Due to the COVID-19 virus, Badminton England have advised that the following events will be cancelled or postponed. Here is their statement:

As you will be aware, there is a significant amount of concern and uncertainty across the country right now as a consequence of the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

If you would like to be kept up to date with the latest information please continue to visit www.badmintonengland.co.uk/news where regular updates to our activity and advice will be placed.

Badminton England has been closely monitoring the situation for a number of weeks and we will continue to do so. It is changing fast and there are no right or wrong answers and no easy decisions.

Whilst the situation is clearly much bigger than badminton, and sport generally, the intention of this communication is to advise on local badminton and to tell you what we’re doing as an organisation. I hope you find it helpful.

Our position to date has been, and will remain, to follow the advice from the Government; ultimately, we want to help ensure that we all work together to play our part in minimising the risk of any spread of the virus.

We are monitoring Government advice in order to provide as specific guidance as possible regarding local badminton activity i.e. club badminton, local leagues etc.

As this is an evolving pandemic that is escalating very quickly, and Government are making daily statements at the moment, we suggest our clubs, leagues etc adopt Government advice and keep any social gatherings to an absolute minimum. We are all being told to only travel for essential trips and a game of badminton does not fall into this category.

The priority must be the health and wellbeing of all and, while we recognise that the advice may not be as specific as we would like at the moment, we will continue to work closely with grassroots badminton during this time. We are in regular communication with Government which is helping to understand the impact this situation is having within English badminton at all levels of the game. We will keep all advice under regular review and provide further updates as appropriate.

As a consequence of the latest Government guidance issued on 16 March 2020, particularly in relation to non-essential travel and contact, we have taken the following actions regarding national organised activity:

Cancelled Activity

•The All England Masters is cancelled•All senior and junior Badminton England sanctioned circuit tournaments are suspended with immediate effect.

Postponed Activity

•The Junior Inter County Tournament (ICT) is postponed. We are considering whether the tournament can be rescheduled later in the year and will advise in due course•The Senior County Championships (SCC) is postponed. We are considering how the season will be concluded and we will advise in due course•The Masters County Championships is postponed. We are considering how the season will be concluded and we will advise in due course•The National Schools Championships is postponed. We are considering whether the tournament can be rescheduled later in the year and will advise in due course•All coach education courses are suspended until further notice. We will continue to review the situation and will advise any changes to this position

Activity Under Consideration

•The All England Junior International Championships

Pathway Activity

•Junior England teams will be withdrawn from all competition until further notice. We will continue to review the situation and will advise any changes to this position•Junior pathway squads will be cancelled until further notice. We will continue to review the situation and will advise any changes to this position

Organisation Activity

•We are advising our boards, committees and staff to make use of video conferencing wherever possible. We are constantly reviewing this scenario and will provide updates if this changes. We will also advise these arrangements to those who are to take part

National Badminton Centre

•The National Badminton Centre will continue to operate business as usual but will remain under review. The only exception to this currently is that group exercise classes will cease with immediate effect until further notice

We will operate working at home, for an indefinite period, with immediate effect. Our staff are equipped to respond via telephone and email and an updated contact list can be found here.

We encourage everyone involved in badminton in England to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the risk of infection by following Public Health England and government guidance. Information on the current recommendations is available on the NHS.UK website and the Public Health England blog.

Anyone who has been advised to self-isolate as a result of developing symptoms and/or recent international travel to destinations specified by the Government, should not take part in any badminton activities for the duration of the self-isolation period. For further information see the GOV.UK website and the NHS.UK website.

For up-to-date information and the latest updates on how COVID-19 affects the badminton community, please visit our dedicated web page. Alternatively, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook where we'll share relevant updates. We are also constructing a set of helpful FAQ’s which will be included in the updates posted to our website.

These are unprecedented times and I recognise our actions may cause inconvenience. However, my first priority is the health and wellbeing of our staff, visitors, members and guests and the decisions taken are made accordingly.

Thank you for your understanding and stay safe.

Take care

Adrian Christy

Chief Executive, Badminton England