Hi, just wonder if anyone could share your insight information, what shuttlecock speed is being used for competitions Singapore? such as Li Ning open or other official competitions. eg, (2, 49, 76 ) or (3, 50, 77)? Reason I am asking is I find that speed rating 3 shuttlecock is way too fast for our weather, but most of the shuttlecocks available are 3, 50 or 77 in Singapore. Any reasons why?
CSC definitely uses AS40-2. 3/50/77 are too fast for Singapore. In fact, I generally find 2/49/76 a little fast but I haven't bought anything slower. Some of the shuttles are grossly mislabeled. I had a Protech Masterpiece 76 that flies faster than any 77 I have tried. The RSL Classic (76) I tried that was pretty okay on the first 2 rallies then slows down to unbearable. My latest encounter with Victor Champion 76 felt okay until its destroyed 1.5sets later (pretty good since my past bad experience with Victor). By that time, it's probably a 74 or something. Even AS40-2 flies more like a 2.3 and the EG1138-49 feels more like 49.3. At least the flight of these 2 are very stable so it's easy to make adjustments. For the record, ChaoPai Red (49) feels perfect and RCL No.1 (76) is only a slight tad fast initially. I'm surprised you cannot find 2/49/76 here.
Thank you very much for your very valuable input. I should say it is more common to see rating 3 type of shuttlcock than rating 2 equivalent. When I use 50(3 or 77), I would usually try to bend 4 feathers to slow the shuttlecock down when it is new.
The environment also plays a part. You will find that the speed of the shuttlecock is different in a sports hall and a community club assuming you use the same brand/model of shuttlecocks. ps I heard from a Li-ning staff that the shuttlecocks used in the Singapore Open are not for sale.
How do you define fast and slow? Shuttlecock speeds are graded to suit different elevation, hall temperature and conditions, based on standards set by the BWF. There is only one standard for amateurs and competition. However, many players who are used to cheaper shuttles which are of lower quality may find say a higher quality shuttlecock like AS-50 speed 2 too fast for Singapore. It is not. Try to test its actual speed in the hall using the BWF testing method. Many will find their usual cheaper shuttles fail to reach the distance range and yet they find its speed ideal in play. In this case it is the player, not the shuttle speed.
May be I should not say fast. In comparative term, I find the AS-50 speed 2 is just nice for our play, but speed 3 would get out of baseline too easily; especially when new. So I just want to know, in additiona to our skill problem, is it partly due to wrong shuttlecock speed. And I think the easiest way to verify is to learn from expert who know what shuttlecock speed is being used in the formal competition locally.
I think they may use AS-50 speed 2 for Singapore, but they always test all the shuttles in the hall before actual play first to be sure that the selected shuttles and speed meet the BWF standard. Failing to do such pre-tournament shuttle speed testing can get some officials into trouble, if events turn out that a wrong speed has been chosen.
