“This is brilliant news for badminton in both Harrogate and North Yorkshire,” said Michael Jackson the Chairman. “The award of Performance Centre status is a tremendous boost to the club and the area and we look forward to developing stars of the future who can challenge for medals on the world stage” The North Yorkshire Performance Centre Head Coach, Nitin Panesar (Ex England and Yorkshire County Player) commented “ We have formed very successful partnerships with a couple of Harrogate schools and the Army Apprentice College at Penny Pot Lane whereby we provide coaching sessions in return for court space. We are looking for more partners to help achieve our aim of providing a badminton centre for excellence in North Yorkshire. In the short time since the award the number of children being coached at the centre has increased enormously”

Sport England awarded BADMINTON England almost £2 million as part of a £3.5 million strategy to invest in clubs and coaches, via the Club Future programme. The funding will enable BADMINTON England to establish a network of 50 Performance Centres across the country, which Harrogate Racquets is proud to be one of the 50 .

The aim is to create a larger pool of talented players who can challenge for places on the World Class Start & Potential programmes and, ultimately, win Olympic medals. The centre will also provide new opportunities for club & fun players by creating a proper environment, structured progression paths for everybody. also continue to develop existing coaches and find new ones.

BADMINTON England Chief Executive Adrian Christy said of Club Future: “For me the challenge of the culture of the clubs is one of the most exciting. It’s where people start to play, where they continue a life-long experience, where they nurture talent, where coaches and volunteers are. And this is where we should be embedding our competition”.

Performance Centre status means a close working relationship between the club and BADMINTON England, to introduce new players to the game and nurture potential champions of the future. It will play a major part in the National Governing Body’s ambition to become the best Badminton nation in the World by 2016.

For further information please contact
Gavin Horrocks 07961 068771 or for coaching NYPC Head Coach Nitin Panesar 07866565930 or visit our website at www.harrogate.co.uk/racquets