Badminton Court Dimensions & Measurements
Most American families love to play badminton as a outdoor backyard sport. Badminton sets are typically inexpensive and can bring hours of family fun. But for the serious competitors, they got to know where the out of bounds lines are. Here you can find out the different dimensions of badminton courts. You can also check out our Quick Facts About Badminton Court Measurements.
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Q: How far should the net be off the
A: The top of the net should be 5 feet, 1 inch at the poles with the center net being one inch less (five feet off the ground).
Q: How wide is a badminton court?
A: 17 feet if you are playing singles; 20 feet for doubles
Q: How long is a
A: 22 feet on both sides of the net.
Q: What is that thing called that you hit
with the racket in badminton?
A: Officially it is called a shuttlecock. It has also known as a birdie.
A Look at the Game of Badminton
Born from the traditional English game of battledore and shuttlecock and the Indian game of ball badminton, badminton is a sport enjoyed today on both the recreational and professional levels. While many are familiar with the sport from time spent playing casually in the backyard, to play the sport on a high level demands great agility, stamina, speed, and precision.
The beginnings of badminton can be traced back to British military officers stationed in British India in the mid-1800s. Early photographs show Englishmen adding a net to the traditional English game of battledore and shuttlecock. The new sport was particularly popular in the British garrison town of Poona, so that was the name originally given to it. Balls of wool were originally used in gameplay, but were soon dropped in favor of the shuttlecock. The game was taken back to England by retired military officers.
As early as 1875, veterans returning from India started a club in Folkestone. The Badminton Association of England published a set of rules very similar to those used today in 1893. The group began the All England Open Badminton Championships in 1899, inviting competition from all over the world. The International Badminton Federation (now known as the Badminton World Federation) was established in 1934, with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its charter members.
Badminton is still relatively new as a sanctioned Olympic sport. It was played as an exhibition sport in the 1972 and 1988 Summer Olympics, but was not added as an official Summer Olympic sport until the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Professional competitions include the Thomas Cup, the Sudirman Cup, and the BWF World Championships. International competition has been largely dominated by Asian countries, such as China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia. It has been estimated that badminton is the second-largest participatory sport in the world, ranking only behind soccer.