Starting a badminton club can feel overwhelming, but we are here to make it easier for you. Even though there is a bit of bureaucracy to go through and some effort required, starting a badminton club can be one of the most rewarding experiences for a badminton lover. How can you do it, though?
To start a badminton club, you will need to register the club with the relevant authorities in your country or town. The most common way is to register it as a non-profit association. However, there are several legal forms you can use which will impact how the club is managed.
In the next section, we will have a closer look at how to start a badminton club, depending on the country and also on how you want to manage it.
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How to start a badminton club – The in-depth answer
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, badminton clubs are usually formed as non-profit associations. However, there are also other options to consider and, in the end, it depends a lot on which country you live in.
How to start a badminton club in the US
Your club could be an unincorporated association, community amateur sports club, or registered charity. Most clubs in the United States are unincorporated. This means people having similar interests come together to form a club.
There are no specific laws that apply to an unincorporated club. And one of the many benefits of being unincorporated is flexibility. All you have to do here is to facilitate a location, time, and get members.
You’ll probably want to remain unincorporated until your club grows/expands, begin to make money, sponsor tournaments/competitions. That’s why you’ll see more organized clubs registered as corporations, partnerships, or limited liability corporations.
If your intention is to have your club registered as a corporation from the very beginning, then you’ll be registering your club as a nonprofit corporation. To do this, you’ll have to choose a number of founders (about three) to serve as the club’s directors. Then, you’ll have to choose a name that isn’t used by any other corporation in your state. You’ll have to come up with the club’s rules and regulations (by-laws).
You’ll then need to draft the articles of incorporation which will be signed by the club’s directors. Then the document will be sent to the secretary of state’s office. You’ll receive state sealed articles of the corporation if your application is successful. After that, you will want to file a tax exemption under tax code 501(c)(4) with the IRS. This prevents your club from having to pay taxes on membership dues it receives. You can find more information on the IRS website.
How to start a badminton club in the UK
If you are based in the UK, when opening a sports club you have the option to make it incorporated or not. An unincorporated club doesn’t have to be registered with the government and the club operates on the established rules and regulations. Your club’s regulations could be anything as long as it is lawful in your country. And if you want to register your club under the law, you’ll have to register your club at the Companies House under the Companies Act 2006.
Requirements for registration include application to register a company (form IN01) and the fee, memorandum of association, articles of association (unless you adopt model articles in their entirety), and additional information if your application includes a sensitive word or expression. [Gov.uk]. You’ll also have to choose a unique name for your club as you can’t use any name that’s already being registered.
A visit to your local council could prove helpful if you need any additional information.
How to start a badminton club in Australia
Australian clubs must be registered and licensed as not-for-profit, member-based organizations. And they must provide services to the people, in your case promotion of badminton. All profits made by the club must go back into the services that the club provides and must not be distributed to members.
You’ll have to go through the compliance for not-for-profit organizations to know the laws applicable to you so you can follow them. The laws usually differ from state to state but the following requirements are usually the same:
- Having a committee that manages the association
- Having a public officer
- Acting under all the rules of legislation
- Having a registered office in its state of incorporation
- Holding an annual general meeting once a year
- Lodging an annual statement every year
- Keeping proper accounting records
- Keeping minutes of all committee and general meetings
- Having registers of members and all committee members
- Having a common seal. [via ASIC]
You’ll also need to apply for income tax exemption to avoid paying taxes on dues received from members.
How to start a badminton club in India
There is no specific law in India guiding the establishment of a sporting club. It’s the nature of the structure of your club that will determine whether you need to register the sports club or not. After choosing a sport for your club in India, the next thing is to choose a location. The location must be one that is easily accessible to the public. Also, the location will have to be approved by the municipality of your area.
Clubs in India may be member-based or proprietary clubs. A member-based club is not profit-oriented while a proprietary club is profit-oriented. Also, all the members of a member-based club are shareholders. For proprietary clubs, an individual or firm holds the property. However, members are allowed to use the property after fulfilling certain terms, like paying a membership fee.
Sports clubs in India can be registered as a public company, one-person company, a private company, society, partnership, limited liability partnership, etc. which is governed by the Companies Act, 2013, and Partnership Act, 1932 as well as the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
The requirements for the registration of each model of business is slightly different. You’ll have to come up with the club’s bylaws as it’ll be needed during registration. For example, registering as a one-person club will require a Memorandum of Association (MoA), Proof of registered office, Articles of Association (AoA) as well as an Affidavit and consent of director, among others.
You’ll find the requirements for each business structure on YourStory.
How to start a badminton club in the Philippines
You can choose to register your sports club with the government or not depending on your business structure. If you decide to be incorporated, then you run your club with the rules and regulations you create. And if you want to be registered, you’ll have to do things right or you’ll end up with failed incorporation papers.
If you want to register a badminton club in the Philippines, you’ll have to register it as a non-profit commission. Then you’ll need five members of your club as incorporators. Most of your incorporators must reside in the Philippines. Then you have to get the full address of the incorporations, their contribution as well as their BIR Tax identification number (TIN).
Then, you have to verify the availability of your club’s name with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This will be completed within a day or two. You’ll also have to take care of some paperwork like by-laws, articles of incorporation, treasurer’s affidavit, list of members, and list of donors (certified by the club’s secretary and treasurer respectively), among other documents.
You’ll get a tax identification number (TIN) after successfully incorporating your club. Your TIN will have to be registered with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Recreational clubs in the Philippines are exempted from taxes on their income.
It’s important you secure a business permit with the local government of the club’s location. This is a straightforward process that usually involves the approval of your premises.
You can read more about the regulations on Taxacctgcenter.
How To Find Members For Your Club
Like I mentioned in the introduction, you have to do some research starting a badminton club and make sure people are interested in it. Okay, you’ve done that and you’ve created your club. But you won’t have any members if people don’t know your club exists. So what should you do?
1. Hold an open day
This works like magic. You need to open your club to the people and let them see what you have to offer. Spice things up with drinks and snack breaks and you’ll win the hearts of many before the end of the day.
Having an open day itself is not enough to find members for your club. This is because you’ll need people to attend the opening. Therefore, you’ll have to combine this with other ideas below.
2. Promote it in your community
One of the best ways of getting known is by promoting it in your community. This can take many forms, such as advertising in your local paper or registering with your townhall or signing up in local activity boards if there are any.
3. Promote your club in schools
If you intend to teach children, a very effective way of promoting your club is to go to the local schools to promote the sport. You can talk with the director and the PE teacher and then you can participate in classes with children from different ages where you explain them what badminton is and how to play. This is an extremly powerful technique.
4. Have a presence online
Is there anything we don’t Google these days? Set up a website for your club and state your mission, vision, and objectives. Update your website with sports news including that about your club. The benefit of having a website is to make you discoverable to anyone searching for a badminton club in your area.
If having a website sounds too complicated or too much work, just open a Facebook or Instagram account and promote it from there.
Equipment To Start A Badminton Club
If you want to start a badminton club, you need to be sure you have the equipment required to play. Sometimes, some of the equipment may be available in the sports hall you are using to play.
If you are looking for sports halls, it might be a good idea to check if they have the equipment or would be willing to buy some. Below is a list of the most important equipment needed to play badminton.
If you want more information about badminton equipment, you can check our post “What Equipment is Needed to Play Badminton?“, where we go in detail about all the mandatory and recommended equipment for badminton players.
Badminton Racket
Even though most players will have their own badminton rackets, it is a good idea to buy some beginner’s rackets for your club so you can lend them to people that come to try the sport out. This could help you get some more people for your club since you are making it easier for them to try the sport.
Shuttle
Sometimes referred to as a birdie, the shuttle is an item unique to badminton. This item is usually provided by the club, so be sure to have them available. This will be your highest cost together with the court rental. If you are curious about costs, you can check our posts “How much does it cost to play badminton?“, where we looked at the price for different locations.
If you are just starting, I recommend that you buy plastic shuttles because they are more durable and cheaper. If the level in your club is high, then feathered shuttles are a must. Have a look at our badminton shuttle post for all the information about the different types of shuttle there are and which is better for which level and situation.
Badminton Net And Poles
The last two pieces of equipment that you definitely need are net and poles. This can sometimes be provided by the sports hall but, if not, you should purchase it. Make sure the sports hall allows you to store them there while you are not playing, because bringing the poles around will be very troublesome.
I recommend that you buy them from a reputable brand, otherwise you might end up having problems to properly mount the court so that the net and the poles are the right locations and at the right height.
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Final words
And with this final recommendation, we have arrived at the end of this post. If you enjoyed this content, be sure to check “Badminton Drills – 19 Badminton Drills You Need to Learn” & “Badminton Warming Up Exercises – 20 Exercises to Get Ready for Play“.
If you have any further questions regarding this post, please let me know in the comments below.
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