Unless you are a professional player playing in a major tournament where there are volunteers armed with mops ready to wipe the floor for you, likely you will have encountered dusty badminton courts. Dust is not only slippery but dangerous as slipping can easily cause injury. Here we describe a few ways to deal with these dusty courts.

Don’t be the dust mite

The first thing we need to remember is not to become the source of dust. Dust in gyms comes from human activities, and most of it comes from dirty shoes. Streets are filled with dust everywhere, if you wear your badminton shoes outside dust will trap in the grooves in the sole of your shoes and you will bring them along with you into the gym. If you want to keep the gym clean and dust free, make sure you wear street shoes for street, and gym shoes for gyms only.

Mopping the floor beforehand

Mop the floor. Most gyms are equipped with large mops. If you get to the gym and noticed a dusty floor, find the overseer of the gym and borrow their mop. They will lend it to you as they are always happy to have someone else clean their gym for them.

Wet towel/napkin

One popular way to get dust off one’s shoes is to put a wet towel on the ground and gently step on the towel. The water in the towel will clean off the dust and leave you with a clean sole. Often players put one next to the court behind the net post so they can go wipe between rallies.

Carpet/Rug

Sitting areas in gyms are often lined with carpet, entrances to gyms often have a entrance rugs. These provides a good clean the dust off the shoes. Just step into the carpet and rub your soles against them.

Use your hands

This sounds kinda strange. But I learned this effective method from a top level player. The idea is simple, raise your shoes, put your palm face on the sole near the toe end, and then swipe it along the sole towards the heel end. The swiping action along with the sweat on your palm will take the dust off your sole. This is an effective and fast method that you can do quickly in between rallies without interrupting the flow of the game. You can wipe your hand against your shirt or shorts if you find the feeling strange.

To conclude, we have described a few methods to reduce dust accumulation on your sole. A good grip of the ground reduces injuries as well as builds one’s confidence on footwork.