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Badminton: a short introductionBadminton is a tremendously popular sport around the world, particularly in England, Scandinavia and many (south) eastern Asian counties. Originally dating form the 19th century (in its current form), badminton became an an Olympic sport in 1992 and was first played at that level at the Barcelona Olympic Games in the same year. Its popularity, however, dates from long before that time in the game's history. Competitive badminton is only ever played inside on a court of 13.40 x 6.10 metres (doubles) or 13.40 x 5.10 metres (singles). The game is ruled by an official set of badminton 'laws' (see below). Modern badminton rackets weigh less than 100 grams. The best shuttles are made of goose feathers, but there are good alternatives for every day playing made of plastic. A standard shuttle weighs about 5 grams. According to scientific experts, badminton is one of the best conditioning game activities. It includes highly concentrated action - running, jumping, twisting, stretching, running backwards, throwing and striking. Played on a fairly small court and with light equipment, badminton is an extremely quick game - in fact, it is considered the fastest racket sport in the world. This is partly due to the fact that the players must cover the whole court very quickly as the shuttle can reach high speeds (of up to 180 miles per hour) in spite of its featherlight weight. (This is faster than an average service in a world class tennis match!). It is estimated that in a badminton game of 45 minutes, the player runs at least one mile, makes up to 350 changes of direction of ninety degrees or more and burns over 350 calories - more than in about one hour of tough-going aerobics! For more information about the game, check: |
