Sunday 9th November
Dear FBC members,
Firstly a huge welcome to our new members. We are so pleased you have joined the club and hope you get plenty of enjoyment from playing and from the friendly atmosphere the club has.
I can't believe it's November already, but how nice that the sports hall hasn't been freezing cold yet. Advance notice to newcomers, it can be pretty nippy in there in the winter until you have warmed up so come dressed with plenty of layers once the winter hits us and warm up well to avoid injuries!
A few things that we just want to draw your attention to please:
Committee - At the beginning of January there will be a slightly "revised" committee.
I have (reluctantly and regrettably) decided to step down from Chair of the FBC committee. As many of you know, I have been unable to play for more than a year now due to various medical reasons and I, sadly, can't see myself playing in the foreseeable future. After 8 years it's time for someone else to take my place on the committee.
Although my 8 years is nothing in comparison to Deric's almost 30 years representing the club. I know no one believes that could be, considering how young he looks, but it's true!
Deric has taken the decision to stand down from the committee too, although has very kindly agreed to continue overseeing the upkeep of the website. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to support the club, Deric. It really is appreciated.
In due course we will confirm all committee members - and if anyone would like to join the committee, in order to help with the smooth running of the club, please let me know.
Safeguarding
Everyone's safety is the priority of the club. As per the Badminton England regulations, it states we must have a safeguarding policy in place. Please visit our website for full details.
I would like to remind everyone that we really enjoy having under 18's as part of the club, and in order to protect them and all club members, there are policies in place.
Any under 18 year old MUST be accompanied to club nights by an adult. If that adult is not a parent we will ask for written consent from a parent, stating who will be the responsible adult for the child on the night and for that responsible adult to sign a form to confirm and accept this.
On a lighter note - Christmas Competition Monday 1st December 2025
Please see the attached / below poster about the annual Christmas Tournament we run. It's always a fun competition, played in teams so please all come and join in - more the merrier.
Christmas outfits / jumpers/ hats / decorations are thoroughly encouraged and there will be food and drink and prizes - it's not taken too seriously.
And there is no club fee on this evening.
Please email John Allen to confirm you will be joining the fun evening - an idea of members coming is needed to work out the team numbers.
Please note that this will be the LAST club session before the New Year.
As is usual at the Christmas tournament, we will also be giving a overview of club financial accounts for full transparency and updating you on any new information (I'm not calling it an AGM !!).
If you are unable to make 1st December and would like to see the financial accounts please let me know as they can be emailed to you.
2026
We anticipate starting back on Monday 5th January 2026 but just have to have confirmation of this from the school - so this will be confirmed in due course.
I would just like to take this opportunity to say a huge special thank you to Jeff, Geoff and Karen, who, along with the committee members have kindly volunteered this year, to cover the opening, setting up, registering and closing of the sports hall. Your help is really appreciated.
And to the dedicated committee members (John A, Jon F, Deric, Emma & Steve) who put in time and effort behind the scenes to ensure the club runs as smoothy and effortlessly as possible, for everyone. Thank you each of you. I'll miss the Mason Arms meetings 🙂
In the meantime I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Monday 1st December.
Kind wishes to you all.
Jo
Monday 16 September
Dear FBC member,
I hope all had a great summer.
It's that time of year that memberships need to be renewed and I hope you are keen to keep supporting the club.
We are pleased to be able to maintain the annual membership fee of £50 for adults and £30 for under 19 year olds.
Please pay by bacs, details as below:
Fairford Badminton Club
Sort code 30-92-06
Account 01083714
Payments due by Tuesday 23rd September please.
Existing members do not need to recomplete the form on the website unless contact details have changed.
New members will need to complete the registration form on our website please.
If you do not plan to rejoin, we will be sorry.
I would be very grateful if you could just drop me an email to advise me of this, as we have a number of potential new members on the wait list wishing to join.
On another note, and to keep you updated, the school have introduced a new "booking system" for the hall. It's got some teething problems which we are waiting to be sorted out but hope this will be done relatively quickly, and sincerely hope there will be no disruption to the the usual club night. We are also hoping that it won't be necessary to change how the club is run. We will keep you posted when we have a clearer picture.
We are also waiting to know when the hall will be used for exams later in the year, and once we have this information we will be able to confirm when our annual Christmas tournament will be.
In the meantime thank you all for the support you show the club.
Looking forward to seeing you on court soon!
All thanks and best wishes,
Jo
Emma, John Jon, Deric and Steve
Fairford Badminton Club Committee
Monday 27 January 2025
Just a late reminder that there will be no Club Nights for the next 2 weeks, ie 27th January and 3rd February due to exams taking place in the Sport's Hall. We will be back on Monday 10th February.
We look forward to seeing you then.
Could I also just remind everyone of the process of getting onto court on club nights.
In the interest of fairness for all, please do not go onto court to warm up / play prior to paying your club fee and putting your peg on the board and being instructed to go to a specific court by the relevant volunteer on duty that night.
Now that the cricketers are in the hall before us we do not have the chance to put up courts before you arrival and so we will be asking for your help for this. It is unfair for a few people to put up all courts and then wait for 20 minutes before playing due to everyone else piling on!
NEW SETTING UP PROCEDURE
From 10th February you will be asked to go into the hall to put up the court that you will be playing on, and then start play. When the next four club members arrive, the same process will take place for the next court and so on, starting with the court furthest from the equipment cupboard.
I hope you understand that we have to have some sort of order of play with the number of members and we do want everyone to get as much play as possible by being organised with the courts and them turning over as smoothly as possible. Thank you for your cooperation in this.
All thanks and best wishes,
Jo and the FBC committee, John, Deric, Emma, Steve and Jon
Sunday 7 January 2024
Dear FBC member,
Happy New Year! Hoping everyone is well and looking forward to a happy and healthy 2024.
Just a quick reminder that club nights start again, Monday 8th January, and we are very much looking forward to seeing you.
Following on from the email where there was a little plea for members to help on the committee, I am sorry to say we have had NO volunteers 🙁
So we are asking again, is there anyone who would be prepared to help open/close the hall for us on a rota basis, please? It would be so appreciated for anyone to help out with this little job and would make a big difference to the current committee members. Please email or speak to any of the committee members if you are able to help out.
Also just a bit of forward warning of the hall closure for exams again - 19th Feb - 1st March inclusive.
This means we won't be able to play on Monday 19th and 26th February 2024, but will be back on court on Monday 4th March.
Wishing everyone the very best for 2024, and huge thanks for your continued support of the club.
Kind wishes,
Jo, Emma, Deric, John and Steve
FBC committee
Wednesday 12 April 2023
Dear FBC
I hope all is well and you enjoyed the long weekend. Possibly too much chocolate??? 🙂 I certainly did!
Just time to confirm the plans for club nights for the next few months.
Monday 17th April - as usual, Farmors sports centre, Fairford
Monday 24th April - as usual, Farmors sports centre, Fairford
Monday 1st May & Monday 8th May - no play - Bank holidays
Due to the majority of members agreeing that between the option of not playing over those 8 weeks or having to change to a Tuesday night at another venue, we have arranged for 3 courts at Highworth starting:
Tuesday 16th May through until Tuesday 4th July - 8-10PM
Highworth recreation Centre, The Elms, Highworth, Wiltshire SN6 7DD
Note the Tuesday!!!!
In order for this to be viable we will need a minimum of 12 members to play each week and have decided to run this for a month or so to see what the turnout is like. Of course, as ever, we will keep you updated if not enough members end up playing.
Play will be free, so still no charges.
The committee would like to thank everyone again for their support in keeping the club going and we all look forward to seeing you over the next few weeks in Fairford and then as the above dates, in our temporary venue.
Kind wishes,
Jo & the FBC Committee
Monday 2 January 2023
Dear Fairford Badminton Members,
A very happy New Year to you all!
My many apologies for not getting this email out before Christmas, which as my intention! I do hope Christmas was fun for all.
I just wanted to update you for January regarding club nights and the social.
Due to the school using the hall for exams we are unable to resume club nights until Monday 16th January, 2023 I am afraid.
Please bring layers of clothes as for those who have not played in the hall through the winter, it tends to be colder in the hall than outside.
The roof of the hall is also in need of repair, so when is rains heavily the roof leaks and the floor does get puddles of water which we do out best to clear up, but you do need to be aware of in order for safe play. If at any time we feel it is too wet and therefore unsafe to play, we may have to take the decision to cancel play.
We also intend to still have our social "skittles" night at The Plough on Fairford on 31st January 2023. We have done this before and it's always been a successful and fun night, so everyone is invited. However the pub no longer do food so we hope to do a fish and chip supper, as we can bring in food from the local chippy. A little closer to the time we will need to ask for commitment of attendance and food orders so we can be prepared, but in the meantime, pop the date in your diary! Dietary requirements can be catered for and there will be no charge to the members for the food. We may be able to stretch for a drink for everyone too!
Please remember that January club nights are still free for members, so its a cheap way of burning off those Christmas mince pies.
We have been advised that the cost of the courts will be increasing in 2023, as are the costs of the shuttles. We will do all we can to keep the costs to a minimum for all our members and by the end of January will have a clear picture where the finances are and hope to keep club night fees for February onwards at £5 per session, but will reconfirm due course.
I would you just like to thank you all for your loyal support through 2022. I feel we have such a friendly and inclusive club that makes it a pleasure to be part of, and I very much look forward to seeing you all on court as much as possible in 2023.
I'd also like to take the opportunity to sending my very many thanks and sincere appreciation to the rest of the committee; Deric, Rod, John, Emma, Steve and Lou for all the hard work, time and dedication they put in behind the scenes, which enable the club to run. Thank you so much - your efforts really are appreciated.
Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2023, full of lots of new adventures,
Kindest of wishes,
Jo
and the FBC Committee
