All she's done is to wear long compression shorts and put a skirt over it. Kinda defeats the intent of the BWF. Glad that LYB is openly supporting the cause. Can't wait to see the likes of Yu Yang and Du Jing in a skirt
I can't remember if it was the World Championships 2010 or some other tournament, but the entire Chinese women's team were outfitted by LiNing in some of the most lovely dresses I have ever seen a player wear! Wish they would bring that back!
They are and as madbad rightly mentions it defeats the purpose of the rule . Those WC2K10 Li-Ning dresses were quite nice indeed ...
i dun really like big and muscular thigh sport woman.. it doesn't matter to me as my focus will not be on their dressings. However i do welcome such changes as they could make sport woman more like a lady and also boost in female wear design & variety.
I don't know why the girls still don't want to wear skirt even IF there is shorts inside, and even IF the skirt is the type that doesn't block their movement. why why why??
By Abhaya Srivastava | AFP News – Mon, Apr 18, 2011 7:55 PM SGT A new ruling that requires female badminton players to wear skirts on court is causing unease among players as they prepare to adopt the new compulsory dress code. The Indian Open, which begins next Tuesday, will be the last tournament in which women can wear shorts on court before the skirt requirement comes into force on May 1. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced the change in 2009 in a bid to boost the sport's profile among viewers and sponsors. Doubles specialist and Indian glamour girl Jwala Gutta, who has always played in skirts, said the new dress code might help to raise interest but players should not be forced to conform. "You cannot make it compulsory for everyone to wear skirts. It depends on each individual and their comfortable level. I am not sure people will like being told what to wear and what not to," she said. World number three Saina Nehwal, the top seed at the April 26-May 1 Indian Open, is one of the many players in India who prefers to wear shorts on court. Gutta, who won the Commonwealth Games gold last year with her partner Ashwini Ponnapa, endorsed efforts to make the sport more glamorous. She said that interest in tennis was greater partly because of the attraction of female stars such as Maria Sharapova or the Williams sisters, whose on-court outfits are often as remarked about as their game. India's top female tennis player Sania Mirza came under fire from Muslim clerics four years back for wearing short skirts on court. "Anything that helps makes the sport attractive should be welcomed," said the 27-year-old Gutta, whose eye-catching looks and daring dress sense on and off court have won her a loyal following at home. "But instead of enforcing rules on players, the federation should ask sponsors to come up with innovative dresses. "You can add a lot of colour, experiment with styling and stuff like that. That way it will ensure players' comfort and take care of the glamour aspect as well." Another Indian player, who asked not to be named, said she was uncomfortable with the new ruling. "I wear skirts or dresses only on special occasions, but never in tournaments," she said. "Skirts hamper my movement when I play." Despite rapid modernisation, India remains a generally conservative country where public displays of sexuality are taboo and women are expected to dress modestly.
Players have to realize badminton is going the commercial route and there's no turning back. If the sponsors are going to bring in the $$$, they will want to widen the appeal of the sport. And if that means women players changing their dress code, I'm afraid that's part and parcel of it. As several posters have pointed out, skorts are essentially undershorts with a skirt over it. It's been designed with comfort and modesty in mind. Women tennis players and I haven't heard complaints of movement restrictions.
a little experiment for the guys, imagine wearing skirts and moving in them, then borrow a real skirt from your gf or whoever you know very well and try them on to check the movement restriction
Having worn a kilt for a whole summer I can say that manoueverability is not the issue. Perhaps a better comparison for the guys to imagine is if the BWF enforced all males to wear a big clunky Phiten necklace. Many would rightly protest that their game (the way they earn their living) should not be interfered with by useless bobbles. "I've never worn a necklace in my life. It's uncomfortable and distracting." "It is unseemly in my culture for a man to wear a necklace" _________ The issue is choice. We are talking about professional atheletes. A BWF dress code to ensure a minimum level decency is fine. But if the rule on skirts is designed to enforce ladies to dress like Barbie dolls, in hopes that a few more twisted blokes will pay admission to the stadium to get their jollies, then it is as economically daft as it is disrespectful.
The normal undershorts that come with skirts are rather short, it's designed that way so the skirt is longer than the shorts. Unless the gal wears separates like the player in post #79. The players are on court to show off their skills, not their body, which what this rule enforcement suggests.
Ironically, Jwala and others have called it the sponsors' responsibility to design better clothes, though granted, this means only the clothing sponsors. It would be strange to hear a tennis player complain when they are presumably wearing those clothes by choice. Tennis does not have a skirt/dress requirement in their 'dress code'. As for movement restrictions, I don't believe we can treat the two sports as the same. There is more lunging and jumping in badminton than in tennis and I believe that's why hotpants lasted longer in badminton than tennis. But as 7SamuraiX points out, I cannot make any statements about the restrictiveness of a skirt without having worn one.
Two of the most elegant and lethal women's singles players ever. These girls knew how to walk and carry themselves. And they were also among the all-time greats of the game... Now that's how a skirt should look! [video=youtube;ZKdM8JXhdKE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKdM8JXhdKE[/video]
New Date for New Clothing Regulations Thursday, April 21, 2011 Badminton’s new clothing regulations, part of an overall campaign to raise the profile of women in Badminton and profile of the sport, will be implemented on 1 June 2011, granting Member Associations and players another month to adapt to the new ruling. The BWF has received feedback from various parties with regards to the introduction of Rule 19.2 of the General Competition Regulations which require female players to wear skirts or dresses for Level 1 to 3 tournaments. This specific regulation has its genesis in the extensive review into the marketing and events structure conducted by an external international marketing agency in 2009. The BWF has developed guidelines to go alongside the new Regulation, to ensure that it will not in any way discriminate against any religious or other beliefs and respects women. Players will continue to wear shorts if they wish but simply wear a skirt over the top of the shorts, as is often practiced already by some players. Many players have supported the intention of the rule, but some have asked why it is necessary to make a regulation. “Sometimes it is necessary to make rules to get a consistent implementation. BWF have for many years encouraged both Badminton clothing manufacturers and players to produce and wear clothing that would enhance the presentation of the game in general,” said BWF Deputy President Paisan Rangsikitpho. “We are however always willing to listen to the players, which is why we have decided to delay the implementation date slightly to 1 June to be able to advise and have a dialogue with the players on the implementation guidelines.” Rangsikitpho also added that the one-month extension will provide an opportunity for its Members to fully understand the reasons behind the new rule leading up to its 28 May AGM in Qingdao, China. The new rule was supposed to be enforced on 1 May 2011. But with the one month extension, the first tournament with these rules will therefore be in June at the Singapore Open, part of the OSIM BWF World Superseries. Some of the steps already initiated to raise the profile of women in Badminton are offering equal prize money for men and women disciplines, standardized 21-point rally system for men and women disciplines and equal male and female participation across the events offered – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Former world champion Nora Perry, who also heads the BWF Women in Badminton Working Group, welcomed the new rule. “I am thrilled to be part of putting the women’s game higher on the agenda in the BWF. And the new clothing regulations are one of the tools that can help create a better presentation and more distinct profile of the women’s game”, said Perry. “We need to be able to differentiate the women’s game to create the attention that the women’s game deserves. Being a woman myself I do not think that the rules in any way discriminate against women. The rules give sufficient room for the players to chose comfortable clothing and still be living up to the intentions of the regulations.”
