Badminton Europe launches club-building guide to help grassroots groups grow

The Club Builder guidebook has been produced through the SHUTTLERS project, which focuses on recruiting and retaining young badminton players. It is aimed primarily at new clubs with up to 50 members and smaller clubs with 50 to 100 members, although larger organisations can also use individual sections.

The resource contains 13 lessons across four areas: administration and finance, badminton, events and communication. It is designed to help clubs tackle the day-to-day challenges of running an organisation, particularly where responsibilities fall on a small number of volunteers.

The guide draws on research into club development and the reasons children take up badminton, continue playing or leave the sport. It encourages clubs to assess their existing structures, identify areas for improvement and turn those findings into practical action plans.

Rather than offering a single model for every club, the programme allows organisations to select lessons according to their needs. Each session can be delivered in up to three hours, making the material suitable for an evening or weekend workshop.

Five practical lessons for clubs

- Plan and organise: Establish clear club values, set objectives and create an annual calendar covering activities, deadlines and responsibilities.

- Strengthen finances: Prepare a budget, identify potential income and control expenditure to support long-term development.

- Recruit and retain juniors: Develop a recruitment plan and create clear pathways to help young players progress through the club.

- Develop people: Share responsibilities among volunteers and establish a strategy for recruiting, educating and supporting coaches.

- Improve communication: Plan events effectively and use appropriate channels, including social media, to engage members and attract new players.

The guide also examines how artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, can help volunteers with routine administration and research.

Badminton Europe's approach is to give clubs practical tools that can be adapted to their own circumstances, rather than requiring them to implement every lesson. Templates and supporting resources are intended to help volunteers put the recommendations into practice.