Volunteering
Northumberland Badminton Association is run by a voluntary workforce who strive to deliver our visions and values.
There are a number of opportunities available to get involved.
Introduction
Badminton in Northumberland and around the country exists in the format it does mainly due to a huge amount of volunteer time contributed to the sport. Whatever your skill set and no matter how much time you can offer, we are on the look out for people of all age and experience to get involved and become Northumberland Badminton / Badminton England volunteers to help grow the game. The County/Country is never in a position of having too many badminton volunteers.
If you would like to help out in any way either with one small task or take on a significant role then please contact Julie Brown.
Grants and subsidies are often available to subsidise the payment for courses usually in return for some volunteer hours. If you are interested in taking a formal qualification please contact our Treasurer Julie Brown or our Badminton England Volunteer Manager Holly Robson for details of any funding currently available.
Management Committee Roles
Coaching
Northumberland Badminton Association is looking for coaches to run courses for players of all standards from beginners through to Performance players, from primary school to over 50s sessions all over the County.
If you would like to get into coaching, Badminton England run a series of courses over the year: Foundation Award in Coaching, Coach Award and Level 3 certificate for Head Coach.
For more information about coach education click here.
Junior Team Management
Our junior squads have many matches across the season.
We are always looking for willing parents to travel away to team events, or manage teams for home matches.
If you are willing to help out please contact Martin Fagan, Junior County Co-ordinator.
Tournament Organisers, Helpers & Referees
We run a significant number of junior and senior tournaments throughout the year. These involve a significant contribution of time from individuals ensuring tournaments are set up and run smoothly. Jobs can include recording match scores, handing out and collecting in shuttles, finding players to go on court, chasing unpaid debts, ensuring the referee is fed and watered etc.
For anyone interested in running a tournament it is also possible to progress through the tournament referees pathway.
To view Badminton England’s Court Officials Pathway, click here.
Umpires & Line Judges
Becoming an umpire or line judge is a way to put something back into the game, once you have finished playing, or if you have never played you can still learn the rules and become an official. Click here to view Badminton England’s Court Officials Pathway.
There are opportunities to officiate on a local level within the County, but if you enjoy it and have time you can also take qualifications to move up to national/international level and travel around the world umpiring and line judging at tournaments and matches.
Both the Badminton Umpires Association and the Badminton Line Judges Association have their own very informative websites which explain how you can gain qualifications.
Fundraising
Northumberland Badminton Association is a non-profit making organisation as are most of the clubs in the area.
We are always looking for volunteers to organise events to raise funds for the Association (raffles, sponsored walks etc).
If you are willing to help out in organising any fundraising activities please contact Julie Brown or Martin Fagan.
Website / Social Media
In order to grow the profile of badminton in the County we look to get as much publicity as possible.
We are looking for people to write up the events for our website, as well as publicising upcoming activities and raising awareness of what’s on in the County.
Please let us know if you are interested in helping out.
Workforce Academy
The Northumberland Badminton Association’s Workforce Academy programme was launched in January 2019 and is designed to bring committed coaches, officials and volunteers together to increase the number of badminton opportunities locally, and help towards retaining and increasing Badminton England members.
The Workforce Academy will provide support, training, mentoring and CPD, in return for delivering more badminton activity, creating an accessible and sustainable workforce across the county.
The Academy drive’s the recruitment of future volunteers and is responsible for determining workforce education needs.
The Academy is open to individuals from all experience levels and members will benefit from:
- A Workforce Academy Induction session
- Free Academy membership
- CPD training opportunities Deployment & volunteering opportunities
- Mentoring with an experienced coach or volunteer
- Coaching Bursaries (for Level 1 & 2 coaching qualifications)
- Access to the Workforce Academy forum via Facebook
- Academy T-shirt
- On-going support
Expectations of Academy Members:
- All coaches must be registered with Badminton England
- Attend related training, development and CPD sessions organised
- Engage with mentoring support available
- Carry out a minimum of 10 voluntary hours over the first 6 month period
If you would like to find out more please contact Holly Robson.
To see our volunteer awards, click here.