Most badminton clubs are completely dependent on volunteers. But how do you attract and motivate volunteers to get involved? We’ve spoken to clubs around the world. This article highlights some of the best ways to create an outstanding community of active volunteers.
Creating a personal brand is a surefire way to increase the fanbase, and thereby income, of any semi-professional or professional badminton player.
In this article, sports branding expert Oliver Shepherd offers his branding advice for badminton players. Personal branding for badminton players has become a must-do activity for serious badminton athletes.
Oliver offers advice on how to get started and some of the key considerations involved with building a personal brand for badminton players.
Good nutrition can enhance your badminton performance. But what is a good badminton diet? This article will enlighten you on how to build a nutritious and healthy diet. The diet tips you get in the following are relevant to badminton players. Not just top-level players, but players of all ages and levels.
When it comes to your badminton diet, it goes without saying that you need carbohydrates. The more intense your training is, the more carbohydrates you need to take in.
But there is so much more to a good badminton diet. And while it takes time and a bit of experimenting to find the right diet for you, the good news is that changing your dietary habits slowly will help you sooner than you know.
In a conversation with Babolat, Tom Hill, the nutrition expert from Hills Nutrition, recently said something interesting. He suggested for badminton players, and athletes in general, to “Think 24 hours before, 24 hours during, and 24 hours after exercise“. In this article, you will discover exactly why this is a smart approach and how you can apply this method.
Babolat was the first company to specialize in racquet games. The first natural gut strings for racquets were invented by Pierre Babolat around 1876. Today Babolat is a well-known brand involved with badminton, tennis, and padel.
Carbohydrates, or carbs, are sugar molecules. Along with proteins and fats, carbohydrates are one of the three main nutrients found in foods and drinks. Learn more over at Harvard here
Are you confused about black, red, and yellow cards in badminton? This badminton rules article will give you up-to-date information about the rules, regulations, and consequences of receiving a yellow, red, or black card in badminton.
Thailand’s Bodin Issara was given a black card after chasing down and physically hitting compatriot Maneepong Jongjit. This happened during the final at the Canada Open in 2013.
The two Thai doubles players competed as a pair at the London 2012 Olympics but later split up. In the Canada Open final, they faced each other with their respective new double partners. Bodin Issara was penalized with a black card and disqualified.
The consequence: On July 21, 2013, Bodin was suspended for two years. Full story here
The Yellow card in Badminton
We will start with the least significant card in badminton, the Yellow card. The yellow penalty card can be given to any player as a warning for misconduct (in-game faults are not misconduct). As the Umpires are allowed to talk to players they very often give them multiple verbal cautions before they issue a yellow card. This is likely to be a repeat offense that a player makes during a single match however an umpire can give a yellow card directly if they choose.
The Yellow card has no impact on the points of the game but does serve the purpose of deterring the player from continuing with the misconduct. Though it will not affect the match, in professional badminton, the player will be fined by the BWF.
What if the same player breaches a different rule? Even if the breach is different – from the one they received the first yellow card for – they will receive a red card for the second offense.
What if the player didn’t know the rule? Unfortunately for them, this is not seen as an acceptable excuse. The umpire can still give the player the yellow card even without a caution first. So make sure to be nice and smile at your next umpire!
A red card in badminton is given when a player commits a continued breach of misconduct or a significant breach of misconduct. This results in the offending side losing the active rally and the opponent receiving a point. The Umpire if they wish could caution again with a red card. The umpire has full authority to decide what is red card worthy during a match.
Do you think this was red card worthy?
The Black card in Badminton
This is the real deal in badminton misconduct. A player will receive a black card for excessive misconduct. The black card will follow a red card for significant breaches of misconduct that bring the game into disrepute (behaviour that makes the sport look bad).
The result of a black card?
Immediate disqualification from the match and competition. According to the BWF statute, if this happens in a team competition, or a group-based competition, they will be removed from the competition entirely and not allowed to continue. Although not specifically said, if a doubles player receives a black card in mixed doubles they will be removed from the whole tournament if they play single or mixed doubles.
In badminton, it is generally accepted that umpires will do everything possible to warn the player instead of giving them a card. Instead, they give verbal cautions. We often see umpires speak to the same players about the same offense throughout matches without any cards being shown.
There is certainly criticism over a lack of consistency in the umpiring of badminton matches. Umpires are given authority to manage games however they see fit – which is then subject to each umpire’s opinion and perception of the rules. Below are some common behaviors that are deemed as misconduct in badminton.
Far too many badminton coaches (and parents) forget the importance of developing the overall movement skills and athletic abilities of children. Before kids reach the age of 14-15, they still need to focus on the development of their basic athletic abilities.
According to Kristen Gostomski; “When children are focused too intently and too early on technical skills while neglecting fundamental movement and athleticism, they miss the one-time opportunity to develop neuromuscular patterns that eventually make them quicker, faster, stronger, more coordinated, and more skilled. That’s time they can never get back.”
Sadly, often badminton kids are “lured” into making badminton their only priority at a very young age. As a result, they practice badminton 3-5 times each week. Most of their exercises are badminton specific. Therefore, there is no time for football, cricket, tennis, gymnastics, or any other sports. In the words of most experts, that’s a huge mistake.
There are many examples of world-class badminton players who were multi-sports kids. And they maintain that their experiences from other sports were hugely beneficial to their development as badminton players.
Today the optimization for competitions in badminton begins much earlier than it did, say, 10-12 years ago.
Parents and coaches are “investing” in the development of badminton kids from a very early age. The training schedule involves badminton training on a daily basis. And some children as young as 12, may even have several days with two training sessions per day.
This in turn makes it virtually impossible for these kids to practice other sports besides badminton.
In this article, you’ll learn from experienced experts. You will get tips on how to balance the development of athleticism in children up to the age of 14-15.
In recent years we’ve seen Ygor Coelho compete on the global BWF badminton tour. But apart from him, we have not seen but a few Brazilian badminton players compete on the world tour. Oliver Shepherd takes a look at how badminton is faring in Brazil.
Mentions of the most prominent badminton clubs in Brazil
What is being done to grow the sport of badminton in the country
How junior badminton players are developing as compared to other South American countries
What is Badminton Brazil doing to develop badminton in the country?
Badminton in Brazil standing in Pan America
Brazil has done relatively well at the regional Pan American Games. As of 2022, they were placed as the fourth most successful country in the Pan-American region with 15 medal points – only 5 medal points behind Peru in third place.
The Rio favela kid Ygor Coelho made it onto the big badminton scene
Ygor Coelho’s story is unique and encouraging. He grew up in a Rio favela but was encouraged to join a badminton program. Interestingly, samba dance was used to develop players’ footwork. About that, Coelho has said:
“samba is the perfect training for badminton and helps develop a player’s rhythm and agility. Dance has a lot of similar things to badminton — we dance on the court. I think it helps me to get the rhythm and play at different speeds and movements”
Ygor became Brazil’s first-ever Olympian in badminton at the 2016 Rio Games. And he is working towards qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. Today, Ygor lives in Denmark from where he travels the world to compete internationally.
For senior citizens, badminton can be life-changing. For badminton clubs and associations, getting senior citizens involved might be a godsend. For adult beginners and senior citizens, badminton literally can prolong their life.
Badminton clubs need a solid plan to attract more senior citizens and adult beginners to the sport.
In this guide to attracting senior citizens and adult beginners to badminton, Michael Leander shares learnings and lessons. Hopefully, you can benefit from his first-hand experiences.
The backstory: my pretentious mindset was taught a valuable lesson
My experience on the badminton court was limited to the odd session with my teenage son. Although playing with him was a great joy, I never imagined myself practicing badminton with a group of adults, let alone senior citizens.
Eventually, I became involved as a volunteer at the club level in Denmark. My initial focus was narrow-minded and limited to the competitive aspects of the sport. I had little interest in anything else. But a chance opportunity presented itself. And that was to coordinate a Saturday morning badminton training session targeted at adult beginners. Reluctantly, I joined the weekly badminton practice myself.
Anchored in a few existing members the group started. New members were brought in through a low-risk member acquisition campaign. Saturday morning training quickly grew to a membership base of around 25 paying members. The age range was from the mid-20s to 70+. Some had never played badminton when they joined. Others had experience from their youth. Some spoke Danish, and others did not.
The diversity was a challenge for the celebrity coach (Line Christophersen) – and for me. But the experience would teach me a valuable lesson.
I suppose my natural go-to move is to do what I can to ensure that everyone gets a good experience. My logic suggested that this would entail a group where everyone would be – more or less – on the same level. So I was more than a bit worried whenever a senior citizen with very little or no badminton experience joined. I suffered a status quo bias. That’s to say that I did not incorporate the potential development of a player into the equation.
It took me some effort to get rid of my preconceived ideas and start focusing on the things that matter. In this brief article, I will explain what they are.
Senior citizens are very capable of learning new skills – that includes badminton skills
As mentioned, my initial mindset was along the lines of “How do we create a homogenous group”? I thought that a good training experience required all participants to be more or less at the same level. Boy, was I wrong!.
I quickly learned that senior citizens are very eager to learn. What’s more, they are serious about learning. They are what some would refer to as very good students. And when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Being senior citizens they are experienced learners. What’s more, they are hellbent on making steady progress.
What is the right focus for senior citizen badminton?
The focus when involving adult beginners and senior citizens in badminton should be JOY and PROGRESS!
Badminton for adult beginners must be fun and challenging at the same time. If there is a lot of fun and no skill development, people won’t experience the level of joy that will get them hooked on badminton.
Clubs, associations, and their badminton coaches must strive to create a situation where players look forward to training sessions. To achieve that, participants must recognize that they are improving even if their improvements are in tiny increments. For senior citizens especially, the feel-good-element of becoming better at badminton is hugely important.
It took me a bit of time to understand this, but once I did it made complete sense.
Are you interested in our "Guide To Attract and Retain Adult Beginners in Badminton"? If you are, send me an email and I'll get back to you
How to create joyful progress for adult beginners?
First and foremost, the training must enable players at all levels to improve their skills over time. To do that, the ideal group ideally should include absolute beginners and intermediate players.
Intermediate players must have the right mindset. They must be happy about training different badminton skills with an absolute beginner on the opposite side of the net. Some intermediate players have no interest in practicing with adult beginners. If that’s the case, they should find somewhere else to train.
Progress will happen as a result of two things – namely time on the court and the type of training exercises.
Time on the court must be divided into 3 components. These are 1) being taught concrete badminton skills 2) small half-court or box games incorporating the exact skills trained on the day, and, finally 3) doubles matches in which absolute beginners are paired with experienced players on both sides.
The joyful part comes naturally to most adult beginners and senior citizens when playing small games and doubles matches. For maximum joy, the instructor or badminton coach must develop an understanding in which every player knows that it is perfectly okay to make mistakes.
Finally, a coach or badminton instructor would do well to organize off-court activities for the group. Anything that will build familiarity amongst the members of the group will benefit the training sessions short and long term.
What type of badminton coach or instructor is best for adult badminton players?
Obviously, the coach must be able to teach badminton basics. But more importantly, it must be someone with a winning personality who is able to put a smile on everyone’s face. Coaching adult beginners requires patience and perseverance.
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