The Championships had been planned for a ninth consecutive year at Manchester Velodrome but BADMINTON England have agreed to switch the venue to help Britain’s cyclists prepare for the World Cup Classic, which is the Olympic Test event for London 2012.

BADMINTON England Chief Executive Adrian Christy said: “This is a unique year for British sport and one that represents GB with an unprecedented opportunity. We completely understand the needs of our top cyclists to maximise their preparations for London 2012 and for the Test event in particular.

“We are delighted to be able to return to Bolton Arena knowing that the Commonwealth Games was such a great success there for us.

“A move to a larger venue also helps our athletes prepare for the Thomas and Uber Cup campaigns in Amsterdam from 15th – 20th February 2012 as well as increasing the opportunity for our badminton fans to see some of the rising stars like Toby Penty, Ben Stawski, Sarah Milne and Jessica Fletcher take on the established international stars like Rajiv Ouseph, Nathan Robertson, Chris Adcock and Anthony Clark.

“We are delighted to take the English Nationals to Bolton Arena for the first time and look forward to the fans getting behind the players in this exciting year of sport.”

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council’s executive member for culture and leisure, said: "Manchester is proud to once again work with Bolton’s Middlebrook Leisure Trust to support the “English National Badminton Championships."

“As the nation prepares for 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games the demands on the regions facilities are enormous but I am confident that a fantastic championship will be had by both competitors and organisers alike. I am looking forward to a great event which I hope will inspire the next generation of players coming through the ranks and help to prepare our athletes for the 2012 Games.“

The English National Championships, which is part of the National Championship series across all age groups, will be staged in Bolton Arena thanks to the special partnership BADMINTON England enjoys with Manchester City Council, racket and equipment company Carlton, online badminton retailers ibadmintonstore.com, Imperial Consultants and Case Security.

On court, Commonwealth silver medallist Rajiv Ouseph will be bidding for a fifth consecutive men’s singles title while Commonwealth bronze medallist Elizabeth Cann will be aiming to lift the women’s singles title for a fifth time after her surprise early defeat this year.

In the doubles events Nathan Robertson won the English National men’s and mixed doubles titles last year to take his overall total to 15 (9 men’s and 6 mixed) while Anthony Clark will be bidding to recapture the men’s doubles after his record winning run of nine successive titles was interrupted this year by an eye injury suffered in training. He stands one short of Mike Tredgett’s record total of 10 men’s doubles titles.

Bolton-born Jenny Wallwork will be looking to add to her two women’s doubles titles with Gabby White and two mixed doubles titles with Robertson.
Robertson and Clark are no strangers to Bolton Arena. They were part of the England squad which won the Commonwealth Games team gold at Bolton Arena and they also won a men’s doubles bronze while Clark won the mixed bronze with Sarah Sankey.

The Bolton Arena was also where Simon Archer reached a third successive Commonwealth mixed doubles final and successfully defended the title he won with Jo Goode in 1998 to add to his silver with Julie Bradbury in 1994.

The English National Badminton Championships showcase our finest English badminton athletes in action, and in addition to seeing who is going to be representing us in London 2012, it’s also a chance to sample the standout talent from our stars of the future.

The Championships are a great way to spend a weekend for badminton and non-badminton fans alike. Tickets start from only £8 for BADMINTON England members and £10 for general admission.*

2011 ENGLISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Men’s singles: Rajiv Ouseph (Middx)
Women’s singles: Nicola Cerfontyne (Dorset)
Men’s doubles: Chris Langridge (Surrey) & Nathan Robertson (Notts)
Women’s doubles: Jenny Wallwork & Gabby White (both Yorkshire)
Mixed doubles: Nathan Robertson (Notts) & Jenny Wallwork (Yorks)

*Tickets for the Championships went on sale today and are subject to availability. For tickets go to www.theticketfactory.com or telephone 0844 5811424

*For information about the English National Badminton Championships go to www.nationalbadmintonchamps.co.uk

*For how to find Bolton Arena go to www.boltonarena.com