Major Badminton sports brand Carlton has taken another step foward to help the UK's best young badminton players by supporting the Richard Vaughan Badminton Academy (RVBA). Carlton take over from Head as the main supporters of the badminton academy for the next three years.

Founder and Head coach Richard Vaughan commented "The new deal with a major badminton brand like Carlton is a great step forward for the Academy, and everyone involved. Carlton have really progressed the past couple of years and I have found their rackets great in testing. This support will find its way down to the young players as well and benefit all involved. I was with carlton for the main highlights of my badminton career for the Sydney and Athens Olympics and it is great to be back with them once again. I would like to thank Head who extended my playing deal to help a number of the youngsters in the Academy and their support has been much appreciated."

Carlton has long understood the varying requirements of individual badminton players. Using this extensive knowledge and expertise, in 2009, Carlton introduced the Carlton Badminton System. Comprised of a number of key components, this systemic approach to badminton equipment manufacture delivers scientifically validated improvements to your play ensuring you are a game ahead of the opposition.

Top badminton players have trusted their badminton equipment to Carlton giving them the confidence to reach World No.1 status. Those players who have been lucky enough to use a Carlton badminton frame will understand speed is the cornerstone of Carlton’s research and development – a philosophy that has seen each badminton racket developed be as good as its predecessor.

When Carlton introduced the first modern day metal badminton racket (utilising grommets) a new era of modern badminton equipment design was born. Unique, distinctive and functional, the racket began to shape Carlton’s company heritage which has seen it become established globally as the No.1 Specialist Badminton Brand. A number of ground breaking innovative products including the World's first synthetic shuttlecock and the launch of the first truly one piece graphite racket ensured Carlton remained at the cutting edge of badminton equipment design. The iconic 3.7s was the World's No.1 racket gracing virtually every badminton court globally during the 1980s, a fitting tribute to a brand that has been manufacturing specialist badminton equipment for over 50 years.

Carlton has forged numerous long standing relationships with some of the most renowned players including Gillian Gilks, Nora Perry, Stephen Baddeley, and Morten Frost.