A Discussion on the Problematic Growth of Badminton in the San Francisco Bay Area

[druss]

i think mystic's point about lowering badminton costs to foster better popularity is false.
As u said above it is a mind set and how the sport is promoted and marketed.

There are many expensive sports that have high barrier to entry and are very popular in term of tv and live audience.
Take golf, indy 500 and IROC. Even hockey having real gears can runs into $1000 plus ice rink rental.

if we just look at racquet only sports, why is tennis so much popular than racquetball, squash and badminton?
These racquet sports have similar cost for any beginner and advanced players.

why is tennis more popular? The most important reason is because you can find free tennis courts all across the US and Canada. Where do you find free gym/badminton facilities? Same is true for squash and racketball.

being from Canada and Edmonton (big hockey town) I will tell you that the cultural tendency is to play hockey first, then lacrosse, then the other "manly" sports like football, soccer... etc. Basically, if it doesn't involve physical contact of some kind then it's a "sissy" sport. The other thing is the media, western media focuses on those sports which have cultural and fiscal importance. The fact that people will travel to their countries to watch these sports, such as the tennis grand slams, means a lot of money for the economy. The fact that the prizes at these events are in the millions and have huge sponsors are also a part.

Quite frankly, you WON'T EVER get badminton into a position of prominence in north america that it enjoys in asia. Just like you won't get European football (soccer to us in NA) to the same level in NA that it enjoys in Europe. Not to make any comparisons but there are a TON of sports out there that I'm sure many people enjoy and love that don't get the attention the participants think they deserve.

Keep in mind that the highest ratings shows in Korea are WOW tournaments....

I don't even understand why this is such a big issue... trying to get north americans to play and appreciate would be nice but about as futile as trying to get malaysians to do the same for ice hockey....

[cooler]

why is tennis more popular? The most important reason is because you can find free tennis courts all across the US and Canada. Where do you find free gym/badminton facilities? Same is true for squash and racketball.

being from Canada and Edmonton (big hockey town) I will tell you that the cultural tendency is to play hockey first, then lacrosse, then the other "manly" sports like football, soccer... etc. Basically, if it doesn't involve physical contact of some kind then it's a "sissy" sport. The other thing is the media, western media focuses on those sports which have cultural and fiscal importance. The fact that people will travel to their countries to watch these sports, such as the tennis grand slams, means a lot of money for the economy. The fact that the prizes at these events are in the millions and have huge sponsors are also a part. Right now, i see more tennis players playing indoor than on those free outside courts.

Quite frankly, you WON'T EVER get badminton into a position of prominence in north america that it enjoys in asia. Just like you won't get European football (soccer to us in NA) to the same level in NA that it enjoys in Europe. Not to make any comparisons but there are a TON of sports out there that I'm sure many people enjoy and love that don't get the attention the participants think they deserve.

Keep in mind that the highest ratings shows in Korea are WOW tournaments....

I don't even understand why this is such a big issue... trying to get north americans to play and appreciate would be nice but about as futile as trying to get malaysians to do the same for ice hockey....

u r talking after the fact. Racketball and squash use to be very popular, more popular than tennis in North America. Courts were everywhere. Every university and fitness centers have racketball and squash courts. Suddenly, racket and squash are not longer hip and tennis became a cooler sport. Almost all these courts have been rip out and renovated into something else. I doubt people got interested in tennis because they plan to become tennis pros and make big $.

yes, this thread is about nothing. Free market is at work. More and better facilities sprouting up is a sign of progress. Average level of players are moving up and want higher end products. If Mystic want to see more courts for youth and seniors, he could go back to play at ICC or even go out and rent 'lower end' gym(s) and organize club(s) for the sub 5$ market. If he feels current higher end clubs are missing the mark, he can sure make some coins filling the this void that he is claiming.

[ctjcad]

..for those interested & haven't seen it, here are a few more comments on this thread:
http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...-Area#comments

[beermonstertw]

I understand your feelings.Business doesn`t grow like vegetables;instead growning in a way you can`t expect.The business looks like a chaos means more amount of money hidden in it.We have had that problem here in Taiwan for decades as I remember.Everyone turns their dreams and talents into cash the times you feel ugly and dirty,but that`s life.Hopefully,I don`t sound like a politician.Go get yourself a home sauna,dumb bells,a bench and a space to stretch at home like I did.You go to clubs for socialization to maintain good relationships to the others,then you will get over it.If you can change it do it now or you`ll have a regret in your life.

[koyeng]

5$ per court or per head? If 5$ per head, it is expensive, if 5$ per court and per enterance, that is really cheap man. Here in Malaysia RM25/court / hour. Consider average mid range income RM40,000 anum.