Ahead of an Olympic and Paralympic Games, national governing bodies (NGB) prepare – and brace – themselves for the window of opportunity when members of the British public, inspired by an athlete or achievement, decide to take up sports which have largely been ignored by the media for much of the previous four years.
Following Team GB’s success in Rio, a number of sports will experience initial participation increases, which governing bodies will attempt to sustain to boost their respective talent pools, or to appear more attractive to public and commercial funders.
Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy acknowledges the window is “small”, but after Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge’s stunning bronze medal success, the opportunity is not insignificant.
Christy tells Sports Management that since the unexpected triumph, the number of court bookings in London alone has increased by 245 per cent, and there are plans to retain the majority of those reeled in by the elite success exposure.
Later on this year the NGB will launch a “huge” digital project, which includes creating personalised messages to appeal to potential badminton players based on their preferences and lifestyle.
Badminton England will also be “restructuring” to “get more impact on the front line”.
“We want more people on the ground,” says Christy, who has spent 10 years as the organisation’s CEO.
“They don’t necessarily have to be employed by us – it could be partnerships with local authorities or County Sports Partnerships (CSP). But critically, we need more people at front line facility level delivery rather than us being the deliverer of it. By being more creative and innovative we’re going to be in a much stronger position to influence participation growth.”
Rather than trying to be “all things to all people”, Christy says establishing a “core market” and creating the right conditions for the market to thrive was the most effective way to keep players in the game.
Focus on young players This year Badminton England lost 10 per cent of its Sport England funding as it failed to attract an agreed number of participants over the age of 26. Despite this, Christy reveals that engaging younger demographics – primary-aged children – will continue to be one of the body’s main ambitions, and is unapologetic about its ultra-focused new approach.
“The key lesson over the last Sport England cycle is to do more with fewer and invest where we think we can have the greatest impact,” explains Christy.
“Over the last two cycles, governing bodies have tried to be everything to everybody, but we now recognise that other organisations can manage and support some objectives better than we can.
“We are looking for investors in our strategy – some of those will be from the membership, some will be sponsors, one of those we hope will be Sport England. But it will be an investment in our strategy.”
Christy adds that Badminton England will be “working closely” with Sport England to understand its objectives. He says: “Where there is alignment then we will absolutely work very closely with them. Where there are objectives that don’t align we won’t be seeking investment for it because it takes us away from our core market and our strategy.”
While Sport England’s new funding method – which has moved away from the Whole Sport Plan towards outcome-based investment – may alter the value of grassroots grants Badminton England may receive, the governing body can be hopeful that money it gets from elite sport quango UK Sport in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will at least remain flat after an impressive Rio performance.
“The competition for money is extremely tough,” says Christy. “You had so many sports do so well and the well isn’t any deeper. Our presentation for Tokyo is about building on what we’ve done and making sure that we’re giving more than just two or three players the opportunity to medal.”
Improving facilities Part of the UK Sport and Sport England funding will likely go towards performance-enhancing technology for the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes.
Badminton England is currently in talks with landowners the Parks Trust about expanding and improving the facility, although at time of writing Christy details a “frustrating” stalemate between the parties and their ambitions for the land.
However, the CEO is keen to press ahead to transform what he describes as a “good sports hall” into a “world-class arena” that creates authentic conditions for athletes to train in. For example, Christy highlights the importance of acquiring the technology to create “artificial drift”, which replicates natural air movement experienced in a competitive environment. Christy also wants to move TV lighting higher up to mirror the conditions of competition venues.
“If you look at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester – those guys winning medals on a consistent basis are training in exactly the same environment they’re competing in and we don’t do that,” he explains. “We train in a good sports hall. We need to be training in an arena.”
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
Ahead of an Olympic and Paralympic Games, national governing bodies (NGB) prepare – and brace – themselves for the window of opportunity when members of the British public, inspired by an athlete or achievement, decide to take up sports which have largely been ignored by the media for much of the previous four years.
Following Team GB’s success in Rio, a number of sports will experience initial participation increases, which governing bodies will attempt to sustain to boost their respective talent pools, or to appear more attractive to public and commercial funders.
Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy acknowledges the window is “small”, but after Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge’s stunning bronze medal success, the opportunity is not insignificant.
Christy tells Sports Management that since the unexpected triumph, the number of court bookings in London alone has increased by 245 per cent, and there are plans to retain the majority of those reeled in by the elite success exposure.
Later on this year the NGB will launch a “huge” digital project, which includes creating personalised messages to appeal to potential badminton players based on their preferences and lifestyle.
Badminton England will also be “restructuring” to “get more impact on the front line”.
“We want more people on the ground,” says Christy, who has spent 10 years as the organisation’s CEO.
“They don’t necessarily have to be employed by us – it could be partnerships with local authorities or County Sports Partnerships (CSP). But critically, we need more people at front line facility level delivery rather than us being the deliverer of it. By being more creative and innovative we’re going to be in a much stronger position to influence participation growth.”
Rather than trying to be “all things to all people”, Christy says establishing a “core market” and creating the right conditions for the market to thrive was the most effective way to keep players in the game.
Focus on young players This year Badminton England lost 10 per cent of its Sport England funding as it failed to attract an agreed number of participants over the age of 26. Despite this, Christy reveals that engaging younger demographics – primary-aged children – will continue to be one of the body’s main ambitions, and is unapologetic about its ultra-focused new approach.
“The key lesson over the last Sport England cycle is to do more with fewer and invest where we think we can have the greatest impact,” explains Christy.
“Over the last two cycles, governing bodies have tried to be everything to everybody, but we now recognise that other organisations can manage and support some objectives better than we can.
“We are looking for investors in our strategy – some of those will be from the membership, some will be sponsors, one of those we hope will be Sport England. But it will be an investment in our strategy.”
Christy adds that Badminton England will be “working closely” with Sport England to understand its objectives. He says: “Where there is alignment then we will absolutely work very closely with them. Where there are objectives that don’t align we won’t be seeking investment for it because it takes us away from our core market and our strategy.”
While Sport England’s new funding method – which has moved away from the Whole Sport Plan towards outcome-based investment – may alter the value of grassroots grants Badminton England may receive, the governing body can be hopeful that money it gets from elite sport quango UK Sport in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will at least remain flat after an impressive Rio performance.
“The competition for money is extremely tough,” says Christy. “You had so many sports do so well and the well isn’t any deeper. Our presentation for Tokyo is about building on what we’ve done and making sure that we’re giving more than just two or three players the opportunity to medal.”
Improving facilities Part of the UK Sport and Sport England funding will likely go towards performance-enhancing technology for the National Badminton Centre in Milton Keynes.
Badminton England is currently in talks with landowners the Parks Trust about expanding and improving the facility, although at time of writing Christy details a “frustrating” stalemate between the parties and their ambitions for the land.
However, the CEO is keen to press ahead to transform what he describes as a “good sports hall” into a “world-class arena” that creates authentic conditions for athletes to train in. For example, Christy highlights the importance of acquiring the technology to create “artificial drift”, which replicates natural air movement experienced in a competitive environment. Christy also wants to move TV lighting higher up to mirror the conditions of competition venues.
“If you look at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester – those guys winning medals on a consistent basis are training in exactly the same environment they’re competing in and we don’t do that,” he explains. “We train in a good sports hall. We need to be training in an arena.”
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
QubicaAMF UK QubicaAMF is the largest and most
innovative bowling equipment provider with
600 employees worldwi [more...]
DJW David & Lynn Willrich started the Company
over thirty years ago, from the Audio Visual
Department [more...]
Clip 'n Climb Clip ‘n Climb currently offers facility owners and
investors more than 40 colourful and unique
Cha [more...]
IDEATTACK IDEATTACK is a full-service planning and
design company with headquarters in
Los Angeles. [more...]
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
