The North Wiltshire Badminton Project

The North Wiltshire Badminton Project is not your typical Junior Badminton Club.

Founded in 2017, our vision is to work and contribute towards the establishment of a comprehensive locally-based badminton system in which every child is offered the opportunity to engage with badminton, through one-off events, after-school clubs, junior club sessions, or one-to-one coaching and in which every child wishing to improve at badminton will be able to access coaching sessions that will meaningfully develop their competence to match their aspirations.

Rather than compete with existing registered junior clubs, NWBP is specifically designed to compliment local provision. As a result, we offer a comprehensive and flexible membership package with access to quality foundation, club and more performance orientated coaching that help players to enjoy, play or train at the right level for them. In addition, we provide an opportunity to play for NWBP in local competition.

Premier Club (England Sports mark) Status

NWBP was awarded Premier Club status from Badminton England in November 2017, only two months from inception of the Project’s formation.  

This is certification that NWBP has an open/non-discriminatory’ constitution, which includes: 

• Equity policy  
• Safeguarding & Protecting Young People policy  
• Code of conducts for players, coaches, volunteers, officials and parents  
• Code of conduct for young people and  
• Identified committee with clear role descriptions  

 It also indicates that : 

• We are affiliated to Badminton England and thereby have Public Liability Insurance in place  
• Our coaches are suitably qualified, registered and insured 
• We have systems in place to ensure that safe venues and equipment are used for all coaching, competition and club sessions/activities that we run 
• We have a nominated Welfare Officer with clear roles and responsibilities (as defined by Badminton England’s Safeguarding and Protecting Young People policy) who is DBS cleared and checked by Badminton England within the last 3 years and who is independent of the coaching team 
• Two of our committee members, one of whom must be the Welfare Officer, and a coach, have attended a recognised basic awareness child protection training course within the last three years 
• Access is available to first aid at all coaching, competition and club sessions, and the club must have a statement on its first aid provision 
• We have emergency procedures in place for dealing with serious injuries/accidents, including ensuring contact through telephone/radio is available to call the emergency services and that  
• Contact details of parents/carers and emergency/alternative contacts are recorded and are ‘reasonably accessible’ to the relevant coach/session organiser and that the club takes reasonable steps to obtain information on any medical conditions of its children and young people which are shared on a confidential ‘need to know’  basis only with club coaching personnel and others working with those young people. 

Melanie Vickery
Your first point of contact at NWBP.
Chair and Head Coach.
BE UKCC Qualified Level 3 Head Coach.
Mother of two boys and full time lawyer, I am likely to be your first point of contact at NWBP. I have been playing badminton since I was a pupil at Sheldon School and when returning to the sport a few years ago, I quickly achieve my BE UKCC Level 1 Assistant Coaching qualification in 2016 and and soon thereafter, in September 2017, gained my BE UKCC Level 2 Coaching qualification enabling me to coach independently. Now a UKCC Level 3 coach, I deliver as Lead Coach the NWBP Performance sessions and the clubs.

Rachel Drew
Rachel is NWBP’s Welfare Officer.  She has two children and they all share a keen interest in badminton.

If you have any concerns or questions regarding Safeguarding or Welfare then please contact welfare@nwbp.online to arrange a confidential conversation.

Ben Vickery
Ben has been playing badminton from an early age and is a Badminton England Level 2 coach.  Ben runs our foundation sessions.