Any else noticed how poor the court sweepers are? I've been watching the PUAVARANUKROH/TAERATTANACHAI v CHRISTIANSEN/PEDERSEN mixed doubles on youtube/live streaming. First game, at 11-12, Pederesen asks for the court to swept just behind the T. TYhe sweeper comes on and looks like she's about to start sweeping the whole court, until Pedersen points out where to sweep. At 12-15, Christiansen takes a dive and wet patches are clearly visible. The sweeper comes on and agains appears to want to sweep the whole court. The service judge comes on and points out where to sweep. After the sweeper leaves, the wet patches are still visible and Pedersen has to ask for the sweeper again. Again in the second game at 9-10 and you can see Pederesen trying to get the sweeper to put some effort into his sweeping. From other matches I've watched the sweepers all seem to have the same lack of enthusiasm for the task. They're probably unpaid volunteers, but I'm sure that the BAE could find better people, or give them some proper training. The BAE should look at effort Wimbledon takes in training their ball boys & girls. http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/atoz/ball_boys_and_ball_girls.html Admittedly, the sweepers won't need as much training, but it seems they've only had about 5 minutes on how to hold the mop.
Honestly there's just a fundamental issue when volunteers are used for professional matches. If they all had proper training and got paid I'm sure they would be a lot more professional.
They're getting the wrong sort of volunteers. They should ask competitive club players. They would understand the necessity of slippery courts. I'm sure there would plenty of willing volunteers who would give up a few days for a free courtside seat. Also the equipment provided could be better. How can they expect someone to properly sweep the court in less than 60 seconds with a such a small mop.
There must be loads of junior badminton players who are dying to be so close to their idols. They would more likely pay BWF than ask for money. The ones the officials pick just need a little more training. (Perhaps a few curling lessons: )
That's why I prohibited myself from the doing the service at India Open. I lack pronation while doing the inside out mopping. Coaches find my knees not bending enough in pressure situations.
