Junior Badminton Club Awarded For Increasing Participation In Sport
A junior badminton club based in Penarth has been awarded for increasing the opportunity for disabled people to take part in sport.
Penarth and Vale Junior Badminton Club have achieved the Insport Ribbon award, which is a Disability Sport Wales initiative that aims to demonstrate how inclusive community sports clubs are. The club has shown that it has a good level of understanding of how to include disabled people in their sessions, and have been awarded for this understanding.
This symbolises a great achievement for the club, as they were only established in November 2015, and, in the past year, the club has seen its membership rise from 4 to 40. This 40 now includes a diverse mix of members, with many starting as young as primary school age.
The club’s aim is to provide quality badminton sessions delivered by experienced coaches who can improve the skill level of every participant, no matter what their starting ability.
The club was set up in partnership with Angela Stevens, Badminton Wales Development Officer, with a local Sport Wales Community Chest grant being used to help with the initial start-up costs.
Simon Jones, Disability Sport Wales Development Officer, said: “I think it’s brilliant that the club is providing excellent inclusive opportunities, and want to include everyone. I believe this is one of the major reasons why the membership has grown so much over the past year.
“Everyone involved with the club should be praised for what they have achieved in such a short space of time. Their philosophy from the start has been to include everyone, and this has had such a positive effect on new members.”
Everyone is welcome to attend the club, who train every Friday night between 7pm-8pm at Penarth Leisure Centre. The junior section is open to all children aged 7+ and costs £25 for 3 months of membership, with the first session being free.
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