Young people in Cramlington are being offered a chance to give badminton a try for free under the supervision of expert local coaches.
The John Watt Academy has set up a free Saturday morning session at its Cramlington Learning Village headquarters which is designed to introduce new players ages ten and above to a sport they might not have had chance to try before.
The 9am-10am small group sessions will focus on the basics of the game, which will allow beginners to quickly make progress and to decide if they want to take their interest in the sport to the next level.
All the equipment required to take part is provided, meaning parents don’t need to splash out on any new kit, while the cost of running the sessions through to the end of the year is being covered by a £1,600 grant from the Banks Group’s Banks Community Fund.
The grant has also been helping to pay for free coaching sessions during the school holidays to ensure that the sport is accessible to everyone.
Established in 2005, the John Watt Academy currently has a team of five qualified coaches, including two who were junior Academy members themselves before taking their coaching qualifications.
Several of its players have gone on to play badminton at league and representative level, and it already has around 30 young people attending its existing Saturday morning coaching sessions.
Julia Holcroft, chair at the John Watt Academy, says: “Badminton is a really simple, fun and social sport that’s easy to pick up, and with lots of local young people already on our books, we realised there was an opportunity to give even more of them a chance to give it a try.
“Children starting out on their badminton journey always benefit from being in a smaller group where they can get lots of individual attention and they tend to make progress more quickly than they otherwise would.
“The Academy will also benefit from the increased number of young people coming into and hopefully staying in the sport, while these sessions will also enable our junior coaches with more opportunities to refine their coaching skills, which will benefit everyone in the long term.
“We know that everyone’s facing money pressures at the moment and wanted to make these new sessions as accessible as possible, so that no-one was missing out for financial reasons.
“The Banks Group’s backing for this project has meant we don’t have to charge our new players any kind of fee, and it will help us maximise the local participation and impact we can deliver over the coming months.”
Jamilah Hassan, community relations manager at the Banks Group, adds: “Giving children more chances to get active and have fun with their friends can only benefit their physical and mental health.
“The Academy is opening up new opportunities which could inspire local children to take up a sport that they’ll play right through their lives and we hope as many families as possible will take advantage of what’s on offer.”
For more information on the free Saturday morning sessions at the John Watt Academy, please contact coaches Ryan Wilkinson ([email protected]) and David Arnold ([email protected]).
The Banks Group’s community funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation).