JEDBURGH BADMINTON CLUB - ESTABLISHED 12TH DECEMBER 1974

Why Badminton?

Fun, Sport, Physical Activity and Health

Badminton can be fun and enjoyable with the added benefit of exercise. You can meet new people, learn new skills, face new challenges or simply have a laugh! 

Kit is relatively cheap to buy, the sport takes place indoors and can be played all the year round. It's an easy game to introduce to beginners and with very little experience and skill, beginners can quickly enjoy badminton.

Badminton exercises no limits through economic status, age, fitness and athletic ability. The sport is enjoyed socially and competitively by both men and women. The equipment is light, its a non contact sport and can be played by the very young. There are no significant health and safety issues and there is an established network of clubs, coaches, and volunteers in Scotland and in the UK.

Physical Activity

The most robust evidence on the impact of physical activity is found in the area of health. People with active lifestyles have lower risks of coronary, cardiovascular and respiratory disease than those who have inactive lifestyles.

Participation in sport and physical activity can have a beneficial effect on mental health, and relate to an improved sense of wellbeing and self-esteem. There is a link between inactivity and types of cancer.

A physical activity programme through GP referrals for those with coronary heart disease resulted in a reduction in blood pressure, anxiety and depression in participants, social networking and an improved sense of well-being.

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Sport

Badminton is a game that combines power, speed, endurance and tactical skills within a tradition of respect, sportsmanship and fair-play. Badminton has become one of the most widely played Olympic sports in the world and is one of the top 6 participant sports in the UK.

Badminton teaches self-control through a sport that is mentally stimulating and often emotionally intense, for players must react quickly and wisely under pressure. These skills, which a young player learns in the sport, are easily transferable life skills that will help them in their adult life. As a "lifetime sport'; Badminton acts as a constant reminder of the joy of competition, sportsmanship and camaraderie.

The value of participating in sport should not be overlooked. It is widely appreciated that sporting success helps generate pride and a ‘feel-good’ factor, both at a local and national level. People take part because they want to, because it is enjoyable and because it is fulfilling.

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Fastest Racket Sport

At the top levels of the game, a "shuttlecock" (or "bird") can attain speeds in excess of 300km\hr. World ‘smash’ records have recorded shuttles in excess of 350 kp/hr.  In a game, with the quick change in pace from fast "smashes" to "drops" and "clears'; a player must be able to sustain precise shots, accuracy, stamina and speed over an extended period of an hour or more. In a typical match, a player will change direction nearly 350 times and hit the shuttle some 400 times. There are few sports that exhibit the sustained concentrated action that top level Badminton requires.

Taufik Hidayat fires a 305kph jump smash

Taufik and his usual backhand magic

GEEKY STUFF

Note! I suspect the following study was performed before the rally point scoring system came into play and games were normally a bit longer under the old system.

*BADMINTON* IT’S ROLE AS A PHYSICAL CONDITIONER

by LOWELL N. DOUGLAS, Ph. D

In a series of studies conducted by the Department of Physical Education at Baylor University, information has been obtained which suggests that badminton is one of the finest conditioning types of activities. The game possesses all of the fundamental motor skills with which man is endowed and demands faster reactions than most any other game.

Fundamentally, the game demands the execution of such skills as running, jumping, twisting, striking throwing, and various combinations of these skills executed in rapid hand-eye coordination. In a three game singles match played between two average men, players of approximately equal ability, one should expect to find that the three games require a total of about forty-five minutes, during twenty minutes (44%) of which the shuttlecock is in actual flight or being batted by one player or the other. During that twenty minutes of highly concentrated running, jumping, twisting, stretching, running backwards, throwing and striking, each player will travel approximately one mile. He will also make at least 350 changes of direction of 90 degrees or better, and will strike the shuttle some 400 times. Of these 400 strokes, 150 will be full arm swings of a racket weighing some five ounces. (Many major league pitches have pitched a complete baseball game without throwing that many times). Players in normal physical condition should expect an increase in pulse rate from 72 to approximately 125 and increase and systolic blood pressure from 120 to 145.

Few games require as much concentrated actions as badminton. In a three-set tennis match one should not expect the ball to be in play any more than eight per-cent of the total time; while in football, a game we think of as being so vigorous, the ball in actually in play only about 14 minutes (12 %) of the two odd hours that the players spend on the field.