(English word, from badminton house)
Sport practiced on a court, and which consists of returning, within the limits of this court, a shuttlecock over a net using rackets.
badminton history
Although the game of shuttlecock has been practiced for centuries in China and Japan, and at least since the 17Y yes in Europe, it was, as in tennis and so many other sports, the British who, in the xixY s., promulgated the rules of this sport. Set poona in India, this game was imported to Britain by officers of the Indian Army; these, gathered in 1873 for a banquet at the residence of the Duke of Beaufort, in Badminton House -hence the name that this game would receive from then on-, and not having an adequate steering wheel that day, used a champagne cork in which they had arranged some feathers.
In 1878, the Badminton Club was founded in New York, which is the oldest badminton club. The development of the game was rapid and already in 1893 the Badminton Association was created in Great Britain. The Bath club codified this game of shuttlecocks in 1887. The Badminton Association, founded in 1895, organized the first international tournament at Westminster in 1899. England and Ireland won this tournament very often, but the Scandinavian countries and Indonesia also won it later. Today’s main competitions are: the annual Westminster International Tournament; the Thomas Cup, founded in 1949 and played in Singapore every three years; the international championships of France, created in 1909.
This sport is governed by an international federation, the International Badminton Federation (IBF), created in 1934. The first world championships took place in 1977.
The official rules of badminton, adopted by the IBF in 1998, are fully applied in France, where the development and practice of the sport and the game of shuttlecock are led by the French Badminton Federation, founded in 1978.
the badminton court
The badminton court is a rectangle 13.40 m long by 5.20 m wide (singles) and 6.10 m (doubles). These dimensions include two aisles, each 0.45m wide and running the full length of the court. The patio is divided in two by a net stretched on the ground. This, 760 mm high, must be made of dark rope, with a square mesh size between 15 mm and 20 mm. Its length, depending on whether it is played in singles or doubles, can vary between 6.1 m and 7.31 m, and the height above the ground of its upper edge, bordered with a white band, must be 1.524 m in the center and 1 .55m at the posts
Badminton is played indoors or in places completely sheltered from the wind, because the slightest breath of air is enough to move the shuttlecock. It is possible to use an indoor tennis court on which four badminton courts can be placed. The floor must be hard, parquet or cement.
badminton racket
The thin and flexible rackets are much lighter and narrower than tennis rackets. Its total length must not exceed 680 mm and its width 230 mm. Its weight does not exceed 155 g; its shaft is thin and flexible, with a head (threaded part) that measures 280mm long by 220mm wide.
badminton shuttlecock
For competitions, the badminton shuttlecock is made up of 16 feathers of the same length (between 62 and 70 mm); these, fixed in a cork base of 25 mm to 28 mm in diameter, with a rounded end, form a circle with a diameter of between 58 and 68 mm. It weighs in total between 4.74 and 5.50 g. A badminton shuttlecock must be executed carefully. The feathers from which it is made come exclusively from the wings of white geese; the relatively high cost of this shuttlecock is explained by the small number of usable feathers. Furthermore, such a shuttlecock is fragile, barely lasting more than one game, when good players are present.
the game of badminton
Like tennis, badminton is played in singles or doubles.
We serve diagonally, from the service half court to the opponent’s service half court. In double rooms, the service area is extended by the corridor. Of course, in the game the steering wheel should never touch the ground, we only play on the go.
The shuttle must be hit from the bottom up, and at the moment of impact the racket must be below the level of the server’s belt. The racket head should be lower than the player’s hand. The game is much more attractive in doubles than in singles.
Points
Only the serving side wins points. The server passes the service to the opponent as soon as he has committed a fault; if he commits a new foul, the new server earns a point. It is a fault if the service is not correct, if in play, the shuttle falls out of bounds, passes through or under the net, fails to cross the net or touches any other object or person outside the bounds of the court. It is also a foul when the shuttlecock is hit twice in a row by the same player or is hit successively by a player and his partner. When in play, the shuttle must be hit on the side of the net where the player hitting the shuttle is located. The game is played in three sets of 15 points for men (in doubles and singles), in two or three sets of 11 points (in singles) for women. If the server or his partner commits a fault, the opponent takes the service but does not score any points.
Every time the serve changes sides, we always start serving again on the right side. The winner of each set retains serve at the start of the next set.
If the players are equal, at 9 o’clock everywhere for ladies, 13 o’clock everywhere for men and doubles, the side that came first in scoring may ask for an extension of 5 points. With 10 everywhere for the ladies and 14 everywhere for the men, the overtime is 3 points.
Faults
The most common fouls are: the shuttlecock sent out of bounds; the serve in which the server hits the shuttlecock above waist level; hit the shuttlecock before it has passed the net; hitting the net or its supports by a player or his racket; obstruction of an opponent.
badminton practice
It is still in Great Britain where this sport is most practiced. Badminton is also widely played in the Nordic countries: Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. The game is growing in the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Germany, and the Philippines, but the biggest champions today are in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia. . The biggest badminton matches in the world are usually played at the Singapore stadium, with Asians often beating Americans and Europeans.
However, anyone can play badminton. The lightness of rackets and shuttlecocks is suitable for both children and people who have already reached a certain age. For athletes, badminton develops reflexes; requires eye, flexibility, skill, strength and speed. Badminton is therefore an excellent exercise that can be practiced as a family.
