The game of badminton evolved from a children's game called battledore and shuttlecock. Originally played without a net, the objective of the game was to see how long people could volley a shuttlecock in the air using battledores, or paddles. Shuttlecocks are often called birds as they were originally made from feathers. Today's competition badminton games use shuttlecocks made from 16 real feathers, preferably goose feathers from the bird's left wing.
Badminton Specifics
Two opposing players or two pairs of opposing players compete in a game of badminton. Badminton courts measure 20 feet wide by 44 feet long, and are separated by a 2 1/2-foot deep net that is raised 5 feet high. One or two players stand on either side of the net with the goal of hitting a shuttlecock over the net with a racquet to land in the marked boundaries on the opposing players' side. The five main categories of badminton play are the same as for tennis; men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles.
Scoring
Badminton matches consist of the best of three games of 21 points each, according to the Badminton World Federation. One point is awarded to the side that wins the rally. A rally is the term for volleying the shuttlecock over the net until it hits the ground. If the score reaches 20-20, the side that gains a two-point lead first, wins. If the scoring reaches 29-29, the first side to reach 30 wins. Winners serve first in the next game of the set.
Intervals And End-Changing
A 60-second interval is allowed when one side reaches 11 points in a game. Two-minute intervals are allowed between each game. Players change ends, or sides, in the third game of a match when the leading score reaches 11 points.
Serving
In a single's badminton match, servers serve from the right side of the court at the beginning of a badminton game and again whenever the server's score is an even number. The server serves from the left side of the court whenever the score is odd. If the serving side wins a rally and a point, the server's next serve must be from the opposite side of the court. If the receiving side wins a rally, the receiver scores one point and becomes the new server.
In a double's badminton match, serving rules are the same as for singles, with a few adjustments for the added players. Service passes consecutively to the players diagonally opposite each other on the court. The players do not change places on the service court until their side wins a point when they are serving.
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