seventeenth April, 2025
George Wooden is combining a private ardour together with his occupation as he ensures as many individuals as attainable can share his love of badminton.
The Badminton England Sport Director first joined the organisation in 1999 as a Programme Coordinator and is now in his third stint in Milton Keynes after time working with Swim England and in consultancy.
It’s expertise that Wooden is making use of in any respect ranges of the sport from grassroots by to main occasions as his function encompasses areas as various as improvement, teaching, home competitions, and the participant pathway.
As a eager badminton participant on the Masters circuit himself, it’s inclusivity that underpins Wooden’s strategy.
“Inclusion is admittedly vital. One of many issues I’m actually excited and keen about is that badminton does have interaction folks from the campsite, not scoring and simply hitting a shuttle over a automobile, proper by to the Paralympic and Olympic stage,” he defined.
“It could actually cater for all of that which is good, and all ages, gender and ethnicity, it goes throughout the board.
“Ensuring as many individuals as attainable really feel included inside our sport and that there’s a place for them is tremendous vital to me.
“That’s one factor that’s actually important, and that’s the golden thread that runs by all the pieces we’re making an attempt to do inside that.”
In that vein, Wooden is at present engaged on plenty of thrilling initiatives that purpose to offer a spot for all present and potential badminton gamers.
One initiative focused particularly at making certain badminton is as inclusive and welcoming as attainable is the ‘Sport that Cares’ marketing campaign.
“It’s about ensuring that we’ve bought a extremely inclusive and secure setting in all of our golf equipment and badminton environments throughout the nation,” stated Wooden.
“It applies to anybody who’s affiliated with us so we will guarantee and guarantee that folks will obtain a welcome, will probably be secure, and will probably be an ideal place to play their badminton.
“The primary factor inside ‘Sport that Cares’ is making certain that each one golf equipment have a welfare officer who’s educated and DBS checked.
“We offer free coaching and we’re offering a free welfare officer membership. It’s about discovering individuals who can present that welcoming setting and simply test in on folks to see that they’re okay, making certain that nobody’s being overlooked throughout the membership.”
No Strings Badminton
One other initiative significantly near Wooden’s coronary heart is No Strings Badminton, which he developed throughout his earlier stint with Badminton England.
Now one of many longest enduring sports activities improvement programmers at 15 years outdated, it retains the core focus of enjoyable, health and associates however will evolve below Wooden’s newest relaunch.
The supply will now embody 4 sides: ‘No Strings: Play’, ‘No Strings Badminton: Youth’, ‘No Strings: Develop’, and ‘No Strings: Compete’.
Every seeks to satisfy a requirement recognized by Wooden and the staff at Badminton England, whether or not a want for younger folks to entry informal badminton, a willingness from gamers to have enjoyable competing or for gamers to be taught extra abilities earlier than they rock as much as classes.
“It’s about having informal environments the place folks can come together with another person or by themselves they usually’ll be welcomed. It’s so simple as that,” stated Wooden.
“It’s pay and play. So for those who come one week and don’t come the subsequent week, that’s completely tremendous. There are not any commitments, it’s nearly getting concerned.”
Each initiatives sit amid a plethora of different initiatives that Wooden is overseeing.
They vary from Shuttle Stars, a brand new programme aiming to offer an excellent begin within the sport to younger folks from seven to 11 years outdated, to increasing the Nationwide Badminton League (NBL) to kind the head of membership badminton throughout the nation.
Wooden can also be engaged on a plan to stimulate the event of extra full-time coaches, whereas he will even work with county badminton associations to make sure governance techniques are as efficient as attainable.
On high of all that, Wooden is trying to develop Badminton England’s showpiece YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships to create much more of a spectacle within the coming years.
His ambition is derived from a pure enjoyment of a sport that has lengthy been a supply of pleasure.
“I’ve labored with about 15 to twenty completely different sports activities, so I’ve been tremendous fortunate,” he stated.
“Nevertheless, I do completely love the game of badminton.
“There’s something actually particular about it for me, in all probability offering my private curiosity within the sport with my skilled profession.
“Meaning I genuinely really feel fortunate and privileged to be working in badminton, and it’s so simple as that. It’s only a pleasure day-after-day to be a part of this sport.
“I like that it combines my private ardour with my skilled profession, and I simply really feel tremendous fortunate to be a part of it.”
