Badminton England welcomes yesterday’s announcement by the Government setting out a roadmap for the return of badminton.
With outdoor activity returning in late March and restrictions on playing badminton at indoor sports facilities likely to gradually ease between April and June, all parts of the Country can now begin to plan their return to play.
Once the detailed Government guidance for sport has been released, we will update our return to play guidance to help our clubs, leagues, counties, coaches, volunteers and players get back on court safely. As with the previous return to play, we will be working closely with facility providers to understand availability and help those keen to return to access courts as quickly as possible.
To ensure we are supporting the badminton community as best as possible, we are launching “Let’s Talk Badminton”, our largest ever consultation exercise. This will comprise a series of online consultations, player survey and drop-in sessions that will allow everyone involved in badminton to help shape how we, as a sport, return to play and come back stronger than ever.
We are also developing plans to support players over the summer – as soon as it is allowed, our tournament circuit will return and we will be providing more opportunities for players at all levels to play, compete and take part for the first time through the summer.
We look forward to a full return to play in the autumn and will be launching activity to help those who haven’t been able to play for a long time to build up their fitness and retune their racket skills.
And for our young players, we have exciting plans with more online content to be released very shortly and new ways for schools, clubs and coaches to deliver activity outdoors.
We know that there are many challenges still to overcome, but we can now start planning to get back on court – Badminton England remains available, as always, to provide help and support to any members or groups on their return to play.
