Virtual Volunteer Forums connecting our community across the country
Tuesday 4th June 2024
Our new Virtual Volunteer Forums launched in April this year with two forums for No Strings Coordinators being delivered by Volunteer Manager for Badminton England, Holly Robson, and Adults Manager, Tanya Chethan.
These two forums engaged 14 No Strings Coordinators who participated in various discussions and were given the opportunity to share their successes, challenges and insight on what support they would find valuable from Badminton England to assist them in their voluntary roles.
Following on from this, two more Virtual Volunteer Forums for Referees and Tournament Organisers were hosted by Badminton England last month delivered by Holly once more alongside Competitions Manager, Jon Hancock.
The aim of the Virtual Volunteer Forums was to bring together groups of volunteers who make our sport tick on a day-to-day basis – to connect them and help both Badminton England and the volunteers themselves learn and share experiences, feedback and best practice. And by delivering the forums virtually, we were able to eliminate the geographical barriers and allow these volunteers to interact with others in similar roles right across the country.
The first forum for Referees and Tournament Organisers was aimed at new volunteers (those who had either recently completed the Referee Level 1 Qualification or were thinking about becoming a referee) and saw four keen new referees attend and share their thoughts on starting their refereeing journey.
The following week, a second forum for twelve experienced Referees and Tournament Organisers was delivered, bringing together those who are currently active in the roles to share their expertise and provide them with the opportunity to network with each other, share examples of good practice, discuss challenges and work together to find solutions. The opportunity sparked lots of positive conversation promoted the sharing of information and helped those participating support one another in their respective areas.
Following the success of the forums, more Virtual Volunteer Forums will be delivered later in the year with the intention for them to become a bi-annual online platform for volunteers within badminton.
This week is Volunteer’s Week and these forums are a tool enabling Badminton England to offer continued support for its cohort of referees. Future Forums will take into account feedback from attendees on what topics they would like to see covered – so importantly these forums will be shaped by the volunteers themselves.
Thank you to all who took part!
