Why badminton isn't appealing much to non-Asian population in many places

[BadmintonDave]

Badminton otoh, it’s very easy to hit back and forth which should make it simple to start for kids. Of course, getting power out of your strokes could be a lifelong journey, but we are talking about popularizing the sport, not mastering the sport…

I help coach at two separate Junior clubs. Just getting them to do a simple warmup of hitting the shuttle to eachother is impossible if they are at the beginning stages

Badminton is very stop and start

I like the "explosive" description. Lots of explosive movement and changes of direction to both the shuttle and your body/feet.

 

[ralphz]

I help coach at two separate Junior clubs. Just getting them to do a simple warmup of hitting the shuttle to eachother is impossible if they are at the beginning stages

This sounds very plausible to me.. I know when I was in school, very early beginner stage, it was extremely difficult to hit the thing without sticking the racket face in front of my face!. And if tennis were more difficult because the balls bounce too high, then they have lower bouncing balls for very short persons / 7/8 year olds.. Tennis is definitely easier.

When I learnt tennis and was told rules 1 and 2 (over the net, in the court),, They never had to tell me a rule 0, hit it! .

I like the "explosive" description. Lots of explosive movement and changes of direction to both the shuttle and your body/feet.

I don't like the description of "explosive" at all.. Infact I often heard it and used to think "explosive" when doing footwork and my footwork was horrible.. because explosive to me sounds like a rocket. To try to move from one part of the court to another i'd be too high off the floor because I thought "explosive", lots of energy. The whole movement was laboured, recovery was severely impacted. Rockets take time to launch they have to summon all the power. When I started watching some badminton and comparing how I was moving to how I should be moving I could see the pro players GLIDE around.. I was kind of launching myself at where I needed to be.. The landing, like an explosive rocket, was kind of an afterthought. At some point around low intermediate level I realised ah, I shouldn't be moving in this explosive way like that.. and how the good players glide around. They move fast but it's not hard to move fast if you are not overweight, it shouldn't need any kind of great explosive power to do a chasse!!! I could do a bunch of chasses one after the other. If it were an explosive movement i'd need a break or more of a pause after each one!

Explosive is what you do if you are doing a weighted pullup, or if you have 100kg on your back.. Where you summon up the adrenaline and whoosh. There is some kind of explosiveness in a smash, if one can get the technique correct.

If contrasting badminton to tennis, I wouldn't say badminton is more explosive. I wouldn't think of either as explosive, though explosiveness can be added in to e.g. a tennis forehand, or the last part of the racket action in badminton.

Javelin or Shotput or Long jump or high jump, is explosive. Some forms of Weightlifting(particularly olympic style), are explosive. I haven't tried crossfit, but one issue i've read somewhere that some people have with crossfit is they take explosive exercises like deadlift, and they do them like they are not explosive exercises.. rattling them out one after the other in part of some kind of circuit, when the normal way is listening to your body pausing between reps etc!

My footwork wasn't helped by thinking it was about being explosive, infact it was part of the problem with my footwork!

Why do some beginner players end up running onto another court? Explosively sprinting for the shuttle! You can't recover easily if that explosive! Sprinting is an explosive sport!

 

[Magwitch]

There's another thing I wonder may be an issue for some. I live between Sydney and Newcastle, and belong to a local club and one in Newcastle. If I wanted to take up sport at a high level it would be much easier to get to that level in tennis than badminton where I live. If I wanted to be a singes player in badminton I'd have almost no chance to practice locally. Newcastle has it's own stadium, so there would be more opportunity for singles, such as private booking outside of a session. However neither club currently has any player training to get to state level or further, so it could be tough finding someone to practice with much, and if I'm training more than them I might get to the level where any partners aren't really stretching me. I could choose doubles, but again with no other players looking to get to state level or further I wouldn't be able to find a partner.

So basically I'd have to either move to Sydney or spend a lot of free time commuting to Sydney to practice with others. If I wasn't willing to do that then I might end up choosing tennis instead. It wouldn't be difficult getting to a high level in tennis where I live.

I think Ralphz is also right about how tiring badminton is. I remember after switching from table tennis one or two of the table tennis players saying that they preferred table tennis to badminton because it's less tiring. There's a sport called pickleball which has elements of badminton, tennis, and tennis, and it is also played at the stadium in Newcastle. It's much less tiring than badminton, and therefore does well at appealing to older people. They made rule changes in table tennis to slow the game down. I guess they could modify shuttles so it's easier for someone without perfect technique to clear end to end.

 

[viver]

... I guess they could modify shuttles so it's easier for someone without perfect technique to clear end to end.

Well, I used to play with a guy that tested the shuttles' using his backhand clear - if the shuttle reached the baseline then the speed was correct. And of course, my smashes felt like over 400 Km/h

In my mind, I would just look at the financial benefits. Badminton is a very good sport but just not financially rewarding.

 

[Magwitch]

Well, I used to play with a guy that tested the shuttles' using his backhand clear - if the shuttle reached the baseline then the speed was correct. And of course, my smashes felt like over 400 Km/h

In my mind, I would just look at the financial benefits. Badminton is a very good sport but just not financially rewarding.

That too. It's like table tennis, in that you have to be right near the top to make money. I saw a joke on the internet which presumably referenced this which is 'What do you call a competitive table tennis player who broke up with his girlfriend? Homeless.'

 

[ralphz]

There's another thing I wonder may be an issue for some. I live between Sydney and Newcastle, and belong to a local club and one in Newcastle. If I wanted to take up sport at a high level it would be much easier to get to that level in tennis than badminton where I live. If I wanted to be a singes player in badminton I'd have almost no chance to practice locally. Newcastle has it's own stadium, so there would be more opportunity for singles, such as private booking outside of a session. However neither club currently has any player training to get to state level or further, so it could be tough finding someone to practice with much, and if I'm training more than them I might get to the level where any partners aren't really stretching me. I could choose doubles, but again with no other players looking to get to state level or further I wouldn't be able to find a partner.

I've no experience living in a place with no really good badminton players..and i'd have thought that in order to get to state level, you need a coach.

So if you have a coach then they are somebody to practise with as part of the session..

And also, if you were to go to a state tournament, and ask around, you'd probably find somebody willing to coach. 'cos either one of the players could be willing to coach, or they would have a coach that can take on another person.

And a coach can sometimes hook one student up with another student to practise with each other.

 

[Asmo]

Just watched some badminton from the U19 world championships. Not one non-Asian player got past the quarterfinal. Surprisingly Denmark's only representation even in the quarters were a mixed doubles pair. So not really looking like the situation is improving for more diverse badminton.

 

[BadmintonDave]

Just watched some badminton from the U19 world championships. Not one non-Asian player got past the quarterfinal. Surprisingly Denmark's only representation even in the quarters were a mixed doubles pair. So not really looking like the situation is improving for more diverse badminton.

Maybe in another 20-40 years time the rest of the world will have caught up with development and popularity of the sport amongst children

 

[cerberus1846]

I will be nominating for the state Board soon and it seems a formality I'll get on. I live in Australia, and what's clear is that there aren't many players here who aren't Asian. Even I'm part Asian! One obviously can't say that badminton just doesn't appeal to many non-Asians, because you will find countries where this is not the case. But it does seem to be the case in most countries. So my question is why badminton isn't appealing to many non-Asians in a lot of places, and what can be done about it?

not sure how true this - at least not in the UK.. in the UK, Badminton is the most popular racket sport

 

[ralphz]

not sure how true this - at least not in the UK.. in the UK, Badminton is the most popular racket sport

Well I saw a webpage that says so but maybe it depends how you measure it.

I'd have guessed tennis was more popular I just asked somebody else in the UK and they thought tennis too.

If badminton was as you say, more popular, then Why does London host the Tennis at Wimbledon. Whereas the equivalent England tournament for badminton is held in (the perhaps less highly regarded area), Birmingham! When I went to Birmingham for it a few years ago, the cab driver had no idea it was going on.

And they don't show badminton on the 5 channels. (And maybe that's a good thing cos I'd fall asleep having to listen to an old lady saying "I don't believe it" every rally).

Also the average person in the UK will know famous tennis players but not know any famous badminton players.

Leisure centres certainly have an easier time making space for badminton than tennis. So badminton is more available if somebody is in a leisure centre.

I've seen the main newspapers report on the tennis, not the badminton.

 

[scamp]

In the UK badminton has an image problem and a marketing problem. I have watched it on BT Sport but the angle shown is of a foreshortened court so the real dynamics of play is diminished, even lost. I just don't think it is an exciting enough spectacle for non-players to engage in. As has been said over and over, the scoring system doesn't help. 3 x 21 usually means a long (and sometimes a laborious) process until the scores are in the upper teens, and then only if they're close. Like it or not, 5 games to 11 would be an improvement.

The game could do with a marketing guru, someone who can lift a product to unseen heights because the entire game needs revamping and a well-considered re-think. Feather shuttles and what that entails doesn't help. Are there any other sports where you have to change the 'target object' every few points? Not to mention the geese!

Unfortunately there isn't the will or the money to make wholesale changes. Instead the BWF pussyfoots around without coming up with anything really game changing - pardon the pun. Okay, fair play to have the service height monitored, but then again look at the badminton serve itself. It's dull, and there's very little advantage in serving. You will laugh at this but I'd rather see a service akin to volleyball, i.e. from the rear tramline throw the shuttle in the air (via hand or racket) and play a smash, clear or drop. This would be a radical departure and immediately bring in numerous service tactics (as opposed to the existing, undynamic low serve or the flick serve). 'Tain't gonna happen though! But try it for yourself for a laff.

 

[BadmintonDave]

as opposed to the existing, undynamic low serve or the flick serve

There are more serves than that Serving wide, drive serve and flick serve are all options that aren't short serve.

I agree with Marketing Guru comment.

 

[scamp]

A 'short' serve is out.

Low serve, flick serve, drive serve...none in which you can really whack it! In tennis and volleyball the serve is a more crucial part of the game where you can give it some welly. In badminton, aside from some variation, it's just to get the shuttle in play.

 

[SnowWhite]

In tennis, serving is a huge advantage. This is why tennis needs a change of serve irrespective of who scored the last point. Otherwise, if tennis players got to serve after a won point, they can string points together just by serving, which would put the entire emphasis of the match entirely on the service situation. This would completely diminish the game. It's the same story with table tennis.

As spectacular as volleyball serves can look, the receiving side actually has the advantage since they have the first opportunity to set up an attack closer to the net.

There is a reason that at the top level with the sole exception of in women's singles you will rarely see a high serve. It's because when players have time to properly get under the shuttle and hit a jump smash, even from the back line, they will already have an advantage. If players were to be allowed to throw or hit it up for themselves, they will have the advantage. To prevent the service situation to take over the emphasis of the game, either the serving side needs to at least not have the advantage, or the scoring needs to be adjusted to be like tennis where the serve changes regularly irrespective of who scored last.

 

[cerberus1846]

Well I saw a webpage that says so but maybe it depends how you measure it.

I'd have guessed tennis was more popular I just asked somebody else in the UK and they thought tennis too.

If badminton was as you say, more popular, then Why does London host the Tennis at Wimbledon. Whereas the equivalent England tournament for badminton is held in (the perhaps less highly regarded area), Birmingham! When I went to Birmingham for it a few years ago, the cab driver had no idea it was going on.

And they don't show badminton on the 5 channels. (And maybe that's a good thing cos I'd fall asleep having to listen to an old lady saying "I don't believe it" every rally).

Also the average person in the UK will know famous tennis players but not know any famous badminton players.

Leisure centres certainly have an easier time making space for badminton than tennis. So badminton is more available if somebody is in a leisure centre.

I've seen the main newspapers report on the tennis, not the badminton.

I'm struggling a bit following your flawed logic here... I live in the UK and know for a fact it's the most popular racket sport - likely helped by the fact that there are far more badminton courts in the UK than there are tennis courts - literally every High School and a lot of Primary schools have at least 2+ badminton courts. Badminton is also taught regularly as part of the physical education curriculum at both Primary and Secondary schools.

But sure - because you don't see it on TV and because it's not played in London it's not popular!!!! PMSL!!!.. ok champ!

 

[cerberus1846]

Well I saw a webpage that says so but maybe it depends how you measure it.

I'd have guessed tennis was more popular I just asked somebody else in the UK and they thought tennis too.

If badminton was as you say, more popular, then Why does London host the Tennis at Wimbledon. Whereas the equivalent England tournament for badminton is held in (the perhaps less highly regarded area), Birmingham! When I went to Birmingham for it a few years ago, the cab driver had no idea it was going on.

And they don't show badminton on the 5 channels. (And maybe that's a good thing cos I'd fall asleep having to listen to an old lady saying "I don't believe it" every rally).

Also the average person in the UK will know famous tennis players but not know any famous badminton players.

Leisure centres certainly have an easier time making space for badminton than tennis. So badminton is more available if somebody is in a leisure centre.

I've seen the main newspapers report on the tennis, not the badminton.

awkward.... c4 million active badminton players in the UK - second only behind football..

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jul/12/tennis

 

[wannaplay]

... it's the most popular racket sport - likely helped by the fact that there are far more badminton courts in the UK than there are tennis courts - literally every High School and a lot of Primary schools have at least 2+ badminton courts. Badminton is also taught regularly as part of the physical education curriculum at both Primary and Secondary schools.

is that really true? did badminton become popular in recent decades? we did not have badminton at all. but had a bunch of tennis grass courts and 16 all-weather courts (they built even more courts after i left.) certainly no badminton in PE.

 

[Cheung]

I help coach at two separate Junior clubs. Just getting them to do a simple warmup of hitting the shuttle to eachother is impossible if they are at the beginning stages
.

how often do they come for and for how long?

I saw a few English websites and the clubs beginners sessions are only an hour long or max 1.5 hours once a week. One hour once a week is hardly enough time to generate lasting interest.

 

[Cheung]

awkward.... c4 million active badminton players in the UK - second only behind football..

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/jul/12/tennis

Probably need to look deeper into those figures. I would like to see the age group breakdown. I suspect that the game is far more popular than tennis for the retirees.

 

[Budi]

is that really true? did badminton become popular in recent decades?.

I think its true. I had Kyubi sealed inside me when i was a kids. Very active, energetic, & unstopable. I remember playing basketball, football, & on some rare occasion if there someone playing i also do vollyball. There also tenis table tho for some reason i find myself not interest on it. But overall i never saw badminton, not at least until im on college.

Until i graduate, (cant use school facility anymore) me & some of my friend making our own group to play. That time badminton court are not that many & even so the occupancy are just so so.
In last 5 year i can see new badminton hall are showing up every year. Even some turn their unused warehouse or townhall into badminton court.
Nowdays with so many badminton hall, the occupancy are like crazy. If i ever forgot to book for my next week schedule, i would need to book for next 1 month. Coz its already full.