Badminton is a fun game that can help players achieve overall better health if played on a regular basis. The original game of badminton was created from a children's game called battledore and shuttlecock, where players hit a feathered shuttlecock with rackets. Badminton is still played with rackets and a shuttlecock, a cork balled with plastic feathers to help stabilize it in flight.
Field of Play
Badminton can be played by two or four players and is played indoors or outdoors. The badminton court is 44 feet long by 17 feet wide when being played by two players. The court is divided by a net strung across the middle of the court, and the top of the net is 5 feet from the ground at its center point and 5 feet, 1 inch at each end.
Game Play
To play badminton, the players volley the shuttlecock across the net in a manner similar to tennis by hitting it with a racket. In singles badminton, the shuttlecock is served from the right side of the court when the opponent has an even number of points and the left side of the court when the opposing player has an odd number of points.
Scoring
The rules of the game state that only the serving side can score a point if the opposing player or players are unable to return the volley. If the serving side fails to return a volley the opposing player gets the serve. If the player receiving the serve fails to return the volley, it loses a point and must continue to receive the serve.
The Match
A badminton match is made up of three games. Men's singles matches are played to 15 points and women's singles are played to 11 points. In the event of a score of 14-14 for men or 10-10 for women, the first player to reach game point may elect to extend the game to 17 points for men or 13 points for women. Play governed by the International Badminton Foundation is scored to 21 points per game for all major competitions. Players change sides of the court at the end of the first game. Sides are also changed in the third game when the highest score reaches six points in an 11-point game or eight points in a 15-point game.
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