Frodsham Badminton Club have set their sights on ensuring future generations have all they need to enjoy the sport for many years to come.
The Cheshire-based club decided to make sure current members had the opportunity to test themselves at the highest level by hosting a set of regional school-age tournaments, inviting clubs from throughout the north west of England and Wales.
While the club was confident its offering would attract the requisite numbers, even they were surprised by just how many took up the call with clubs from Liverpool, Cheshire, Halton, Warrington, Manchester, Southport, Stockport and Wales attending.
The club said: “We hosted two events on the same day for Year 9 and under and then Year 11 and under to play in a double team tournament.
“It was designed to be a round robin event but the Year 9 and under event was so popular we didn’t manage a full round robin in the time.
“All courts were always in use, and these was lots of play. All teams were supported by a coach or parent and the level of sportsmanship was great.
“Since then, some players have gone on to complete in the league matches and have said that they would not previously have done that.
“Several of our players have attended competitions that they would previously not have and are keener to develop their skills so that they can improve and progress.”
Social media proved to be a valuable tool in helping the club achieve its ambitions and while there was plenty of success on the court, the club revealed the biggest triumphs of the day were felt off it.
The club added: “We attracted some new players to our club as they did not realise there was a competitive element to take part in and this was appealing to them.
“The advert for the competition went out on the Brio Leisure Centre Facebook feed and this advertised our junior club and we had four new members as a result.
“It has also encouraged some of our older players to continue to play – those who are in Year 11 tell us that they find it difficult to transition to an adult club and the competitions have helped them prepare.”
Image Credit: Yang Shaochen/BadmintonPhoto
