Kings Badminton Club attracted a bumper turn-out when they welcomed Olympian Gail Emms to club night.
Club member Ben Thorn contacted Emms through Twitter, and the former world champion and Olympic silver medallist was more than happy to take up the invite to attend a session at The Knox Johnson Sports Centre in Berkhamsted.
“Being a fan, I follow Gail on Twitter and through a bit of messaging and Tweeting, I managed to arrange this,” said Ben. “Getting her here is great for the club because she is the most well-known face in badminton.
“I suppose this was spurred on by the Olympics, and we are trying to attract new players and members. We are aiming to get more of a competitive element at club nights and we are also looking for juniors to come down. All ages and abilities are welcome.”
Emms, who was part of the BBC commentary team for London 2012, said she enjoyed the session and is hoping to visit more clubs in the future.
“I want to help give back to the clubs and communities who help to promote badminton so well,” she said. “I will be doing more visits. They are really good fun and I get to play badminton!
“This sort of thing is for recognition of the hard work clubs do. To get more people involved in badminton is a whole other thing.”
Kings Badminton Club holds club nights on Wednesdays and Thursdays, in Berkhamsted and Tring. For information on the club, call Neil Walker 01442 358224 or search for Kings Badminton Club on Facebook.