Come and try providing badminton baseline

THE Ballarat Badminton Association’s junior pennant competition is set to return next month, with members encouraging the region’s budding young players to take to the court.

The program is open for people aged between seven and 23 years old and set to be run at Ken Kay Badminton Stadium from Thursday 5 October until Thursday 28 March.

Despite its name, Ballarat Badminton Association’s manager said Rhonda Cator said the weekly event is aimed at encouraging young people to give the sport a non-competitive go.

“It’s for kids to get out and get active hopefully with their friends and if they’re interested in badminton and want to come a long they often meet new people too,” she said.

“We’re not looking for superstars. We’re looking for kids that want to play and get active in a sport that maybe they’ve never or barely played before.”

Running on Thursday evenings, each night will feature a singles game and two doubles games with teams of three and participants graded from A to D based on their abilities.

Ms Cator said opportunities will be available for participants should they wish to go further in the sport.

“If they’re interested they can join our development group or elite groups aimed at getting them to a higher standard,” she said.

“Ballarat’s been quite strong at badminton with state and national players so if we can assist any kids in an elite path, we’ve certainly got the ability.”

Entry will cost $80 for the whole season with registration closing this Thursday.