Community spotlight: The University of Bristol Badminton Club
The University of Bristol Badminton Club is thriving on and off the court after taking part in a scheme allowing players to teach technical skills and routines to all who enjoy England’s favourite racket sport.
Titled the ‘Game Changers’ and offered by the university itself, the scheme allowed the club to improve the quality of its coaching by offering opportunities for members to attain accredited coaching qualifications.
And with 15 students at the University having taken up the skills needed to ensure players at the club can enjoy the game at any level, the future in Bristol is as brighter than ever.
“The badminton club at Bristol University has always been a thriving space for players to enjoy the game at any level. However, it has never before offered opportunities for players to develop into coaches,” the club said.
“In the same vein, the club has not reliably been able to offer coaching to our beginner-intermediate members who wish to learn more about the game.
“When the University introduced us to their ‘Game Changers’ scheme, designed to help support players to develop into coaches and have opportunities to apply their qualifications to coaching their fellow students, we leapt at the opportunity.
“All our new coaches have now done at least 10 hours of coaching with the club. For our new Level 1 coaches, they have operated under experienced Level 2 coaches to teach essential technical skills and routines to beginner players, while our new Level 2 coaches have coached a mix of beginner, intermediate and even some experienced players who play for the University teams.
“When planning the project, we had envisioned its being an opportunity for beginner players to receive coaching, but it has led to opportunities for one-to-one and small-group coaching not just for beginners, but also for intermediate and more experienced players.
“Since one-to-one coaching can so often be difficult for players to access, given financial barriers, especially for the student population, it was fantastic that the club was able to offer this affordably for our members.”
And though the scheme has already proven a roaring success, the club insists that it it ‘only the tip of the iceberg’ as it bids to expand on its current offering.
They added: “We hope also that there will be longer-term benefits for our coaches and the wider badminton community.
“The new coaches have done some coaching for the club already this year, and this will be only the tip of the iceberg.
“We look forward to their offering more of their valuable time and insights to members of the University club, to players they begin to coach in a one-to-one capacity, and to players at clubs they play in, work at and/or establish in the future.
“The badminton club at the University has always thrived off its wider infrastructure. It has never just been a place for players to play badminton; it offers a huge and varied social scene, opportunities for badminton events, tickets for events like the Yonex All England and more.
“Offering opportunities for players to develop into coaches adds another pillar to the already considerable breadth of possibility at the club. We hope this will contribute to the growth of the club moving forwards.”
