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The national charity and leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity

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BADMINTON England accessible to all

BADMINTON England is reminding people about the wide range of inclusive and accessible programmes it offers for anyone who wants to play the sport.

Today (3 December) marks the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, with the theme of “Break Barriers, Open Doors: for an inclusive society and development for all”, and badminton is a successful sport in terms of disabled participation.

It has a strategy setting the framework for development, an established Para-Badminton circuit and genuine commitment from all areas of the game to ensure that disability and inclusion is truly embedded.

With the recent launches of our various participation programmes including Battle and Smash Up! there are suitable adaptations which can be made. These include adaptations in each Smash Up! game to simplify the tasks, which could be adapted for players with a learning disability.

For players with a learning disability starting out in the game, there does not have to be a complicated scoring system or rules about who serves and where from. Players with limited mobility can also play with no adaptations; there is a playing circuit available for them too.

At an introductory level, badminton is quick and easy to obtain a level of confidence that allows you to enjoy achievement early on.

There are also very few equipment changes from the non-disabled game, other than a sports wheelchair for the wheelchair version of the game.

This means that disabled players can play alongside their non-disabled teammates with no adaptations needed and importantly that disabled players who are reaching a competitive playing standard can play in local leagues without having to travel extensively.

Following on from the hugely successful BWF Para-Badminton World Championships which were held in Dortmund in November, England star Rachel Choong recently visited a local school in her hometown of Crosby to help inspire children to take up the sport.

Choong, who won two gold medals in Germany, helped her England teammates on their way to winning an incredible 11 medals in total.

Visiting St Nicholas CE Primary School, the 19-year old impressed children with her great badminton skills and appeared to have left a lasting impression on the young pupils.

Manolis Ponoris, 9, told the Bootle Champion: “Meeting Rachel has inspired me to take up the sport.”

Becky Woods, Headteacher of the school, also told the paper: “Rachel is an inspirational young woman who has worked hard and shown such perseverance to excel in her field.

“We were thrilled to welcome her into school and I know that the children will remember the message that she gave them, that if they work hard and never give up, they can achieve their dreams.”

You can find out more about the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities here. Useful coaching resources from BADMINTON England include ‘Kicking Up a Racket’ which is available for free on our website.

A new one day Coaching Disability Badminton course is also now available.