History of CENTRAL LEICESTER BADMINTON CLUB

Central Leicester Badminton Club was formed in 2006 by amalgamation of Leicester's two oldest clubs:

• Roundhill
• St Luke's.

Roundhill Badminton Club was formed around 1964. It's early history is a little sketchy but certainly by the mid 70's the club was quite well established in the Leicestershire leagues.

In the late 70's and early 80's the first mens team hovered around Division 2 and 3. Then in 1984 the decision was made to switch to using only feather shuttles for all home matches and club nights. This was a drastic financial step at the time as very few clubs in Leicestershire played with feather shuttles. It proved a very good step as the club went from strength to strength with the mens 1st yo-yoing between Division 1 and 2 throughout the 90's and also attracting a large amount of lady members with mixed teams and ladies teams winning many division titles.

At its peak Roundhill had 3 Mens, 4 Mixed, 2 Ladies and 4 New Hall teams. However as we entered the millennium, members started to drift away and even with a strong core of dedicated members and ladies Division 1 title it soon became clear the only way forward was amalgamation. The obvious choice was St Luke's who had always had close links and friendly rivalry with Roundhill. The two have now merged very successfully into Central Leicester Badminton Club, long may it continue.

In the early 1970’s a small group of enthusiasts formed a badminton club at St Luke’s Church Stocking Farm, Leicester. Soon after a mens and a mixed team were entered into the local league. In those days many clubs, including St Luke's, operated on a single court. Providing refreshments was as much a part of an evening’s entertainment as the badminton itself. It was not unusual to be playing into the early hours of the next day.

By the late 1970s the club had increased its membership and moved to a two court location at Fosse Road School using Soar Valley School for most matches. During this time several club members were attending the excellent night school classes run by the late Frank Parker. This proved to be a major factor in the subsequent success of the club.

Further progression followed in the 1980s with the club attracting more experienced players and a move to a three court facility at Mundella School. This was accompanied by a significant rise up the local leagues. By the end of the decade teams were playing in Division 2 on a regular basis.

The final push to establish St Luke's as a major force in Leicestershire badminton came in 1990 with the long-awaited opportunity to play at Babington Community College in Beaumont Leys. For the first time the club had four courts at its disposal and a membership exceeding 30. With nine league teams and well attended club nights, the amount of actual badminton played increased dramatically.

As we entered the new century, St Luke's, like many other clubs, began to notice a steady decline in numbers as some of the older members called it a day and were not replaced by younger ones. The very few junior members playing were the children of club members. This decline in numbers was more evident with Lady members. Fortunately the club maintained the nucleus of long serving members and managed to soldier on.

By 2005 it became clear that an amalgamation was the only way forward and as such discussions took place with our local rivals, Roundhill, who were in a similar position. The following year a merger was agreed and Central Leicester Badminton Club was born.