Deputy President Gunalan of the Badminton World Federation says that the future of badminton will use synthetic shuttles: "The sport is following the footsteps of other sports and trying to convert bird feather-made shuttles into synthetic ones. 'Badminton is the only sport which requires a live creature for its equipment and the demand is more than the supply. Therefore we are in the process of developing a synthetic shuttle which will behave like the normal bird,' Gunalan said." Source: http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=fromthepress&subsection=sports&xfile=November2006_sports_standard5272 Wow, that's news to me. As I play in Canada, I actually like this idea because it's frustrating when half the clubs use feathered shuttles, and the other half use synthetic shuttles. Green Day
Thanks for sharing the info.. green_day, thanks for sharing that.. ...hmm, this should be an intriguing scientific discovery.. can't wait to see the final product..and i wonder which brand/company(as those stock market enthusiasts will be eyeing this) will be the pioneer to do so?? will Yonex be the main patent-maker/holder??...should be interesting..
I have even herd rumors (a few years ago, back when companies were trying to dye feather shuttles yellow to make it better to see on TV ) that the person who started up Carlton (i herd this person sold the company to dunlop/slauzenger) had prototyped a better synthetic shuttle using graphite in place of feathers. However, it was not persued further due to cost concerns (it was just cheaper to keep using real feathers). But again all this info is from memory. Do not quote me on this information. I think for the development of the game, a "realistic" synthetic shuttle is necessary. With the threat of the bird flu, an epidemic could destroy shuttle production completely, and thus hurt the game of badminton. Also, maybe they will make a synthetic that lasts longer and of couse costs more. That way companies can charge more for the synthetic shuttle. (no, I don't believe in conspiricies ..... ha ha ha ha ha) Even thought many of his decisions have not been unpopular, it seems like Punch Gunalan is trying to move badminton on an even par with other sports. Please don't flame me, its just my opinion. Toddster
Good luck to them, but -- as Sir Dink said -- I'll believe it when I see it. Using feathers may seem primitive, but don't forget that birds' flight is vastly superiour to mechanical flight in many ways. Feathers are the product of millions of years of evolution, and as yet we cannot produce anything that remotely mimics their aerodynamic properties.
I find the 'live animal' concern is kinda strange though. Does that mean that normally they use entire geese ONLY for shuttles? I rather thought that the goose itself was useful for other things, and making use of it's feathers is just a good way to make sure nothing goes to waste (you can't eat feathers after all ) Is this really done with the geese in mind or is it just an economic consideration?
it's a good long term idea but it would never be similar to a feather shuttle. However, it worth the try. If it come a level of 80%+ close to feather shuttles, i think WBF should adopt it.
feather shuttle will never disappear but if u want badminton to grow, u have to have enough decent shuttles to grow with it. Who knows, a good non feather shuttle can take the game to a new level (good or bad i dunno yet). The big drawback of feather shuttle is its inconsistence flight between shuttles. Artifical shuttles would be more consistence. I didnt hear yonex is working on one yet. Maybe eggroll can give us all a hint of what's up in yonex's sleeve
Live creatures? What about other sports? Cow leather, pig skin, gut, lots of creatures that were live are now baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, basketballs, etc...
Badminton is not the only sport that uses animal products. And, of course the bird is not alive - that is a sillly thing to say. Many sports use leather items: boxing gloves, cricket balls, motorcycling clothing, football boots to name to few off the top of my head. A feather-like shuttle will take many years to develop and one manufacture will have a patent on it, so it will be expensive.
but they don't discard them every 5 mins Would u worry if shuttle is made of panda's white fur (and leave the black fur intact)
shhh! NanoShuttles NanoSensa Shuttles (NS-100 to NS-500) NanoAeroSensa Technology by Yonex (NASTY-100...) Yonex Aero NanoCarbon Shuttles (YANCS-100...) Feathered Aero NanoCarbon Yonex Shuttles (FANCY Shuttles...)
So they're trying to follow the NBA? NBA switched from their leather ball to a synthetic ball. There was much complaints over the ball from players because the NBA didn't look for any player feedback on the ball beforehand. They're switching back to the old leather ball starting in January next year...and they only made that switch from leather to synthetic not so long ago. I wonder if BWF has asked for any input from players yet.
There is no way a guarantee a artifical shuttle may be more consistent..This is all up to QC and manufacturing process... the current plastic shuttles are by far more inconsistens than good quality feather shuttles.. Another problem with current plastic shuttle is that it is not possible to properly adjust the speed when inconsistensies are found.. (feathers could be tipped, the only way to change the speed of a plastic shuttle is to "deform the skirt", but that makes it even more inconsistent as the plastic "tries" to reshape changing the speed during points (or even during one rally!!) /Twobeer
A bit off topic-Probably same idea, but not quite.. ...an NBA ball can last for numerous games(synthetic or leather)... I don't know what is/was the *real* reason for the NBA to switch from leather to synthetic ball, but the only main reason for Punch/BWF's idea to use synthetic shuttle, based on the above article/reason, is : economic. -->"Badminton is the only sport which requires a live creature for its equipment and the demand is more than the supply."
Only shuttles made from "rejects" are inconsistent in flight. As a matter of fact I use such "rejects" and re-adjust each shuttle's flight the day before I play. The "rejects" I use are made from first class goose feathers and they last longer than tournament shuttles. The reason they were "rejects" is that they weigh much heavier because the goose feathers are extra thick. The shuttles weigh from 5g to 5.6g each, and I tip them differently, some once a feather, others two a feather, to get a consistent flight. Even with two tips per feather it lasts much longer (even when the humidity is low) than tournament shuttles.
trying... to think.. of another sport which uses a live animal... o right hunting k really can anyone think of another sport that uses an animal or animal product?
