Just 4 U initiative proving a hit in the capital

A London badminton club have made use of Badminton England’s Development Fund to strengthen their offering in the capital.

Hounslow & Ealing set out on their ‘Just 4 U’ initiative with a mission to provide competition for social club players who were unable to commit to league matches or were deemed ‘not good enough’ for their club’s teams.

Most league matches are played on weeknights, so the club set out to showcase these events on weekends, for between two and three hours in the early afternoon.

The first of these was played prior to Covid, after which a strategy rethink saw them change the format to teams of two men and two women. This encouraged better take-up and entry had to be capped at five teams due to court availability.

By using the Development Fund, Hounslow & Ealing were able to ensure that those who entered were not disappointed as the pressure of having to have a set number of entries to cover the costs of the event was removed. The numbers have also grown organically through initiatives such as No Strings.

The most recent edition saw three team events take place, with the winners and best runners-up making it through to the final. The finalists of each round were not permitted to play in further rounds, so there was always going to be a new team of 4 taking part each time. This was a successful alternative to previous years, while men’s and women’s doubles events, as well as the four-team event, are set to be reinstated moving forwards.

The competitions have shown there is demand for social competition, while they have also attracted the younger generation.

Sixth-form students in years 12 and 13 often have very little offered other than friendlies with other players their age. The club tried to include this age group into the local senior league but, with committing to weekday evenings also proving a problem, the weekend arrangement in place for Just 4U suited them.