Community network a major boost for badminton in York (From York Press)

Community network a major boost for badminton in York

9:21am Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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YORK is spearheading a search for the badminton stars of the future.

Clifton Badminton Club and governing body Badminton England have joined forces to spread the word about the sport as part of an ambitious development plan.

Evening coaching sessions are being run at Joseph Rowntree School and Manor School, while six weeks of taster lessons will also be held in eight schools as part of the city’s community badminton network.

Anyone interested in playing the sport regularly will then be put in touch with one of the many clubs in the city.

The national strategy is to turn England into the best badminton-playing country in the world by 2016 and David Dewey, Badminton England’s regional officer for Yorkshire North and West, believes York can play its part after being selected to host a network.

He said: “The network ties up all the activities we have going on from grassroots to performance level and provides a structure.

“Clifton coaches are working in PE sessions and running after-school clubs. Youngsters can get a taste for the sport and then feed into the local clubs.”

Dewey added: “The York and District League is very popular and the senior structure in the city is very good, and that is why we are developing the junior areas.

“Badminton is a popular sport in the city and it is the fourth most popular in the country overall. There are 1,000 people a month using Energise and York RI is well used. The York RI badminton hall is regarded as one of the best in the North of England. There’s no reason why York can’t be a big badminton city.

“With new schools like Manor and Joseph Rowntree, there are fantastic facilities available to us and we are going to use them.”

Junior coaching sessions are already under way on Tuesdays at Joseph Rowntree, with secondary/improvers from 4.10pm to 5.10pm and primary/beginners from 5.10pm to 6pm.

Monday sessions will start at Manor on April 22, with the two groups taking place at the same times as at Joseph Rowntree.

For further information about the sessions, visit the website www.cliftonbc.org.uk or email juniors@cliftonbc.org.uk