The Bendigo Eaglehawk Badminton Association dominated the recent Badminton Victoria community awards.
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The association won the prestigious Club of the Year title and had member Mitch Graham crowned the Volunteer of the Year.
Sam Graham was a finalist for the Most Valuable Junior Male Player award, Kiara Richardson was a finalist for the Most Valuable Junior Female PLayer award and Gloria Baldwinson was a finalist for the MOst Valuable Female Senior Player award.
"It's the inaugural community club of the year award, so to receive the first one is pretty special,'' BEBA president Sam Daykin said.
"The fact Badminton Victoria thinks highly of us for the hard work we're doing to promote badminton is nice.
"We're really sticking our head above the water. Our social media presence is massive and I see other clubs around Australia are now following our lead.
"To have the club and members nominated in five of the seven categories at the awards was a great effort."
The BEBA's hard work off the court is paying off on the court.
After a difficult period through the COVID-19 pandemic, the club has increased its participation numbers.
"We're exceeding our numbers in juniors and the numbers in our socials and pennant players are gradually increasing as well,'' BEBA secretary Shaye Threlfall said.
"We have multiple options for people who would like to try badminton. We have a social night on Tuesday and family days on Saturday. Juniors have training on Wednesday night and play pennant on Friday night and we also run senior pennant on Thursday night and Tuesday morning.
"The Saturday family sessions have been popular. Parents can bring their kids for a hit and the kids play for free.
"Badminton is not an expensive sport, it's one of the cheapest in town,'' Daykin added.
"Our membership is only $60, you don't find that price for a sport membership anywhere."
The BEBA stadium is one of the premier venues for badminton in regional Australia and the club already has hosting rights for several state, national and international events in 2024.
"The Australian national championships, for individuals and teams, that's in the middle of May next year and we have the Bendigo International in October,'' Daykin said.
"We'll host state titles in April and our annual veterans tournament in August brings nearly 400 people to town.
"We're excited about the future."
