badminton England, said “As the governing body of the most popular racket sport in the country, we have a responsibility to challenge our ways of working, constantly evolve and improve, and be both realistic and ambitious in our aims.
“On behalf of Badminton England, I would like to place on record my heartfelt thanks to every member of coaching staff who has contributed to bringing our senior, junior and para programmes to where they are today. And I would like to personally thank all the coaching and performance staff who have gone above and beyond in recent weeks to minimise any disruption to training schedules, coaching standards and our athletes’ preparations during this transitional period. It has been a true team effort for which I am hugely appreciative.
“Performance is measured against achievement at the highest level and I am confident this new approach is the continuation of an ethos of hard work and dedication and the start of a very positive future for our performance environment.”
As part of our new structure, Badminton England are now proactively recruiting for six new roles integral to the success of this new vision:
- Head Coach (Senior)
- Head Coach (Junior)
- Para GB National Coach & Pathway Manager (Para)
- Programme Manager (Senior)
- Singles Coach (Senior)
- Doubles Coach (Senior)
We look forward to welcoming applications for positions which will all come together to form a highly-motivated, performance-driven team of coaches and support staff dedicated to delivering the very best environment for all our players.
Chair of GB Badminton, Mark Burgess, explained “This is a bold and necessary step forward for the GB programmes in our pursuit of world-class performance. Fostering an environment where talent can truly thrive is essential for our future success and the GB Board fully supported the vision Morten articulated. With our sights firmly set on LA 2028, we are looking forward to the impact this transformation will have in helping to propel the GB programmes to new heights.
“On behalf of GB Badminton, I would also like to express our gratitude to those coaches who are leaving the GB programme for their dedication and significant contributions as players and coaches over many years. We wish them every success in the future.”
This is just the beginning. This will be a team effort. And we are all looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.
