dlp, If the juniors are doing better as a group, then I'd be ok with that. People seem to forget that many of the greats (in any sport) share numerous traits in common. They're not afraid to say what they think, they're confident in their abilities (often to a point of arrogance), and they'll do everything they can (usually within the rules) to win. I think this whole gentlemanly 'air' about badminton is a crock of... bovine based fertiliser. Look at the Asians, look at some of the Danish - very intense and very successful. Watching them play you can ALWAYS see them doing at least a few of the items on your list. Anyway, I think a bit of attitude would liven this sport up no end. Not by me, of course - I'm always well behaved
hi well... if take a towel and wipe urself.. stay calm... sometimes people cheering for u may make u nervous.. therefore losing ur concentration.. and in every game.. reflect on where uve gone wrong and be a good sport instead of blaming .
Just going through this old thread again. There is one situation that must be very clearly dealt with. That is the player who feigns injury which is the example that Jamesd20 gave. If you have an opponent who is taking an 'injury' break, be ready for it! If the person takes a 2nd injury break, the tournament organisers should be brought in to give a walkover and prevent the 'injured person' from playing. Here is the rationale. Let's assume the injury is real. By playing on, the injured person may exacerbate their injury to a point of severe long term disability. It is quite possible that person may need to go to hospital. The tournament organisers have a responsibility to protect themselves against any legal action from the injured players. i.e. the argument might go "I injured myself, didn't know the severity, yet you let me continue in the tournament when it was obviously quite bad". So the tournament organisers have a self-interest not to get subsequently sued. Here is another scenario - a person says they are having an asthma attack on court so needs a break. This one is a very serious situation because the implication is that persons asthma is not well controlled. People die from asthma. The umpire (if there is one) and the tournament organiser should stop the match and seek a medical opinion. Obviously, in small tournaments, there are usually no doctors around. What is then the safest option for everybody? That is to stop the match and give a walkover. And that is the responsibility of the tournament organiser. I am sure any sane tournament organiser would give a walkover in preference to a death on court. These are very powerful reasons to protect player's health even if they want to continue in the tournament. IF you feel the other player is feigning injury, I hope this information can help you(or your students) in maintaining psychological advantage.
Subject Ideas Its all a subjective criteria if your players will participate in "gamesmanship". If there is an umpire, then it is at the disgression to allow or not allow. If you are self judging, then it becomes a personal decision to what is more important, winning or sportmanship (I am now told to use the term sportspersonship). It becomes the coaches decision to decide what he/she will allow, and then up to the player what is personally, the behaviors they will act on. I personally express exactically what I will now allow. Then I express to my players what other players could do to them and what they can do to deal with un-sportspersonship like behavior. It becomes their personal decision as to far they will decide to push the letter of the law. Just my opinion. Toddster
