Do any of you play badminton in your back yard or at a local park? I know that this web community is dedicated to "real" badminton but I wondered if there were any players who still enjoy casual outdoor games too. I enjoy playing at the local park with my wife or with friends who don't play indoor badminton. I know that many people feel that outdoor badminton give the real sport a bad name but I disagree. I think that looking down on backyard players is an elitist attitude. Would you tell someone who rides a bicycle on the trails at the local park that they give the Tour de France riders a bad name? Almost all sports are played at different levels and rather than looking down on backyard play, we should look to it as a conduit to get more people excited about real indoor play. [puts away his soapbox] If any of you still play outdoors please tell us about it: • do you use your good/best racquet(s) or older/cheaper ones? • do you play against other serious indoor players or against people who don't otherwise play badminton? • Where do you play? (your backyard, the park, etc.) • Feather or nylon shuttles? I'll start. I play with my wife, a friend of mine, and his fiance'. We play at the local park and I provide all the equipment (I have 4 racquets, a net, some ples I made, and more shuttles than I know what to do with). We play at a slower pace and I tone down my game because I know it isn't fun for my friends if i'm smashing the shuttle every time. We play for fun and although my team usually wins, we play so the matches are close. I do use my good racquets outdoors but I try not to do anyhting that would cause them to hit the ground and possibly break. I use these casual games to focus on foot work that I can apply when I play indoors while hitting the shuttle so it can be easily returned by my opponents. We always use nylon shuttles (some white, some yellow).
Three years ago, I played at a relative's backyard with a cheap net, 4 cheap rackets, and a couple nylon shuttlecocks. We played very easily without smashes, but the young kids were most competitive Seriously, the biggest problem was the wind. Even with light breeze, one side could hit the birdie a long way, but the other side can't hit a decent return. So, it can not be fair to have a competitive game.
It does give a bad name. Just take a look at all the sterotype and cliche about badminton. It all stems from backyard badminton.
The world's first top players like Wong Peng Soon, The "Thing", Tan Joe Hock, etc played most of their games outdoors. Only during tournaments did they play in small, hot, and non-airconditioned humid halls. In Malaysia during the 1950s and 1960s almost 99.99% of all badminton games were played outdoors. In the tropics there is very little wind in the evening.
when I was in India, I played outdoor badminton. It was great, 2 sand courts in the middle of a school courtyard with buildings all around to block the wind. there is a group there that plays every single day for 2 hours a day. I have to say it was one of the best badminton experiences I have had, there was an audience cheering, the players were trash talking, everyone had a great time. We even had a guy bring us coffee in the middle of a game! The level was pretty good, probably high B level, these guys win most of the regional tournaments they play in.
I've played badminton outdoors at school before..only once. it's impossible to play properly.. it's far too windy here in Auckland, NewZealand.
i learnt how to play baddy outdoors and then progressing to indoors. i played it in my garden, on my drive way over the gate, over the fence with my neighbours !! Everywhere !!! and i was perfectly happy. do whatever makes you happy and forget about all the elitist bull-crap about giving badminton a bad name. i think so far in the scheme of things worrying about reputation of badminton is a waste of time. more baddy !!!!
Well.. ..similar to evylgrynn's experience (not in India, however), i, too, was exposed to badminton by watching others play & playing in a semi-outdoor environment (it was on a concrete-ground of an elementary school's luncheon area, surrounded partially by walls and enclosed by a roof). There was only 1 court and, usually after the school had ended, a few people would play everyday. But that was the last time i played baddy, before i stopped playing for a long, looong time, until a few yrs ago. Interestingly though, i also don't recall having a hard time with the shuttles.
Sometimes i ask my GF to play with me outside my house.Like they said,it's the quality of the game that matters.Hehe..
I started this sport in outdoor when I was a little kid. Back then, we were using wooden rackets, with those rocket like red cork plastic shuttles. Actually, we did prefer the plastic over feather, as it has less effect by the wind. As of today, I don't mind to play some very relaxing game during a family party or picnic. We usually use cheap rackets and plastic shuttles, to minimize the wind factor as well as prevent losing $200 as some kids smashing the racket to the ground. Personally, I don't look down the players who enjoy the sport outdoor, and I agree every sport can be played at different levels. It's a matter of whether you want to be ultra competitive or simply have a bit exercise and having fun.
• do you use your good/best racquet(s) or older/cheaper ones? Any racket would do. Save the best for competition. • do you play against other serious indoor players or against people who don't otherwise play badminton? No I don't. I play outdoor badminton just for recreational purpose. Mainly, I just hit clears. No smashes cause its hard to play with some wind involved. • Where do you play? (your backyard, the park, etc.) Backyard. I used to play with my neighbour with the fence as the net. =P • Feather or nylon shuttles? Both. I disapprove though playing outdoors. It just destroys your hand-eye coordinate
I love those outdoor badminton sets. I know at least 10 people who started with backyard badminton and had so much fun they wanted to go to the next level and learn how to play indoors. Maybe backyard badminton isn't the problem. Maybe it's the prejudism over the stereotype. Meh, but that's another topic I guess. I don't play outside anymore except maybe casually with my children. But I have many neighbours that do in the summer. I can see them from my window in their yards and if you got the right friends, it's quite fun.
When I first played badminton as a kid, outdoor was the only option. Well, I wasn't any good anyway. After coming to the US and started playing in high school, that was when I started playing indoor.
When I was growing up, it was all outdoors, be it friendly or competitive. Great fun it was, I do recall. School matches... all outdoors. You just adapted to the conditions. It was the same for both sides.
I do. Just below my block. Nicely painted with green flooring. Use old rackets and old shuttles. Training kids. The wind just gives you extra ummmpphhh in navigating your shots. Good for reflexes.. hehe..
