Badminton Club News Release

New Badminton club launched for the Deaf Community

As part of the Zebra Access' Reaching Communities project, with the support of the Big Lottery Fund, a Badminton Clubhas been launched in order to further the development of a 'Deaf Hub'!

The Badminton Club was instigated by members of the Deaf Community, prompting Community Development Officer, Sean Noone and Community Matters Deaf Employment Officer, Marian White to get involved, as they recognised the need for a sports club that is accessible for the Deaf community. The club is open to people of all ages and will take place weekly at the Bob Jones Community Hub in Wolverhampton. The club will be a fantastic way for people to socialise and become more physically fit. Badminton is considered to be the fastest racket sport on Earth and has been shown to boost self-esteem, as the hard work and energy needed for the sport provide confidence and allow goals to be set and met each week.

"Badminton offers an opportunity to all Deaf people to exercise and socialise, thus improving their fitness and mental wellbeing by interacting with other people without the communication barriers that they face daily." - Chris Beech, Project Development and Training Officer.

The 'Deaf Hub' was created by Zebra Access' Project Development and Training Officer Chris Beech, who plans on addressing the main needs of Deaf people in Wolverhampton and its surrounding areas. Over the next 5 years, Community Development Officer Sean Noone and Advocacy Officer Trent Szilva-Beasley will target issues involving the Deaf community and look at ways in which Deaf culture can be supported and be made more accessible for a wider range of people.

"Zebra Access conducted a thorough survey amongst the Deaf community to find out what barriers and issues they were facing on a daily basis in the absence of services and provisions that were victims of austerity measures made by various organisations. This prompted an application to the Big Lottery Reaching Communities programme to develop this project. This proved to be a robust and difficult process. It has been worthwhile, however, since we have now been awarded funding for the next 5 years." - Chris Beech.

Over the next 5 years, Zebra Access will also work on making more services available for the Deaf community; this Badminton Club will start the movement towards equality for the both hearing and Deaf communities.

For more information about the Badminton Club: www.zebra-access.com/news-107 and the Deaf Hub: www.zebra-access.com/deaf-hub

For more information please contact Project Development and Training Officer Chris Beech: chris@zebra-access.com