Badminton Ireland has introduced a new Clubmark scheme which provides a structured process towards the development of clubs of all sizes.  Applications for a pilot scheme which will assist four clubs in the first year are open until August 31st.
The scheme will assist in areas of governance, development, coaching and membership, raising the standard of service that existing and potential members can expect from their club.
There are a set of scoring points based on criteria from numbers of coaches, numbers of members, numbers of schools in which club coaches are active, hosting of tournaments and development of officers and officials.  Clubs will be awarded a four level standard of accreditation from bronze to platinum.
There will be physical benefit for the selected clubs in terms of free equipment from Yonex and discount on goods from Podium 4 Sport retailers. One aim of the scheme is also to enable greater qualification for grants through local sports partnerships.
Badminton Ireland currently has 14,000 members across over 400 clubs and a social playing population estimated at around 100,000.  Chloe Magee and Scott Evans competed at the London 2012 Olympics where the sport shot to prominence for the wrong reason with the expulsion of eight players for seeking to engineer softer knock out routes.
This initiative is timely to restore confidence and enthusiasm among the membership and the broader population which the sport aims to reach.
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