I'm a Civil War Reenactor and have found a wooden badminton set, which we would like to use during a reenactment, but I need to know if that would be "period" correct. When was badminton invented and were there any people playing the game in the US during the 1860s or was it mainly an European game? Thanks
Kathy, hopefully the following links will be of use to you: http://users.erols.com/wiker/history.htm http://lubbinton.tripod.com/english/history.htm http://www.intbadfed.org/history.html Cheers!
Badminton ....... Although it is not the Number One sport as it is in Indonesia, badminton is getting more and more popular each year in Geneva, as in the rest of Switzerland, and this, with no particular publicity. As tennis shows signs of fatigue, the popularity of badminton has not ceased to increase over the last fifteen years. It is an activity that is more and more popular for all the obvious reasons. It can be played as one chooses – simply for pleasure and relaxation or for optimal exercise and competition. According to American studies, competitive badminton is considered the world’s fastest racket sport : a shuttle can leave the racket at a speed of 317 km/hour. It is one of the most physical sports after Boxing and Ice Hockey. The History Badminton began in 1873. English officers returning from India were united at the home of the Duke of Beaufort. They decided to try the Indian game “Poona†that was played with a racket and a lightweight ball. To exercise off the effects of the champagne, they decided to play a game in the Badminton House. As no ball was handy, they used a champagne cork to which they stuck several feathers. Delighted with their new game, they named it after the Badminton House where it was first played. The first rules of the game were published in 1877 in Karachi by the Colonel H.O. Selby. In 1883, the Colonel Dolby founded the first English Federation of Badminton. It comprised fourteen clubs.
