Sport
18 February, 2025
Horsham badminton season off to a strong start
Horsham’s badminton season kicked off this week at the Horsham College basketball auditorium, drawing a strong turnout of players eager to compete.
With an influx of new participants, the club hopes to carry this momentum into the upcoming winter competition, where the team format will officially begin.
“We’re really excited about the new season,” said Horsham Badminton Association secretary Caitlin Sawyer.
“We’ve had a lot of new players join, and we hope to take them through to the Winter competition.”
One of the key goals this year is to increase player participation, a target the club is already making progress on.
Additionally, discussions with Badminton Victoria are underway to introduce a junior program during the upcoming school terms.
Despite lacking formal promotional initiatives, badminton continues to grow in the community through word-of-mouth and the club’s Facebook page.
While some local schools include badminton in their PE programs, no structured development programs are in place yet.
So far, about 40 players have taken to the court each night across A-Grade, B-Grade, and junior categories.
The club hopes to maintain these numbers throughout the summer competition.
This season, matches will follow a doubles-only format, with each player competing in four games per night.
However, during the Club Championship tournament, which will held over two nights alongside the Winter Teams competition, the players can sign up for singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, choosing their partners.
Participation fees are $10 for adults, $8 for juniors, and $15 for families each week.
The summer competition runs in line with the school terms and will conclude on March 31, 2025, with trophies awarded to the top male and female aggregate players.
The Winter competition is scheduled to begin in Term 2.
With strong early numbers and plans for further expansion, the Horsham Badminton Association looks forward to an exciting and competitive season.
Games takes place every Monday from 7 to 9 pm at the Horsham College basketball auditorium.