Watch the birdie
By Ronda Addy

Perhaps badminton is not as popular as it once was, but it is still a fun game. How many of you know about the history of badminton? A few, right? Well, here is some information guaranteed to inform you of the history of badminton.

The roots of badminton can be traced back to a child's game played in England called "battledore and shuttlecock." Battledore referred to a paddle and shuttlecock to a small, feathered cork called "a bird." The object of the game was for two players to keep the bird up in the air as long as possible.

British officers stationed in India added a net to the game, and by the 1860s, it had became a competitive sport called "poona." When the officers returned to England, they brought poona with them. In 1873, the Duke of Beaufort threw a party at his estate Badminton where the new game was played. It was referred to as the "the game of badminton" and the name stuck.

In 1877, the Bath Badminton Club was organized in an attempt to standardize the rules of the game and make them more English. In 1895, the Badminton Association of England was formed and took over the authority of the Bath Badminton Club. In 1899, the first All- England championship was held. A year later, the first badminton tournament for women was created.

Badminton's popularity continued to grow in England until there were 300 badminton clubs in 1920, about 500 in 1939 and more than 9,000 clubs in the British Isles after WWII. The popularity of badminton spread throughout Europe and across the ocean into the United States.

In 1878, the Badminton Club of New York was organized, but it was mainly a social club. In 1908, the Badminton Health Club of Boston was organized, and by 1925, it had over 300 members. Despite all of this, badminton didn't truly become popular in the United States until the 1930s.

The American Badminton Association (ABA) was founded in 1935, and on April 1, 1937, it held its first national championship tournament. In 1934, the International Badminton federation was founded with plans to hold a world team championship in 1939, but WWII forced the federation to cancel their plans and postpone them until 1949. The ABA was renamed the U.S. Badminton Association in 1978 and became a fullfledged member of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1989.

At the 1972 Olympics, badminton was staged as a demonstration sport. It was made an official Olympic sport with competition for both men and women in singles and doubles play in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. In 1996, mixed doubles play was added. Badminton was also made a sport for the Pan-American Games in 1995.

In the 1980s, the International Badminton Federation (IBF), which was organized in 1934, established the World Grand Prix Circuit. The U.S. Open offers the most prize money of the tour.

There have been many standout players throughout the history of badminton. Among some of these are Eddy Choong, Judy Devlin-Hashman and David G. Freeman. Choong won the All-England singles championship in 1953, 1954, 1956 and 1957. He won the doubles for three years running, starting in 1952. Devlin-Hashman won over 50 major championships, including 12 U.S. senior's national titles and 10 All-England championships from 1954 to 1967. Freeman won the U.S. Championship from 1939 through 1942 and in 1947, 1948 and 1953. He also won the men's doubles title five times, and in 1949, he won the All-England singles championship.

Badminton's popularity may have declined somewhat over the years, but that does not take away from any of the outstanding players of the sport. With their speed, agility, endurance and precision, today's top players can return shuttlecocks at speeds over 200 mph. Top Olympic athletes train five to six hours a day, six to seven days a week. Badminton and its participants have come a long way!