Badminton Ireland won the Membership Grant Programme Impact Award at the third BWF Membership Awards for their BadminTEEN project, addressing the decline in teenage participation, especially among girls. This aligns perfectly with the Olympic Day ‘Let’s Move’ campaign to get people moving.
BadminTEEN involves teenage girls playing, coaching, and officiating in badminton while focusing on personal well-being and nutrition. The brainchild of three-time Olympian, Chloe Magee, the project has expanded across all four provinces of Ireland, with 156 teenagers completing both online and face-to-face training. The programme has already shown positive results, with increased participation in school clubs, effectively re-engaging teenagers in the sport.
“We know sport brings huge benefits so it’s important to try find fun ways to keep teenage girls active,” said Magee.
“It’s a programme that offers teenagers the chance to try all parts of the game whether that be playing, coaching, officiating or just being the person who runs the events. I believe there is something for everyone on the programme and that’s why we have had such a success with it. I would like to thank BWF, Sport Ireland and the development team in Badminton Ireland for all the support and hard work that has gone into making BadminTeen a success,” she added.
Edna Lynch, CEO of Badminton Ireland, expressed his excitement about the award, saying, “This was part of our strategic plan to grow our participation numbers post COVID-19. It has built on our values to ‘have fun’ playing badminton. We know through research and evidence that teenage girls were not as active in badminton anymore, stopping around the age of 14 to 15-years-old. We created a programme with them – they designed it. It’s about playing badminton and setting up a club so even if you don’t want to play there’s something in it for you. We piloted the event in clubs and now more and more are being run.”
Reacting to winning the Impact Award, Lynch added, “We are so happy for a small national governing body. We are on the edge of a rock in Europe and to be able to win this award is unbelievable.”
This recognition highlights the innovative efforts of Badminton Ireland and underscores the impact of targeted programmes in reviving interest and participation in badminton among teenagers, especially girls. The BWF awards not only celebrate these achievements but also inspire other associations to adopt similar initiatives.
Don’t delay, pick up a racket today. Watch the Olympic Day celebrations from around the world, get inspired to keep moving.
