A Badminton England grant enabled a coach in Rugby to successfully set up a No Strings Badminton programme.
Steve Kiernan wanted to increase the interest and awareness of the programme at Tudor Grange Badminton Club, to encourage more adults to play the sport.
No Strings Badminton (NSB) is a national participation programme offering low-cost, fun ‘pay and play sessions’ and is designed to be fully inclusive and open to adult players of any age or ability.
It aims to provide participants with a friendly and welcoming environment to play badminton, socialise and keep fit.
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Kiernan, Lead Coach and 2024 Grassroots Coach of the Year, wanted to increase interest and awareness of NSB to enable more adults in the Rugby area to access the sessions.
Badminton England provided the club with a £500 grant to set up a No Strings alongside their club night.
Kiernan said: “Our club received funding from Badminton England to set up a No Strings session to introduce badminton to adults looking to either get back into the sport or try it for the first time.
“After reaching out to our Regional Manager, Alex Lane, who secured the funding for us, we were able to use the funding to secure a sports hall for a few weeks, purchase shuttles and put out some marketing material.
“Alex was very helpful to guide us on the best way to make use of the funding and also assisted us gaining some legacy funding from the Yonex All England Championships to support our team of coaches achieve their next coaching awards.”
Kiernan created a Facebook ad that was directed to local people which gained traction and the people who attended from the advert went on to recommend the club to their friends which further increased the interest.
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Current members were informed about the club and as a result, many tried the sessions and recommended them to others.
The grant covered most of the club’s costs, allowing the club to offer a 50% discount on prices, attracting more people to join.
The increased attention generated by the new sessions resulted in a rise in attendance for the club’s other coaching sessions, and the increased demand meant new sessions had to be set up.
By using the grant to maximise exposure and interest, the club was able to achieve a significant impact and attract a wider audience and the club hopes the NSB sessions will be self-sustainable within 10 weeks.
Kiernan added: “We now have a well attended, self funding, No Strings session on a Saturday afternoon and can now expand our club due to the extra newly qualified coaches.
“The club is better able to meet the high demand of badminton sessions in our community due to the continued support of Badminton England.”
