- At BISI 1, children under the age of six years old get involved in a series of activities. The skills developed at this early stage are fun based and improve hand-eye co-ordination, perception and spatial awareness, providing a good introduction in to a range of sports.
- BISI 2 is for children aged between seven and ten. It expands on skills learned in the first stage. The emphasis shifts more on to badminton, but it is still relevant for other racquet sports.
- For 11-14 year olds, the programme is taken a step further at BISI 3. It focuses more closely in badminton and encourages student to play games and carry out skill work with one another.
- BISI 4 can be fitted in with GCSE PE courses fro students aged 14+. It aims to extend physical skills in order to reach a good level of badminton. It also introduces the organisational aspects of the sport from coaching to running of a club.
Money is now one of the biggest assets in sport. Money is needed to help with development, promotion and funding. Badminton creates very little money through the public so the majority comes from an organisation called Sport England. Sport England help to fund almost every sport in the British Isles and for many years badminton was only receiving £150,000 a year which is very little for the size of the sport. This was apparent up until a month ago when Sport England selected 20 sports which would take priority and get more funding. 10 of those sports were then selected as the ‘Top 10’ which would receive £280,000 from the government. This still is very little but has pushed badminton higher up the priority and popularity list.
Membership fees are also used to raise money. This allows you to become a member of the BAofE which entitles you to coaching opportunities for your club, access to all badminton events through the year and access to the BAofE shuttle scheme.
The diagram below shows the pathway for an elite performer from BISI to World Class.
In Suffolk and at international standard there are provisions for male and female competitors. There are all male clubs, all female clubs and mixed clubs with leagues for all three. These clubs can be for the elite end of the scale or the beginner end. The majority of the clubs in Suffolk are mixed. Some mixed clubs are for mixed ability and others are for the ‘better’ player. There are however the male and female clubs in Suffolk. The men’s clubs are mainly for the more elite player but there are one or two clubs for mixed ability. This is the same for women but there aren’t as many clubs.
Wheelchair badminton is an Olympic sport, and it is also played nationally. There are county teams all over the country however Suffolk does not have the provisions for disabled badminton. Wheelchair badminton is a Para Olympic sport and is slightly different from badminton. The net is lower and the rackets shorter. The court is also slightly smaller.
On the whole, badminton in Suffolk is average. Improvements could be made by the promotion of the sport. Either by flyer at the local sports centre or at schools, or by a representative of the BAofE visiting schools and clubs promoting the sport. Clubs for players with good but not brilliant skills are also hard to find in Suffolk. There are clubs for really good, strong players and clubs for beginners but none for players in the middle. Nationally, badminton has really good a provision. The pathway for elite players is excellent and the sport is of Olympic standard.
In conclusion, locally the sport is ok but there could be improvements but nationally badminton is in the top ten sports in the UK.
References
The Badminton Association of England Information Pack
The Badminton Association of England Website:
Phone Call with the Chief Executive of the Badminton Association
Sport England Website:
International Badminton Federation Website:
