Badminton service summary

Brian Wallwork – Racket Sports Development Officer
Tel          0113 3950187
Mobile :     07891275387

Introduction

Leeds has one of the largest and most successful badminton development schemes in the UK and has recently obtained performance centre status from the National Governing Body, Badminton England.

Twenty part time coaches work on the development programme; all have a minimum of Level 2 coaching qualification. Several of these have attained higher level  qualifications up to and including international standard and three are UKCC national tutors / assessors.

There are instructional classes for players of all ages and abilities, an advanced training schemes for promising junior players, aged between 8 and 18 years, and a regional high performance cell for junior players of county and international standard.

Work within schools

The development officer works closely with schools and all relevant partners to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the development of badminton within the region and Leeds in particular.
There is a citywide high schools badminton league which operates in each of the five school sports partnerships.
Individual tournaments are held annually from primary school level through to under 16 age level.

Currently a project has been undertaken to provide a performance centre badminton club attached to a selected high school in each of the five school sports partnershjps across the city.

Special events including regional and national schools competitions, West Yorkshire youth games, the Asian youth tournament and Breeze festivals are held annually.

There are generic racket sports sessions held in primary schools which incorporates badminton, table tennis, squash and mini tennis.

Following on from these are 25 instructional classes aimed at beginner and intermediate levels held across the city at selected venues.

Performance coaching
 
The advanced training scheme is for promising youngsters between the ages of 9 and 18 years.  There are six weekly classes, each for two hour duration, held throughout the year.  

At the pinnacle of the programme is the regional high performance centre based at Leeds Carnegie which provides the venue for two high performance cells for players having attained county or international standard.

These players are on the national governing bodies world class programmes and have all been developed through the council’s training scheme programme.

The racket sports development officer acts as co-ordinator between the NGB, Leeds Metropolitan University, the coaches and the players.

Coach Education

Regular coaching courses are available as follows

• Primary school teachers award
• Secondary school teachers award
• Level 1 NGB award
• Level 2 NGB award
• In-house refresher courses for existing coaches
• Coach mentoring schemes
• Umpire and referee courses.

Key Partnerships  
A number of strong and in many cases long standing partnerships have been established, some examples of these are as follows

• Leeds Schools Badminton Association  (LSBA) – assists in the development of primary and high schools badminton within the city.
• Yorkshire Schools Badminton Association – the Y.S.B.A. covers the whole of Yorkshire but much of its work is centred and linked to the Leeds programme.  Regular committee meetings for example are held at the John Charles centre for sport. 
• Strong volunteer force – past and present the sport has relied on a strong and effective volunteer force to assist with its coaching, organising and officiating of events and tournaments.
• Local Leagues – a number of senior leagues operate throughout the region and where appropriate,  clubs are encouraged and assisted in forming junior sections providing a natural progression and outlet for young people.
• N.G.B. - as previously mentioned there are strong links to the N.G.B., particularly in relation to performance levels of play and coach education work.
• Asian Youth Association – partnership with the AYA. have assisted in providing coaching and competitive play opportunities. Although these projects are open to everyone they are specifically aimed at  players from inner city areas and ethnic minority backgrounds.
• Leeds Metropolitan University – hosts the Regional High Performance groups.