Valerie Jenson, age 14, of Pittsfield, Mass., for her question:
HOW OLD IS BADMINTON?
Badminton is a game something like tennis. Based on an earlier and simpler game called "battledore" sad "shuttlecock," it was brought to England from India by British officials. The present game is a bit more than 100 years old. The original game is more than 2,000 years old.
Battledore or shuttlecock was played in ancient China, India and other Eastern spots.
The game was played at the country home of the Duke of Besuford in 1873. The home was located at Badminton, Gloucestershire, and it was here that the game took its present name.
The first badminton club was formed in Bath, England, in that same year of 1873. But the rules did not become standard until 1895 when the National Badminton Association was formed. The Canadian Badminton Association was formed in 1921 and the American in 1936.
Today badminton is played by persons of all ages and skills. Many colleges and universities include badminton in their intramural sports schedules. Also, the game has become very popular as a backyard game because it is easy to set up a court. All you really need is a lawn, a net, two rackets and a shuttlecock, which is also called a bird.
A badminton shuttlecock is a cork ball that is fitted with stabilizing feathers. With lightweight rackets, players hit it back and forth across a fixed net.
Two or four persons may play badminton at the same time. Play consists of volleying (hitting) the shuttlecock back and forth over the net without allowing it to hit the ground. The shuttlecock, which weighs about four and a half ounces, is served with an underhand motion below the waist and sent into the service court of the opponent, diagonally opposite. Only one trial on the serve is allowed. If the server fails, then the server passes to his opponent.
Badminton is played on either an indoor or outdoor court that is 44 feet long by 20 feet wide for four players. The court is 17 feet wide when only two are playing. The net may be five feet high from its top edge to the floor or ground.
The lightweight badminton racket, netted with light, thin strings, is 26 inches long.
Volleying in badminton is much the same as in tennis, except of course that the bird cannot bounce as a tennis ball does. A more flexible wrist motion is used with the badminton racket stroke. Much deception is~possible in placing shots and in controlling the behavior of the bird, which frequently will stop short in its flight and plunge down to the ground.
The common strokes are known as clear (lob), drop, drive and smash. The first two are similar in purpose. In the clear, the shuttlecock soars in a high arc over the opponent's head so that it will fall into the court behind him. In the drop, the bird just clears the net and falls gently.
The drive is a hard stroke hit on a straight line. The smash is a hard stroke hit sharply downward.
Only the side that is serving can score a point. Fifteen points make an official game, providing the score of the winner exceeds that of the loser by two points.