MORE than 112 children from Weymouth, Portland, Dorchester, Bridport and Lyme Regis took part in a badminton talent day at Redlands Community Sports Hub.

Children received free coaching sessions with top Olympic players Tracey Hallam and Helen Troke.

The coaches were taken aback by the promise and natural ability shown by the children, eager to join the new Weymouth Badminton Academy.

All the competitors will be contacted within the next seven days and the academy aims to open on May 12.

The talent day aimed to give children more experience of badminton and assess their standard and potential.

The academy will be run by Troke at Redlands and will offer fast-track training for the most talented youngsters.

Troke has already achieved notable success at her Bournemouth Academy, most recently with Keira Lindsay who is the new England Under-11 national champion.

Hallam said: “I was very happy to join Helen and the Redlands team on Sunday.

“It was a great day and we saw lots of very enthusiastic children, some of whom definitely have that natural ability we need for an elite squad.

“I hope all the children who came along continue playing and enjoying badminton.

“All children aged seven upwards, including those who came on the day and any others interested in playing badminton will be able to play at Redlands on Tuesday or Thursday.”

The Weymouth Academy will work alongside Shuttlebusters Badminton Club, which will continue to be coached by Liz Osborne.

Caroline Smith, centre development manager at Redlands said: “We’re very excited about the future of badminton at Redlands. We're looking forward to seeing some great local talent emerging through the Academy.

“Some of these youngsters will go on to become coaches themselves which will also benefit community sport here.”

For more information about the Weymouth Academy and badminton at Redlands Community Sports Hub, contact Caroline Smith on 813113.