There is a a lot to learn about the game of badminton, however, in this badminton sport guide we’ll keep it simple by covering just the basics. Badminton is a racquet sport where opposing players return a conical shaped plastic or feather shuttlecock across a net within a specified court area.
Shuttle
The shuttle is either made of natural feathers or synthetic. A feathered shuttlecock has sixteen feathers connected to a cork base. The cork base is small with a rounded end. There is a governing body that oversees the rules of badminton including what the shuttle is made of, how much it should weigh and its dimensions.
Racquet
Racquets used in badminton are also regulated by rules. They are very light-weight compared to a tennis racquet and are much thinner too. The lightness of the racquet enables quick shots and fast-paced rallies as the speed of the shuttle is extremely quick. A quick reaction time is a crucial skill to develop in the game and is especially important when playing close to the net.
The court
The rectangle court is marked out with lines for both singles and doubles. The longer boundary lines of the court are for singles and the shorter lines for doubles. The opposite applies to the width of the court where the wider line is used for doubles and the inner lines for singles. The width of the court is 6.1m and the length is 13.4m. Although many people like to play badminton for fun on the beach or in the backyard, the game is really an indoor sport. Indoor courts provide a still climate for the extremely light-weight shuttle.
Serving
Occupying approximately two thirds of each side of the court are two areas outlined to serve and receive from. Often beginner players, and observers, become confused about which side of the court they’re to serve from. Another common confusion is where the allowable area to serve from is and any differences serving in singles verse doubles. This topic needs further explanation in another more detailed article! In the meantime, a simple of rule of thumb is when the first server’s score is even (on zero), the server serves to their opponent from the right service court. When the server’s score is an odd number, the server serves from the left service side of the court.
Scoring
There have been various scoring changes to the game of badminton so it’s important for clubs to keep abreast of the rules. Here we’ll outline the rules of scoring that we found at the time of writing this badminton sport guide. A point is scored each time a player or doubles team wins a rally outright or the opposition commits a fault. The winner of the game is the player that scores 21 points first. In cases where players are tied on 20 points, whoever is first to gain a two point lead is the winner.
Unlike tennis, where a tie break and some games can go on and on and on, the game of badminton ends when a player reaches 30 points even if they don’t have a two point lead. Usually matches are played as the best of three games depending on the type and level of competition being played.
Badminton can be a fast paced exciting game to play and offers a great workout especially when playing singles. It’s also a fun and rewarding sport that can be enjoyed by families and people of all ages!
