Community Spotlight: North Cumbria Badminton League
23 January, 2025
North Cumbria Badminton League are making sure more people than ever can enjoy England’s favourite racket sport.
Demand for badminton has never been higher at the Carlisle-centred club, which is why they have decided to launch weekend coaching sessions to make sure no one gets left behind.
Hosted every Saturday at the Badminton Border Club, the 90-minute program led by Level 2 coach Ben Davidson has been a rousing success, with the club blossoming into a badminton haven where anyone can pick up a racket and work on their game.
“There were a number of players at our club who enjoy playing badminton and regularly attended club nights,” the club said.
“Ad hoc tuition would be given by more experienced players to try and improve players however this wasn’t really the setting for coaching, with everybody else watching.
“Club nights were also becoming particularly busy. We wanted a pathway for social and beginner players to be able to have some form of coaching to improve their game in a controlled environment where practise could be done.
“We spoke with a Level 2 coach (Ben Davidson) about his availability and set up a new session on a Saturday 4:30 – 6pm. This session was split into 45mins of coaching and 45 mins of games.
“The target audience was adults in the Carlisle area who had an interest in badminton, at a more inexperienced level and were keen to develop their game.”
To spread the word, the club used social media, with platforms such as Facebook instrumental in ensuring attendances reflected the growing demand for bespoke badminton coaching within the area.
They added: “All members were welcome and requests are made to share social media posts. There was also a social media campaign created on Facebook to advertise the session which was highly successful.
“In total so far we have had 34 different attendees with an average attendance of 10-12 people. Around half of these payers are entirely new to playing badminton in the area. Without doubt the players attending are improving and developing their game.
“An active social media campaign was the key to making this happen. We also reduced the barriers to entry by asking a very reasonable fee of £6 a session and running as a pay-to-play type session meant that anybody could come along to attend without a huge financial commitment.
“Our team are also relatively young which I think help creates enthusiasm and drive progression in the area. The fact that the coach is employed rather than a volunteer ensures there is a focus to make the session successful.
“There is a huge pool of people who want to play badminton, you just need to get them through the door, and they always have a great time. All it takes are a few individuals to create the initiative, show enthusiasm and people will attend.”
Photo credit: Badminton Photo/Mikael Ropars
