The West Sussex Racket Pack Project inspired youngsters across the county to get involved in the nation’s favourite racket sport.
Badminton England worked with Active Sussex to approach local schools and developed the programme to reach more than 250 children locally.
The Racket Pack is a primary-aged initiative designed to deliver fun and engaging skill-based sessions, ensuring a positive first experience of badminton.
The BE team managed the execution of the project from start to finish – approaching schools, training teachers and setting up pathways for budding shuttlers to join local clubs.
Target
Badminton England had pre-existing targets to hit in Racket Pack delivery around Sussex and wanted to approach its rollout in a more sustainable way.
Working alongside Active Sussex, schools were identified in the West Sussex area for the Racket Pack festival to be rolled out in.
Active Sussex provided £1420 worth of funding to the project which, alongside £1000 worth of support from Badminton England including equipment, contributed significantly to its financial delivery throughout the year.
Rather than focusing on a single festival, Badminton England used the project to approach schools and train teachers, with the eventual goal of enrolling youngsters in badminton clubs in their local area.
Delivery
The Racket Pack project started in January after a a coach was sourced with the funding and equipment from Badminton England and Active Sussex.
The BE team worked with Active Sussex to deliver the Racket Pack festival and organised teacher training to be delivered.
Festival and teacher Continuous Professional Development (CPD) took place in March with after-school sessions throughout April.
Once the project had been established, Badminton England organised exit route sessions for children with a coach from a local club.
Results
Badminton England, working with Active Sussex, managed to deliver badminton to over 250 children locally.The longevity and sustainability of the project was key in encouraging younger children into the sport, providing a fun experience for all.
Further to this, 10 teachers were trained face-to-face with the aim of expanding badminton participation beyond the project.
Badminton England set the foundations for schools in West Sussex to not only participate in badminton but ensure that pathways are in place for the next generation to develop their skills at local clubs.
“It was really fantastic to work with a variety of partners on a project to introduce badminton to a younger audience,” Luke Hornsley, BE Regional Manager for the South said.
“After managing to secure funding from Active Sussex it was important to make sure the project had more reach then just delivering a festival to the children.”
