On Wednesday night Ebbisham Badminton Club will be presented with the highest award possible for a sports club. They have achieved Clubmark status and can now be designated a BADMINTON England Premier Club.

This means that the club is extremely well organised, offers a full programme of activity for children from beginners to elite level players and achieves very high standards of coaching and safety. The club sessions are run by fully qualified and accredited coaches.

Ebbisham Badminton Club has been in existence for 72 years and is part of the Ebbisham Sports Club which offers badminton, tennis and squash at the same venue, Pound Lane, Epsom. The clubs offers the possibility of play to all standards from beginner to elite level, for junior and adult players there are currently 374 (including 17 Students) and 168 Junior members in total. They run a large number of teams in the Surrey and Sutton Leagues so the opportunities for competitive play are very wide. As the adult club is on the same site the transition from junior club to senior club is facilitated.

The achievement of the award is down to the dedication of Kevin Moore, who is heavily involved with the junior badminton section, and has taken on the task of amassing the evidence that the club is operating at the highest level. His team of coaches are currently forging links with local schools to ensure that any child who has an interest in badminton can access coaching in after school clubs or holiday sessions. Carol Bilton, Badminton Development Officer, who has been assisting the club to achieve the award, said that this was the highest accolade possible for a sports club offering activity for children and was the goal for all sports clubs in the country.

Kevin Moore