Story so far

The badminton club was started by employees of Blackstones & co., an engineering company based in Stamford. There are records that indicate the club was in existence in the 1960's where shuttles cost more than the court hire and bills were paid in pounds, shillings and pence.

Sometime prior to 1988 the club relocated to Casterton Community College and took the name Casterton Badminton Club. This was a boom time for badminton where match ability players were easy to come by and the club supported several teams in the Ladies, Mens and Mixed leagues. It also had a minimum playing ability requirement for new players wanting to join in the club nights.

By the mid 1990's badminton clubs were no longer able to rely on a constant feed of new players and the membership suffered just at a time when the college doubled the hall hire fees. This led the club to its next incarnation and in 1997 changed its name to Queen Eleanor Badminton Club as it relocated to Queen Eleanor School.

The club survived but the bank balance needed a boost from a car boot sale in 1998 which raised £58 and in April 2000 the club called an extraordinary meeting as it had crept into £18 of debt. This was not an unusual problem for badminton clubs at this time and the leagues shrank as clubs failed. Queen Eleanor BC responded by opening the doors to anyone that wanted to play on club nights, regardless of their playing ability. These additional members enabled the club to keep going.

In 2003 the club entered a Mens B team into the Rutland and Stamford League but it had to bow out the following season as it didn't have enough members to support it.

It was around this time that the club sadly lost its long standing and much loved chairman, Nick Mayes. Existing records show that Nick had been chairman from as far back as the 1980's

The club played on and tried to continue Nick's legacy.

In 2008 the club published its first website and the Facebook page was created in 2009. This helped more people to find the club but the turnover of members continued to challenge the viability of the club.

In the depths of Winter in the 2011-12 season some club officers stopped at a pub on their way home from a match and discussed the unsustainable membership of the club as there had been no more than 9 full adult members for 3 seasons in a row and the bank balance was plummeting. Three ideas were put on the table: 1. Shut the club down 2. Merge with another club 3. Make one last effort to keep the club going.

Option #3 got the vote.

The club changed its name to Stamford Badminton Club and refreshed it's image. One member, Janice, completed the Level 1 Badminton Coaching course which she paid for herself. The club got its policies and procedures up to date and trained officers in First Aid and Safeguarding. This all meant that the club could open the doors to junior members and coaching sessions began in the 2012-13 season.

In the same season the club applied, and was accepted, for a grant from Badminton England. The club affiliated to Badminton England and struck up a relationship with South Kesteven Community Badminton Network.

West Street Garage sponsored the junior's T-shirts bearing the new club logo.

Two more coaches were trained and in the 2013-14 season Thursday club nights started up after a trial on the Stamford College courts as a waiting list was in operation after 30 players were showing up to play on a Tuesday night.

In 2014 the club voted to cease affiliation with Badminton England on the basis that it was a high price with minimal advantage.

In the 2015-16 season the club entered a mixed team into the Hunts and Peterborough League and a Mens B team into the Rutland and Stamford League. The following season a mens team entered the H&P League. At this point the club was fielding 3 mens teams and 2 mixed teams across two leagues, the mixed team also entered a handicap tournament.

At the end of the 2016-17 season the club decided it did not have enough match playing ladies to play in both leagues and they didn't enter a team in the Hunts and Peterborough League the following season.

Janice retired from coaching at the end of the 2016-17 season after coaching juniors for 5 years. During this time she had seen some of the young players progress from the Tuesday coaching sessions to Thursday club nights and finally into the teams.

Early in the 2019-20 season Tim trained as a coach as the club offered Tuesday junior coaching sessions once again.

The 2020-21 season was cut short by one month when Covid-19 restrictions meant the club had to shutdown. We were able to play with some restrictions in September 2020 but this only lasted nine nights before we were locked down again.

We returned to court in spring 2021 and played all of the way through the summer for the first time. The pandemic meant that some clubs never reopened and the leagues shrank and struggled to get organised. Meanwhile our club had a long waiting list for Tuesdays whilst Thursday nights were busier and more competitive than ever.