UK attitudes to badminton

Discussion in 'General Forum' started by dlp, Aug 11, 2002.

  1. dlp

    dlp Regular Member

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    I feel the standard of the majority of UK club and local league players is very poor. Even amongst clubs which compete for the honours in leagues it is very seldom you will find a club which has a regular training night or does any more "practice " than just playing games.

    The big problem is often technical. Most club players don't see good players , and so don't get the opportunity to learn from watching and they receive little in the way of good coaching. I know that in other countries the whole mindset is much more geared to practicing to improve, to having a club with a development plan for bringing through new players .

    Why is it that people are not more receptive to the idea of coaching and practicing?
    People learn to play golf for instance, they invariably book lessons and practice, sure golf is a very upper class sport and so the players have the money to spend on coaching but badminton in the uk is full of professional people. Why do people think they can just pick up a racket and play , badminton is one of the most technically demanding sports!

    Another thing I notice is people are always looking for an "easy" way to improve, for instance they would rather sit and chat about tactics etc with a coach than be told that they hold the racket wrong and need to learn that first.

    In general the tactics, epecially for league doubles are very simple. Sure there are particular shots or situations to use against certain players but for 90% of club players its really their abiltiy to play the shots that is holding them back. Even if they spent 20 mins a week practicing their defence on club night it would make a big difference. So many club players seem unable to even serve well, or are ignorant of the service laws.

    Why is so much of the badminton playing public (which is huge in UK) quite ignorant about their own sport? Is this just because we lack media coverage.

    I took a player I coached to my clubnight (he's no.1 in the senior county and had won national junior titles) and the club players said "oh hes quite good who's he!!!"
    and this is one of the best clubs in the county. The league players don't go to watch county matches or opens, they don't read the magazine, they don't find out when its on TV and watch.

    My point? All of this in the long run contributes to the national team's success. If players are not "buying into" their own sport the rewards and the infrastructure are not there for the national players.

    Also tennis clothing and goods are a huge market, why isn't badminton clothing likewise. At tennis clubs you have to wear the "right" clothing. Should leagues be introducing clothing restrictions, if everyone in the league had to buy a yonex shirt would this pump money back into sponsorships in the long run?

    Let me have your thoughts.
     
  2. gerry

    gerry Regular Member

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    dlp..........at last something that we agree upon.

    Yes most club players aren't interested in any form of coaching, it probably has to do with the coverage of badminton in the UK or lack of it I should say. But we have to accept that most club players just want to play 2/3 times per week as badminton is only a part of their social life
    I, probably the same as you always wanted to be the best I could be, playing and coaching, I always found it frustrating when players wanted just to play games on clubnight rather than practise but had to learn to accept that these were the 2/4 hours per week that they just simply wanted to play.
    I did manage to persuade one serious club that coaching was worthwhile but of course that meant it had to be on a seperate night which meant more costs/time and a lot of players weren't prepared to pay for it, I did coach them and we won all our leagues that year which was worthwhile.
    Most players don't or want to see beyond their own little league but then why should they, if they don't want to improve then that is their choice.

    I feel if there was more coverage on TV and newspapers about badminton and easier access to watching county/national players in action, maybe, just maybe players might want to improve their standard but at the moment I think we have to accept that badminton in the UK is a 2nd class sport. The media still see badminton as a minority ping/pong game played in a sports hall.

    National/international players are in a different world from club players and if it was possible , I would like to see more interaction between them both, I think that would help but I also accept that it would be difficult to bridge the gap by the top players playing in as many areas as possible, therefore allowing club players to see what is actually possible to achieve, simply by watching such good players should hopefully enthuse others to better their standard.

    It would be great if national/int players could be involved in some way with local leagues however small, it would help the local players to identify with them and become more involved. Like Jonas Rasmussen being involved with this site. the fact that there is a small connection now to him makes me want to watch him more closely in the future, there's a connection there which creates an interest in an individual which previously was just a name.

    This doesn't really answer your question but it's the best I can do at this time of night.

    I think it's a really good question and look forward to other replies !
     
  3. dlp

    dlp Regular Member

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    I agree that promoting the sport needs to be personality lead, the game could thrive around a good player with a good media image. Perhaps if the indonesians who are going to play for England were Canadian (Greg Rusdeski) it would be a more appealing image?
     
  4. LIPlayer

    LIPlayer Regular Member

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    So many major league baseball players are from central and south American countries does not seems to lower any appealing image or compensation level of baseball player in the USA. Just a thought! If public like, understand and enjoy any game then it does not matter how a player looks. They enjoy the art of the game and the artist (player). IMHO.
     
  5. Badders

    Badders Regular Member

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    Let's face it...there is little buy in to badminton at most levels.

    The media can't seem to find a hook into the sport, most of the national associations aren't run and organised like businesses and many league players don't have any opinion on the sport outside of their local sports centre.

    The lack of business sense within many of the badminton bodies is an inhibitor but the main area of concern is lack of media coverage.

    I feel this is simply down to the meekness of most badminton players.

    In tennis, many of the players are aggressive, vocal (grunting) and argumentative with the officials. They are also more expressive and emotional on court. All of this emotion gets the crowd and media going.

    Many badminton players also show no expression on their faces whilst playing. As soon as badminton players start to shout, get angry, gee themselves up and motivate the crowd, the sooner the media will start to sniff around.

    This brings up another point.

    The officials don't let the players express themselves. The yellow card for Simon Archer in the Commonwealth Games for merely talking to the umpire, the warning to Li Li for clenching her fist. Let's release the shackles and start to show the world that badminton is full of characters and the most important people are on the court, and not sitting in a high chair nearby.

    Jonathan Phillips
    www.Badders.com
     
  6. Matt Ross

    Matt Ross Regular Member

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    Archer got a yellow card? When?
     
  7. Slanter

    Slanter Regular Member

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    National League!
     
  8. Badders

    Badders Regular Member

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    Yellow Card

    Don't quote me on this but I think it was in one of the quarter or semi-finals. Maybe the mixed against Shirley and Runesten-Peterson.

    He was accused by the umpire of connecting with a shuttle before it went out. He said he didn't touch it and sat on one of the advertising hoardings. After waving his arms around and saying it was a daft decision the umpire fumbled around and showed the yellow card.

    Not sure what a serious offence would get a player...public flogging perhaps?

    Jonathan Phillips
    www.Badders.com
     
  9. dlp

    dlp Regular Member

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    I agree that bad behaviour gets more press than exciting play but I'm not sure thats what we want to see in badminton. Tennis is like a circus sometimes, and anyway the most composed and steady players are usually those that do best, whatever the sport.

    In general our English players show too much emotion on court to the detriment of their performance!

    I agree however that there needs to be more interaction between the players and the crowd, but its because the crowd aren't familiar with the players that they don't really get involved. Again its a chicken and egg situation, increased media would result in more crowds, but how do we get the ball rolling? At junior team events there is plenty of crowd participation, how do we get that at premier weekends?

    In general from club to county level throught international the sport IS run unprofessionally , the avarage age of most county commitees could be 60 in my experience!
     
  10. Matt Ross

    Matt Ross Regular Member

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    Jonathan..

    I never even see that or heard that happen! It was in the commonwealth games?
    Well Archer is never one to give up, and i spose the yellow card was just to sort things out quickly. Rubbish umpiring no doubt...

    Matt
     
  11. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Excellent. We need a bit of controversy now and then for the media to pick up on. Otherwise, how are they going to sensationalise the sport? What are the media going to report on - men's singles was played to 15 points,..., mixed was played to 11 points......etc. Pretty boring for old Joe Bloggs on the street, if you see my point.

    Unfortunately for badminton, the rules don't leave many things open to interpretation. Hence less room to argue with the umpire.
     
  12. Bbn

    Bbn Regular Member

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    Arguing with umpire at certain moments and creating distractions

    is tantamount to cheating in the 15 point system.

    There were so many cases of players creating a distraction when winded to

    catch their breath esp after 10 points of continuous play.

    Play should be continuous and I think umpires should be able to use their

    discretion whether arguing etc. is a ploy.

    It was used to very good effect in 1984 Thomas Cup finals where Hastomo was

    winded and his coach created a distraction 5 minutes long in closing stages of 3rd

    set and allowed Hastomo to regain his strength and beat Han Jianand win Thomas

    Cup.it is merely my view.
     
  13. dlp

    dlp Regular Member

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    Johnathan,

    Thinking about your comments about more passion and excitement being needed in the game while I was watching the Thomas cup finals from May. Every match was exciting , there was massive crowd involvement , controversy, aggression, drama and spectacular play.

    Now I don't deny that the English badminton fan is exposed to little of this , but the problem quite simply is because we can't even qualify for the finals.

    Excepting mixed, which noone really cares about or in Asian trains for, and imported indonesians we have no world class pairs. As a singles force we are a third rate nation. Teams such as Holland, Germany, Singapore Thailand and Wales can all boast better upcoming or existing players.

    I think there is nothing wrong with the game, or the umpires, its the lack of quality in the players and a lack of depth in our squads which means we have little to watch!
     
  14. Dimo

    Dimo Regular Member

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    Well, look at it logically: Badminton has a poor image partly because as a "pastime" it is relatively easy to play recreationally. At base level it isn't demanding of skill, strength, stamina or fitness and is played indoors by simply hitting a shuttle upward over a net. A media reporter turning up at the average sports hall might well leave with the idea that badminton is slow, boring and undemanding.

    We know very differently. But even when TV coverage exists there don't seem to be many converts where it matters. It seems in the end that a lot is down to a general lack of knowledge and appreciation of the sport. Changing the scoring system may help a little - but look at the fiasco of that recently.

    Badminton from the top down needs people with awareness, passion and drive. I reckon I and like-minded others could contribute valuably but in the UK that is unlikely to happen due to lack of funding, thinking and/or regimentation. Prove me wrong!

    While you're at it, give the IBF a kickstart, will you?
     
  15. Smitten

    Smitten Regular Member

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    Don't be so easily defeated. Drive this yourself. It's not purely about funding.

    If you truly believe in something, and have the time to dedicate to it, then go for it, drive it, push it, leave no stone un-turned. Think out of the box about how to generate interest and funding - don't wait for others to offer it on a plate.

    What about these "local badminton development officers" - or whatever they're called. Wasn't part of the concept of BAofE introducing these lowly remunerated soles to get sponsorhip, raise the profile of the sport, etc. What was the outcome of that? Did anyone ever hear? Was it a wasted cause?

    Seems to me, if you leave things like this to the associations and regulatory bodies, very little will be done.

    If I had more time to spare I'd certainly push for it. Even though my standard is "pretty average", I enjoy the sport and benefits of it immensely. Sadly, I have very little time to sleep, let alone promote this totally under valued, under rated and under publicised sport.

    Thanks for listening.
     
  16. Dimo

    Dimo Regular Member

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  17. Smitten

    Smitten Regular Member

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    I wrote a lengthy response to this, but it appears not to have loaded.

    In summary:

    My views, are simply that, my views. They don't apply solely to a corporate world, they apply to every day life. If you truly believe in something, you work endlessly towards getting it / achieving it, you leave no stone un-turned until you reach your goal. You don't convince yourself you can't achieve it because "I'm just one person"! Look through the history books, they're full of individuals who have gone against all the odds and made the difference for something they believed in.

    If you were the publisher of a magazine whose subscription had dropped, would you simply dismiss the need to re-market, look to grow distribution / membership, look for investers to help re-launch the magazine and slowly watch it go down the pan? I don't think so.

    Reality: Yes, we need investment in the sport; yes, we need to grow the base of supporters / followers of the sport; yes, the sport needs sponsors and investors; yes, it's difficult to do something the regulatory bodies haven't successfully achieved. Does that mean it can't be done and isn't worthy of effort? Does it?

    Questions: Are you the only person who "gives a fig" about this sport? No! Do you not think there are other people like you who could generate possible ideas for regulatory boards to implement? Yes, of course there are. Do you think the regulatory boards and governing bodies have done all they can to raise the profile, increase "membership" and generate sponsors and investment for the sport? Doesn't sound like you do, nor many of the other people who have responded to this article, or historically passed comment in this forum. Do you think these governing boards and regulatory bodies could do with the help of people like you? Yes, and more!

    Yes, you're one individual, but you can make a difference. You could find alot of people in this forum who have ideas that haven't been properly investigated or even thought of by these bodies. You, yes you, could drive these ideas forward with the governing bodies, and perhaps (who knows) generate that "out of the box thinking" that may make a difference to this sport in the UK. Someone needs to do this, and before it's too late.

    As I said in my previous mesage, I'd love to do it myself, but I simply don't have the time, nor perhaps the same passion of the sport as you. It needs someone like you to help make these governing and regulatory bodies see some sense, bring in new ideas, etc....

    I'm not suggesting to do this in isolation, I'm suggesting you join forces with whoever you need to to try and help drive the success of this sport forward.

    'nuff said.. thanks again for reading / listening.
     
  18. Dimo

    Dimo Regular Member

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    Your arguments may be valid but not in this badminton scenario, in my opinion. You can drive drive drive all you like but you cannot 'make' everyone listen, take note and bring about sweeping changes. Just throwing enthusiasm and emotion at the problem is far too simplistic.
     
  19. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    a couple of points that i'd like to make...

    firstly, about making badminton more popular in the local club/gyms. i think the main problem is as gerry said. most players just want to play. they'd rather come in to the gym, have their 2 hours of sweat, run around, make some laugh, win a few games, lose a few games, and then go home take a shower. when asked to do anything more, like organizing some tourney, or even some social dinner or clean up the gym, whatever, most of them will run away.

    face it, 80% of the players there are in the gym for recreational purposes. i am sure they would love to play like the very good players, but honestly, i am sure they'd rather stay as they are when they realize how much hard work and coaching ($$) it takes to improve.

    sounds depressing. but we have to remember the 20% that's left. a lot of them are keen players who plays very hard and love the sport, but i'd say they are more interested in the game for themselves, and would not care about the sport in general. a lot of them thinks that someone else will be there to provide the gym time, and all they need to do is to pay a few dollars and show up with their racket.

    and then there are the type who actually did something. they might be the one who has organized gym time, the ones who have organized a tournament and even the ones who have enough financial ability to open up a local badminton store are contributing to the sport, imho. (hey, or the one who decide to open up a website... :p )

    i have seen quite a few example of these, many have organized tournaments, some have organized open-gyms. some even rented warehouse space for a dedicate gym.

    all very good. however, there are some who are left. these are people who love the sport, dedicated, but don't know where to start. i must say, these are a small percentage of the crowd, but a lot of times, all you need is a couple of people to get something going. the key then is to identify these people and approach them.

    in summary, i think it is unrealistic to expect everybody to participate in promoting the sport (other than playing). i believe that you need to find out who among you are keen enough and care enough about the sport to actually do something about it.
     
  20. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    more comments regards the popularity at the professional level. we have talked about how to generate controversy, etc in the sport. or a media figure. perhaps there is something that we haven't really touch upon. and i think that is hype. the US media is amazing at generating hype. they imho can make something that is just mediocore and nothing too special and makes the whole nation be aware of it.

    take the now non-existence XFL for example, the media hyped it so much most of the nation had their TV on it when it debuted. well, it turned out that it was nothing more than some mediocore football player making non-sense comments and generally not too exciting.

    but imagine if someone can generate the same amount of hype for badminton? do you think after the initial spike, the level of interests will persist? we all know the game and know how difficult it is to play the game, but do we think badminton actually have the correct presentation on TV to make it popular?
     

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