BADMINTON

Submitted by:
Cherry Mae C. Galceran

Submitted to:
Dr. Eusebia Mendoza
 The
History
Of Badminton
 A Brief History of Badminton

Badminton is an interesting sport which is played by either one or two

players on each side of the court. The objective of the game is to hit the shuttle
so that it lands at the opponent’s side of the court without the opponent
returning. The shuttle should go over the net. When the game is played by one
player on each side, it is referred to as singles while that of a team of two
players is called doubles. However, most people enjoy this game with slight or
no idea at all of its history. Below is a brief history of badminton.

Origin

The game’s origin is complex and very unclear. However, the general
assumption is that badminton originated in ancient Greece and the Far East
countries. Whether the game is an improvement of “ti jian zi” or not is still a
debate to date. “ti jian zi” is a game which was played by the Chinese people in
the 5th century BC. The game’s objective is similar to that of badminton.

India played a vital role in the development of this game. This was
through the introduction of another game that was similar to “ti jian zi” called
Battle and Shuttlecock that was played in China, India, Japan and Greece. The
game used shuttlecock which was hit by a Battledore (paddle). This game was
played in the 1860s in Poona India. The description and the objectives of this
game are very similar to that of badminton today.

The British government officials who were posted to India during those
years took the game to their homes in 1873. It was here where the nets were
added and the game henceforth took the form known to date. Duke of Beaufort
was the first to introduce the game in England and it soon became a hit and a
gained a lot of popularity among the elite in England as a party sport.

Contemporary Badminton

The Bath Badminton Club was established in 1877. The club then
developed the first set of rules of the game. The first badminton association
was founded in 1893 in England. It was known as the Badminton Association
and it worked as a world federation till the year 1934 when the International
Badminton Federation was founded by nine countries namely: England,
Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Scotland, Holland, New Zealand, Canada, and
France. India then joined as an affiliate. The federation’s name has since
changed to Badminton World Federation
 Badminton first ever tournament to be played was in 1898 in England
and the Badminton Association Tournament was played in 1899. The
tournament came to be known as “The England Championship”. The Thomas
cup which was a men’s championship became the first major International
Badminton Federation tournament in 1948. The number of badminton events
has from then been rising with Uber Cup, World Cup, World Grand Prix, World
Junior Championship, and the Sudirman Cup also introduced.

Commonwealth Games

The Badminton game was first introduced to the Commonwealth Games

in 1966 when the games were held in Kingston, Jamaica and has since become
a part of Commonwealth Games program. All the disciplines of Badminton are
included in the Commonwealth games.

Olympic Games

Badminton was first introduced as a demonstration game to Olympic

Games in 1972 in Munich. It however, became an official Olympic sport during
the 1992 Olympic Games which took place in Barcelona where the doubles and
the singles disciplines were introduced. The mixed doubles discipline was
introduced in Atlanta’s Olympic Games in 1996 becoming the only mixed event
in all Olympic Games. Having won no medal before, Indonesia benefited from
Badminton achieving Olympic status when they won both men and women
singles in its first competition in the Olympic in Barcelona.

Final Thoughts

Modern badminton creation is attributed to England. However, Asian

countries have dominated the sport in all the major badminton events,
including Olympics. The Asian countries have bagged almost all the medals in
the Olympic competition with China, Republic of Korea and Indonesia being
the dominant countries followed by both Denmark and Great Britain. These
nations have produced the most talented world class players consistently. In
fact, China has become a force to reckon in both women and men competitions
in recent years. Currently, throughout the world, Badminton has become more
organized with almost all nations having associations to organize and develop
the sport.
Badminton
Court
Dimensions
Court dimensions

The badminton court is 13.4m long and 6.1m wide. For singles the court
is marked 5.18m wide. The lines marking out the court are easily
distinguishable and coloured white or yellow. The lines are 40mm wide.
A court may be marked out for singles only. The back boundary lines also
become the long service lines and the posts or the strips of material
representing them are placed on the side lines. The diagonal full length of the
full court is 14.366m.

Posts

The posts are 1.55m high from the surface of the court and remain
vertical when the net is strained. The posts are placed on the double side lines
irrespective of whether singles or doubles is played. The posts or supports
must not extend into the court beyond the side lines.
Where it is not practicable to have posts on the side lines, some method can be
used to indicate the position of the side lines where they pass under the net,
e.g. by the use of thin posts or strips of material 40mm wide, fixed to the side
lines and rising vertically to the net cord.

Net

The net is 760mm in depth and a minimum of 6.1m wide. The top of the
net from the surface of the court is 1.524m at the centre of the court and
1.55m over the side lines for doubles. There must be no gaps between the ends
of the net and the posts. If necessary, the full depth of the net at the ends is
tied to the posts.
 The
Laws of
Badminton
Rules

 A player must wait until his opponent is ready before serving. If the
opponent attempts a return then he is ruled having been ready.
 The feet of both players must remain in a stationary position until the
serve is made. Your feet can not be touching the line at this time.
 It is not a fault if you miss the shuttle while serving.
 The shuttle cannot be caught and slung with the racket.
 A player cannot hold his racket near the net to ward off a downward
stroke by his opponent or to interfere with his racket.

Faults

 The shuttle, at the instant of being hit is higher than the server’s waist or
the head of the racket is higher than the servers racket hand.
 The shuttle does not land in the correct service court.
 The server's feet are not in the service court or if the feet of the receiver
are not in the court diagonally opposite the server.
 The server steps forward as he/she serves.
 Any player balking or feinting his opponent before serve or during serve.
 A serve or shot that lands outside the court boundaries passes under or
through the net, touches any other obstructions or a players body or
clothing. The boundary and service lines are considered in play.
 The shuttle in play is struck before it crosses the net to the striker's side
of the net. You may follow through over the net.
 A player touching the net or its supports with his body or racket while
the shuttle is in play.
 Hitting the shuttle twice in succession by a player or team.

Scoring System

o A match consists of the best of 3 games of 21 points.

o Every time there is a serve – there is a point scored.
o The side winning a rally adds a point to its score.
o At 20 all, the side which gains a 2 point lead first, wins that game.
o At 29 all, the side scoring the 30th point, wins that game.
o The side winning a game serves first in the next game.

Interval and Change of Ends

o A 1 minute interval between each game is allowed.

 o In the third game, players change ends when the leading score reaches
11 points.

Singles

o At the beginning of the game (0-0) and when the server’s score is
even, the server serves from the right service court. When the server’s
score is odd, the server serves from the left service court.
o If the server wins a rally, the server scores a point and then serves again
from the alternate service court.
o If the receiver wins a rally, the receiver scores a point and becomes the
new server. They serve from the appropriate service court – left if their
score is odd, and right if it is even.

Doubles

o A side has only one ‘set’.

o The service passes consecutively to the players as shown in the diagram.
o At the beginning of the game and when the score is even, the server
serves from the right service court. When it is odd, the server serves from
the left court.
o If the serving side wins a rally, the serving side scores a point and the
same server serves again from the alternate service court.
o If the receiving side wins a rally, the receiving side scores a point. The
receiving side becomes the new serving side.
o The players do not change their respective service courts until they win a
point when their side is serving.

If players commit an error in the service court, the error is corrected when the
mistake is discovered. In a doubles match between A & B against C & D.   A &
B won the toss and decided to serve. A to serve to C. A shall be the initial
server while C shall be the initial receiver.
OFFICIATING
IN
BADMINTON
Badminton officials play a very important role in the badminton matches. Even
though they are not as crucial as they can be in other sports such as football
or basketball due to the lack of physical contact between players, they still are
required in order to ensure a smooth and fair match. The badminton officials
are divided into different roles or positions:

 Referee
 Umpire
 Service judge
 Line judge

In this post, we will explain the role of each official, the requirements and
training needed.

Role of the referee

The referee is the most important official of the whole tournament. He or

she is in charge of the competition and needs to ensure that the tournament is
conducted following the Laws of Badminton (including court, rackets and
shuttlecock measurements), the regulations of the Badminton World
Federation and/or any other regulations that might be relevant in that specific
competition.

In addition to that, the referee has the last word if there is an argument
between the umpire (in charge of the matches) and a player or team.

In this instance, the Japanese players do not agree with the umpire
decision and therefore can challenge it to the referee

Moreover, the referee makes sure that the facilities and the conditions to
play are up to the standards required for that specific tournament. For
example, he has to check that the badminton mats are mounted correctly so
they can enhance gameplay.
 Finally, the referee is also in charge of the approval of the schedule of
matches and practice (if applicable).

Referee Levels

The first levels will depend on which country the official is from. Once
you get to the Badminton World Federation tournaments, the level is unified.
Within Europe, there are the following levels:

 National Level Referee

 European Continental Referee

Once you are a European Continental Referee, it takes usually 24

months before you can be proposed towards the Badminton World Federation.
In there, there are two additional levels:

 BWF Accredited
 BWF Certificated – the highest level.

Referee Training and Assessment

The details towards the highest level will vary depending on the specific
country the referee is in. However, the general path is fairly similar. First, the
referee will need to undertake some training in his/her country in order to
become a National Level Referee. The length and difficulty of this training will
depend on the country the referee comes from.

In the case of Europe, after becoming a National Level Referee, the

referee can apply to become a BEC Continental Referee. This can be achieved
only after undertaking a course organised by Badminton Europe. Referees who
are at a sufficient level and experience can be promoted to BWF Accredited or
Certificated Referees. In the case of Europe, it takes usually around 24
months.

In case of United States, the whole process is managed through USA

Badminton.

Referee Retirement Age

 The retirement age for referees is 65 years old, and no assessment to
become a Badminton Europe Referee is done to referees over 60 years old. If
you would like to know a bit more about the referees, check our badminton
referee post.

Role of the Umpire

The umpire is the maximum authority in a particular match and it is in

charge of the court. The duty of the umpire is to make sure that the specific
match is conducted following the Laws of Badminton, the regulations of the
Badminton World Federation and/or any other regulations that might be
relevant in that specific competition.

It is the umpire responsibility to judge service faults and other player

faults. The umpire keeps a record of any misbehaviour or incident and reports
it to the referee. He/she is also responsible for keeping the match score, which
will be announced after each point of the match. The umpire has control over
the specific match but also needs to report any serious acts to the referee, who
is, at the end, the maximum authority of the tournament. Outside of the major
tournaments, the referee will also take the role of an umpire in order to help
with the process.

Umpire Levels

The first levels will depend on which country the umpire comes from.
Once the umpire gets to the Badminton World Federation tournaments, the
levels are unified. Within Europe, there are the following levels:

 National Level Umpire

 BEC (Badminton Europe) Accredited Umpire
 BEC (Badminton Europe) Certificated Umpire

Once the umpire is a BEC (Badminton Europe) Accredited Umpire, you

need at least 24 months before he/she can be assessed towards becoming a
BEC (Badminton Europe) Certificated Umpire. After that, another 24 months
are needed before he/she can be proposed for an Assessment towards the BWF
Accredited Umpire. In the Badminton World Federation, there are two
additional levels:

 BWF Accredited
 BWF Certificated – the highest level.

Umpire Training and Assessment

 The details towards the highest level will vary depending on the specific
country the umpire comes from. However, the general path is fairly similar.
First, the umpire will need to undertake some training in his/her country in
order to become a National Level Umpire. The length and difficulty of this
training will depend on the country the official is at.

In the case of Europe, after becoming a National Level Umpire, the

umpire can apply to become BEC Accredited Umpire. This can be achieved only
after undertaking the Badminton Europe Umpire course organised by
Badminton Europe. An Umpire can be assessed towards BEC Certificated
Umpire after usually 24 months of being a BEC Accredited Umpire. After that,
the Umpire needs to be active for another 24 months before he or she can be
proposed towards an Assessment to become BWF Accredited or Certificated
Referees.

Umpire Retirement Age

The retirement age for umpires is 60 years old for Europe Umpires, and
55 years old for BWD Umpires. For Badminton Europe umpires, no assessment
is done to umpires over 55 years old. If you would like to know a bit more
about badminton umpires, check our badminton umpires post.

Role of the Service Judge

The service judge is responsible for making a ‘service fault’ call and to
provide shuttles to the players. Due to the way badminton is played, the serve
is one of the most important and perfected shots of the player and, especially
when playing doubles, players will bring the serve to the limit of the legality in
order to gain as much advantage as possible.

In addition to checking the service, the service judge usually takes care
of the shuttles, providing the players with new shuttles whenever required.

In smaller championships, when there is no service judge, the umpire

takes the role of the service judge.

Service Judge Levels

You need the same training to become a Service Judge as to become an

umpire. Therefore, the same levels are present as the roles are interchanged.

Service Judge Training and Assessment

As with the levels, the training is also the same than that of the Umpire.
Service Judge Retirement Age

As with the levels and the training, the retirement age is also the same
than that of the Umpire. If you would like to know a bit more about badminton
service judges, check our badminton service judges post.

Role of the Line Judge

The line judges are responsible for indicating whether a shuttlecock

landed “in” or “out” if the shuttle lands near the lines he/she is assigned to
control. Due to the fast speed of the game and the skill of the players, this is a
very challenging job and, as a result, the line judges are the officials that
usually get more pressure from the players.

Depending on the level of the tournament, there may be as many as 10

line judges assigned to a court for a particular match. This is the number
recommended by the BWF.

When 10 line judges are available, they are positioned as follows:

 2 line judges for the short service line (one on each side of the court)
 2 line judges for the centre line (one on each end of the court)
 4 line judges for the side lines (two on each side of the court). Please note
that the exact location will depend on whether a singles match is being
played (and they would follow the singles side lines) or a doubles match
is being played (and they would follow the doubles side lines
 2 line judges for the back boundary lines (one each end of the court).
Please note that, in the case of the doubles match, these line judges
check both the back boundary line and the long service line.

Line Judge Levels

The division of levels in line judges is not as detailed as with umpires or

referees. In this case, it will largely depend on the country the line judge comes
from, but most of them only have one level in the country. Once the line judge
has become a national line judge and has some experience at a national or
continental level, he or she can be nominated by the respective confederation
to become a BWF line judge. The BWF will choose based on the nominations to
ensure appropriate regional representation.

Currently, the BWF has a pool of more than 100 international line judges
who serve at BWF major events such as the BWF World Championships,
Sudirman Cup, Thomas & Uber Cups, and major multi-sport events such as
the Olympic Games.

Line Judge Training and Assessment

The training, as the levels, is not as defined and demanding for line
judges as it is for umpires or referees. All the training is done in the country or
continent of origin and there is no BWF course or certification. This means that
the path for the line judges will vary a lot depending on the country of origin. In
England, for example, only a course is required to become a Line Judge.

Once you have become a national line judge, as we mentioned above,

there is no extra training required. The BWF focuses the improvement on
practice (page 12 of the document), so the line judge needs to get as much
experience as possible in order to be placed in more important matches.
Finally, the line judge will need the endorsement of your national or
continental confederation in order to be considered for a position as BWF Line
Judge.

Line Judge Retirement Age

There is no retirement age available for line judges. In general, BWF line
judges serve four-year terms with an opportunity to renew for a second term.
In the countries, this will vary a lot and it will not be as demanding as with the
umpires or referees If you would like to know a bit more about badminton line
judges, check our badminton line judges post.