There are lots of ways YOU can join in at the Scottish Open

While some of the world’s best shuttlers will descend on the Emirates Arena for the Scottish Open this year, Badminton Scotland are making sure that it isn’t all about the pros.

A comprehensive programme of interactive events has been put in place for all ages and abilities in Glasgow, with a variety of coaching classes on offer in addition to a workshop.

And coaching and development manager Bill Hogg is hoping the tournament can provide an invaluable opportunity to spread badminton’s message to those who haven’t yet been exposed to the sport.

“That’s the whole idea behind it; trying to build that legacy,” he said.

“Rather than just having a big event, that people come along and play and hopefully keep playing – it’s not just a one-off thing.

“Badminton’s a sport that’s there for everyone, so we’re just trying to provide something slightly different for people that might not have been involved before and keep them in the sport.”

Sessions include a coaching class from former Scotland internationalists Rita Yuan Gao and Bruce Flockhart as well as a Hit Festival for beginners and a Big Hit Ability session for participants with disabilities.

Furthermore, there will be a free development workshop on Sunday to help clubs learn about how to increase participation at the grassroots level and a Coaching Conference on the Saturday to provide further development opportunities for Scotland’s coaches.

And Hogg is delighted that such a range of participants can be catered for.

“That’s something that we’ve been quite adamant about,” he continued.

“We’re positive that we do have a good link with Scottish disability sport – they help us run workshops for coaches, and we do have a para squad as well that travel across events to get rankings ahead of the Paralympics.

“It’s about the job afterwards that the regional development officers do, linking with clubs. We’ve got other initiatives as well that aren’t purely based at the arena.

“It’s going on throughout the year, trying to make clubs stronger and more accessible for people to get involved in the sport.

“It’s not just a one-off for us, but it is a great one to highlight all the activities we’re doing throughout the year as well.”

Information about all the different activities on offer as well as how to get involved can be found in the Scottish Open section of our website.