Frequently Asked Questions

Joining the PC

How do Players Join the TBPC

The main pathway into the Teesside Badminton Performance Centre (TBPC) will be through the Junior Clubs within the Consortium.
Club coaches will be responsible for recommending their players to attend ‘trials’ at the TBPC.
Other pathways will be acceptable. These include: -
1. Coaches’ recommendations for individuals from
a. County coaching sessions.
b. Badminton Community Sports Coaches working within schools.
2. Looking for talent at the Teesside Badminton Development Association twice-
yearly Local Badminton Tournaments.
3. Bisi Festivals.
Badminton Performance Centres are made up of three Performance Programmes.
The start is RAW which leads to DEVELOPING which leads to EMERGING.
Players will get invited to attend a four-week trial at the TBPC Raw Squad sessions.
These ‘Trial Sessions’ will be held at regular intervals throughout the year.
This trial period will cost £20.00 (£5.00 per session).
The purpose behind the ‘Trial Sessions’ is for the TBPC Coaches to look at how the players train and therefore learn in a group environment and also for the players (and parents) themselves to see if they find the TBPC Squad training regime acceptable.
If ‘new’ players are deemed acceptable they will be invited to join the TBPC.
They will also get information on their ‘Roles & Responsibilities’ and method of payment.
All ‘new’ players will start in the RAW SQUAD. For players who are of a good standard, have the correct basic racket techniques and court movement, they will be fast tracked as appropriate to the DEVELOPING SQUAD and possibly the EMERGING SQUAD.
The Squad Sessions times are as follows: -
Emerging – Monday & Wednesday, 8.00pm to 10.00pm.
Developing – Monday & Wednesday, 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
Raw – Thursday 6.00pm to 8.00pm.
The Raw Squad players are also required to do another two hour weekly coaching session. This ideally should be based at one of the Junior Clubs within the TBPC Consortium.
What is the process for new players?

RAW TALENT SQUAD
 New players can be nominated by:
 Performance Centre Head Coach
 Satellite Club Head Coach
 Performance Centre Assistant Coach
 Community Sports Coach
 BADMINTON England Development Officer
 Where possible a coach who has nominated a player should attend the first session of the trial period
 A coach who has a player to nominate should send the players details to the PC secretary before the first session
 A nominated player can attend for a four week trial period (normal weekly charge applies)
 At the end of the 4 week trial period a player will either:
 Receive a letter confirming they are being offered a place
 Or be given feedback on areas they need to develop before a place can be offered
 The coach who has nominated the player will also receive this information
 The committee will set dates for the following year, on a ten-week cycle, when players will be able to attend for the first week of their trial period. The dates will be posted on the web site.
DEVELOPING & EMERGING SQUADS
 New players can only be nominated by the PC Head Coach

OLDER PLAYERS AND YOUNG ADULTS
 Players will be invited to occasional one off training sessions
 Performance centre players will be in attendance
 PC Head Coach will decide if a player is to be invited for a four-week trail and to which squad

What is Teesside Badminton Performance Centre

What is the TBPC

The Performance Centre is run by a consortium made up of the following: -
BADMINTON England Premier Clubs
Thornaby Pavilion Badminton Club
Thornaby Pavilion Junior Badminton Club
Brierton Community Sports Centre Badminton Club (Hartlepool)
Westgate Badminton Club (Acorn Centre, Acklam)
Acorn Badminton Club (Juniors at Acorn Centre, Acklam)
Marske Badminton Club (Bydales School)
Marske Junior Badminton Club (Bydales School)
BADMINTON England Foundation Club
Ormesby Badminton Club (Highfield Road, Middlesbrough)
Teesside Badminton Development Association
Parents and Volunteers
Other Key Stakeholders are: -
Tees Active Limited - Thornaby Pavilion
School Sport Partnerships
Local Authorities
Yorkshire Badminton Association (YBA)
Tees Active Badminton League (TABL)
Tees Valley County Sport Partnership (TVS)
Teesside University (TU)
The Teesside Performance Centre is one of six Performance Centres based and funded in the Sport England Yorkshire region. Hence the connection to YBA.
However the Performance Centres are not restricted to county boundaries.
Therefore players from Durham and even Cumbria are welcome to become members.
Marske Badminton Club is the lead Club in the Consortium.
Peter Higman is the Head Coach.
The Teesside Badminton Performance Centre is based at Thornaby Pavilion.
For more information on Performance Centres go to www.badmintonengland.co.uk
Click on “Play Badminton” (top right) then “Club Future” (left centre).

Injuries and Refunds

What is the Policy for long term injuries and refunds

Refunds will be considered if a player is unable to attend squad sessions for 3 or more consecutive weeks due to injury.
As soon as a player suspects that they will be unable to attend a number of squad sessions due to an injury, they (or their parents) should contact Roger Cook, by email or phone, to explain the problem and likely length of absence.
Email: - roger.cook60@ntlworld.com Phone: - 01642 656227
On the player’s return to the squad sessions, the player will need to talk to the Head Coach about the injury. The discussion will cover: -
Was it a new or old injury?
Did the injury occur at one of the squad sessions?
Possible ways of alleviating the injury in the future.
Is a rehabilitation period required, where the player gradually builds up their intensity of training?

In addition the player/parent will discuss with Roger Cook (as Treasurer) the agreed number of sessions missed and then the amount to be refunded.
The method of how the refund will be paid will depend on type of payment made by the player.
If the monthly payment is by standing order, then the refund will be by cash or cheque.
If the monthly payment is by cheque/cash, then the refund will be by taking off from the money owed on the next payment.
Policy ratified at the Executive Meeting – 1st June 2009

Requirements of a PC Player

What are the Requirements for a PC Player with regard to tournaments

UNDERSTAND THAT WINNING IS A BI-PRODUCT OF PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENT
BADMINTON ENGLAND TOURNAMENTS
This note is being sent to parents/carers of players in the Raw Squad, who might not be aware of the Junior Tournament structure within BADMINTON England.
For detailed information go to the BADMINTON England website: -
www.badmintonengland.co.uk
Click on “Tournaments” (top centre), then click on “Juniors” (left middle).
As a member of the Teesside Performance Centre, each player will have signed up to the following commitments when completing the “Players Roles & Responsibilities” document when they joined.
 Designated number of competitive weekends per competitive quarter
 Compete at appropriate level on a regular basis
 Commit to singles
For players in the Raw Squad, this means entering the appropriate age group Junior County Restricted Tournament (Durham or Yorkshire), the „local‟ Junior Tournament held at Thornaby (October and March) and BADMINTON England Tournaments
For the BADMINTON England Tournaments we would expect players from the Raw Squad to enter the Tees Valley Bronze Tournament for their age group. These are held at Thornaby Pavilion.
We would also strongly recommend the players enter the other two „local‟ bronze tournaments for their age group - Northumberland and Yorkshire Tournaments.
In addition, for experience, players should also consider entering the Tees Valley Silver Tournament for their age group. These are also held at Thornaby Pavilion.
In addition for the U15 & U17 age group, there are Durham Silver Tournaments being played at Barnard Castle.
Players may enter other Tournaments outside the region, but this is not a requirement of the Teesside Performance Centre Raw Squad.
If you wish to discuss Junior Tournaments further please talk to Roger Cook
01642 656227 roger.cook60@ntlworld.com