CV19 stopped manty clubs' play in 2020 & 2021. Our aim is to Re-boot Badminton by providing coaching & competition for players aged 8 to 16.
by Alpha Badminton Club in Lisburn, Lisburn and Castlereagh, United Kingdom
Extra funds raised over and above the original target will be used towards paying for a part time coach during the badminton season. We would hope to be able to employ a coach 10 hours per week to help attract and develop our juvenile badminton players.
Alpha Badminton Club (Alpha) has been part of the fabric of Lisburn's social history for almost 90 years from when it was established in 1933. The club is part of the Lisburn Racquets Club, a charity that exists to provide facilities and an environment promoting the advancement of amateur racquet sports. Alpha is affiliated with the governing body recognised by Sport NI, Ulster Branch Badminton Union of Ireland.
Covid19 resulted in the closure of Alpha and may other Badminton clubs for many months throughout 2020 and 2021. The number of players had reduced as a result, as many small clubs have not returned leaving players no facilities to play. We aim to readdress this through promoting Badminton by attracting Juvenile players aged 8 to 16 back to the sport.
Alpha Badminton Club aim to re-boot the sport by stepping in to provide coaching free to players and arrange friendly matches and tournaments for the Under 13/14 and Under 15/16 age group. These events give the players a target to aim for, encourage a team spirit and offer players an opportunity to have fun through playing Badminton.
The process would involve inviting as many players as possible to Monday and Thursday coaching sessions to help encourage players to return to and try out the sport. Additionally, we aim to support restarting the Celtic Challenge Team events and enter a Team to compete with Munster, Leinster & Wales. Two teams of seven boys and girls aged would be selected to form U13/14 and U15/16 aged teams.
The funds raise would be used for 3 main areas
Having professional coaches is essential to attract new and previous players back to the sport. We are fortunate to have access to such coaches who we can draw upon. These coaches have many years of experience, with top level coaching awards and have played at international level and represented Northern Ireland at Commonwealth Games. The funds would be used to pay for the coaching hours. We would aim to provide a 10 week block of sessions between April and June 2022 open to all. The coaches would organise the sessions, set development programmes for the players, and provide professional technical support to help the players develop.
The fund will cover the cost of the shuttles, court hire and provide racquets for any new players. This will make is easy and cost free for players to come and play.
The funds would be used to support the costs to enter and participate in the Team events such as the Celtic Challenge and Friendly matches with other clubs. We would like to provide players with team sports shirts to help promote the club and the sport and support some travel costs.
Alpha Badminton Club needs your help to raise the required funds in order to be able to deliver our plan. With this we believe we can attract players back and new players to our sport and provide access to the super playing facilities in Lisburn. Our project is also being considered by Sport NI for the 'Build Back Better-Project Re-Boot: Activate +Extra Funding. If successful this would match 50% of the £2,000 target fund. This would make such a difference to having the funds to really accelerate our plan.