John Culshaw Badminton Tournament 2012

The John Culshaw Badminton Tournament is being organised by Blackburn and District Badminton Association and Hyndburn Borough Council. The tournament will take place on Sunday 11th March 2012 at Hyndburn Sports Centre, Accrington from 10am until 4pm.

The tournament is team based with each team consisting of 2 ladies and 2 men. Matches will be played in a round robin format with a mixture of mens, ladies and mixed matches.

The deadline for entries is Sunday 26th February 2012. Click here to download the entry form.

Start of Club Tactical Training Sessions

Tactical training sessions open to all club members will be starting this Sunday, 29th January. They will take place at Horwich Leisure Centre from 6:30pm. If you have any questions about these sessions please get in contact with Ron.

Bolton Badminton League Presentation Evening 2012

The Bolton Badminton League's Presentation Evening for the 2011/12 season will be on Friday 20th April 2012. Once again it will be held at Horwich RMI Club on Chorley New Road. Tickets cost £10 and include a buffet supper.

Players should order tickets by contacting Carolyn Wood.

Club Tactical Training Sessions

The club are looking at running coaching sessions for club members and team players which will focus on level and mixed doubles  tactics, shot selection, rotation and positional sense. They may also touch on hitting technique but the main purpose is to increase awareness on court and hopefully achieve better results in our matches.

It is intended to run these sessions at Horwich Leisure Centre after the Sunday coaching session starting at 6.30pm . In order to gauge interest could you please contact Ron Welsh in order that we can start the sessions ASAP.

Premier League 4 Sport

As part of the Premier League 4 Sport project, Forrest has teamed up with Bolton Wanderers F.C to get more young people between the ages of 11 and 16 playing badminton in the local area. As part of this Forrest will be delivering badminton sessions at St Joseph's and Rivington and Blackrod High School. If anyone is interesting in helping run these sessions please get in touch with Ray Schofield. Funding is available for those interested to undertake the UKCC Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Badminton.

Whitefield Badminton League Handicap Tournament 2012

This year's handicap tournament being run by the Whitefield and District Badminton League will be taking place on Sunday 11th March 2012 at Woodhey High School. As usual the tournament will consider of the following events:

• Mens and Ladies Singles
• Mens and Ladies Doubles
• Mixed Doubles

The deadline for entries is Sunday 19th February 2012. Entry is £5 per player, per event. Entry forms can be found in your Whitefield Badminton League hand books. One form should be submitted by each player. Speak to your Whitefield Team Captain if you do not have a hand book / form.

Members Day at Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2012

BADMINTON England are offering members the chance to apply for free tickets for Members Day (Tuesday 6th March 2012) at the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2012. Tickets are limited to 2 per member and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

To apply for tickets email membership@badmintonengland.co.uk with the subject "RE: YAE Members Day Free Tickets" and provide the following information:

• Full Name
• BADMINTON England Membership Number
• Date of Birth
• Number of Tickets (1 or 2)
• Full address that tickets should be sent to

The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 5th February 2012. Tickets will then be distributed later in the month.

Tickets for all 6 days of the All England Championships are still available here. Members of BADMINTON England can use the promotion code "BEMAE12" to obtain a discount.

English National Badminton Championships 2012 - REMINDER

In just 3 weeks time the English National Badminton Championships will be taking place at Bolton Arena. The championships will take place 3rd - 5th February 2012 with the best players from across England competing to be crowned the National Champion. Tickets start from as little as £8 for Badminton England members. Tickets are available now so why not order yours now and watch some fantastic badminton thats available right on your door step!

Christmas Bowling - CANCELLED

Due to lack of interest we have had to cancel the Christmas Bowling social which was due to take place on Saturday. We may try to run it again in the new year.

Try Out Yonex Rackets

Maurice Robinson Sports will be running a Yonex promotion event on Saturday 17th December from 1-3pm at Bolton Arena. The event will give players a great chance to try all the different Yonex rackets, play games and have some fun.

Christmas Bowling Social

The bowling social last year was such a big hit that we have decided to run it again, this time just before Christmas. We will be heading to Hollywood Bowl, Middlebrook for 7pm on Saturday 10th December 2011. Afterwards we will be meeting at a pub called the Barnstormers across the road on Lostock Lane for supper (Hotpot £2), general fun and games.

As always all members and their families are welcome to attend. If you are interested in coming along please let Brenda know numbers ASAP by clicking here or ringing her on 01942 810971 or 07786135632 so that she can book lanes and order suppers.

Greater Manchester Junior Badminton League 2011/12 - Match Day 1 Results

On Sunday 20th November 2011 the first match day of the Greater Manchester Junior Badminton League 2011/12 season got underway. Results of the matches for both of our teams were as follows. Well done to all of our players.

Forrest Younger Team
Tom Ball, Tilly Jepoon, Matt Latham, Joe Spencer
Forrest 3 - 2 Bolton Lads & Girls Club
Forrest 0 - 5 Rochdale A
Forrest 5 - 0 Rochdale B

Forrest Older Team
Eddie Jordan, Ben Mather, Josh Fordham, Kyle Swindells, Surya Prasad
Forrest 5 - 0 Bryn B
Forrest 1 - 4 Bryn A
Forrest 4 - 1 Bury Topflight A

Greater Manchester Sports Awards

The Greater Manchester Sports Awards took place on Friday 11th November 2011 at The Point, Lancashire County Cricket Club. Katharine Merry, former world 400m number one and an Olympic bronze medallist at Sydney 2000 was guest of honour and presented the trophies. Katharine is now a mentor to junior athletes as well as working in radio and TV, and as a trackside presenter at major events.

Forrest Badminton Club were represented by Head Coach Ray Schofield and his wife Ann who both play for the club. Each nominee had already won their borough awards and were hoping to become Greater Manchester winner in their category. Unfortunately Forrest lost out this time in the Club of The Year category to Charlestown Netball Club from Salford .

Congratulations to Hazel Johnson (from Bolton Lads and Girls Club) who was successful in her category. Hazel won the Greater Manchester award for Disabled Sports Achiever of the Year!

X-TRM Badminton Equipment

X-TRM has just launched in the UK and Forrest have been able to secure discounted prices for our members. The full product range can be viewed online at www.x-trm.co.uk.

To order anything at our discounted rates please contact David Travis. David has a general selection of shoes, rackets, bags, shirts, socks and grips for members to view / try on / try out / purchase and will order in for you any items / sizes not currently stocked .

Level 1 Badminton Coaching Course

A course teaching the UKCC Level 1 Certificate in Coaching Badminton is being held in March 2012 in Liverpool. Places are still available. Those interested should take a look at the information and application form on Badminton England's website.

Funding may be available for those that apply for the course before January. For more information contact Vicki Maltby.