Following Badminton England’s recently published commitment to improving diversity, this initiative addresses the gender imbalance and lack of women and girls playing the sport at a recreational level and the depth of talent along our performance pathway. Badminton England also hopes this initiative will increase the number of female role models within coaching with the aim to attract, retain and develop more women and girls in badminton from an earlier age.
Currently women make up 35% of UKCC Level 1 learners, 32% of UKCC Level 2 learners and 29% of UKCC Level 3 learners, whilst overall accounting for 30% of all accredited badminton coaches. Whilst these figures are above the UK average figure of 17%, this initiative will further increase the percentage of women and girls qualifying through our coach education system and working with players of all ages and abilities across the country.
Central to the new initiative will be:
- Bursaries to support women pursuing their coaching qualifications at grassroots level
- A programme to identify, support and nurture female coaches to support and position female coaches throughout our talent pathway
- Developing female coaches to be ‘performance ready’ to join our national coaching team
- Identifying and supporting women coaches to deliver Women and Girls Academies and develop their coaching skills
- A review of our coach education delivery, ensuring an improved coach education provision and learning experience for women
- A mentorship scheme to support women coaches across the sport
More information will be released in due course however as we start to shape this initiative, Badminton England is keen to hear from female coaches who are willing to share their experiences; what has worked well for you and what can be improved.
Badminton England would also be interested to hear from women who are thinking of becoming a coach or improving their coaching knowledge and experience. Whether your interest is at grass roots level or working within our talent pathway, we would love to hear from you so please contact coaching@badmintonengland.co.uk.
