Monday, August 21, 2006

Badminton 101: Court Ethics


Tag Category: Badminton 101









I love watching a good badminton game. I am what you might call a professional.....spectator! Hahaha... (
Did you think I was gonna say professional player?) What makes a badminton game enjoyable to watch? In my personal opinion, it becomes enjoyable when the players are good, of the same caliber and of course, well-mannered. I have watched a million informal games in court and even a sizable number of tournaments and I have observed that there are a good number of players who do not practice the proper decorum in court. I have even seen a shouting match in a tournament when a player succumbed to the cheerings and jeerings of a spectator-mom, but that's another story altogether.

What constitutes good manners and right conduct of players in court? There are no hard and fast rules, although there are really some behavior that are prohibited in court as stated in the Players' Code of Conduct issued by the International Badminton Federation, the official governing body of badminton associations worldwide.

I also came up with my own list. Some of these can also be found in the Players' Code of Conduct, others are just my own observations. Please feel free to come up with your own list.

1. When the shuttle falls dead on your side of the court, you should return the shuttle properly to your opponent. The shuttle should be picked up either by hand or by your racket and properly tossed to the other side of the court. Please do not kick it, sweep it or smash it back to your opponent.

2. When the opponent is serving, do not engage in threatening acts or words in order to psyche out your opponent. Please leave that for the boxing match later.

3. When you are serving, please wait for your opponent to be ready before you swing at the bird...err...shuttle. Surprising the opponent is a "dirty tactic" that is easily gaining popularity...tsk tsk.

4. Please do not abuse the shuttle or your racket, especially in moments when you get frustrated. It is not nice to see a racket doing somersaults and back flips during a game.

5. When the opponent inadvertently lifts the shuttle high and near the net (
otherwise, pag benta na -- badminton aficionados will understand this term), please do not aim for your opponent's face. This is not target shooting.

6. Show only the appropriate amount of emotion in court. Do not shout obscenities, use foul language directly to your opponent, the linesmen or the umpire. That behavior should've retired together with John McEnroe.

7. When playing informally with a group of friends, and the shuttle falls on your side of the court, please make the appropriate call. Please do not say that the shuttle is out when it obviously fell in. Remember the Golden Rule.

8. While this is not necessary, I really appreciate a show of apology by either raising your hand or your racket when the shuttle grazes the net and still falls in your opponent's side. After all, even world no. 1 Lin Dan does this. So shouldn't we, lesser mortals, follow his example?

9. Do not be intimidated by spectators. (Ang mapikon, talo.)

10. Finally, before this list gets any longer, after a game, please do not forget to shake your opponent's hand. (And that includes the service judge and umpire when playing in a tournament.)

With this in mind, just remember that the most important thing in a game is to enjoy. Happy playing!


24 comments:

ipanema said...

You have a good list, most of which point to as they teach in mababang paaralan...good manners and right conduct..:) I say amen to all. It's really a turn off when players have shouting match. However, I haven't witnessed this here.


My Chinese friends are really damn good (sorry for the word, i need to stress their prowess). It's as if they're playing for an international match. I used to play badminton but I'm no match to them. Still I get invited because that's their daily exercise. I go for fun.

Anonymous said...

You mean they actually do that in a badminton court? The shouting and the cursing? Kinda like a professional match....

ladybug said...

ipanema> I'm so glad to learn that you play badminton. It's really a fun sport. Kaka-adik nga eh. Hahaha...pag napadpad ako sa lupain niyo yayayain kitang maglaro ng badminton. :-)

snglguy> Yes, I witnessed a shouting match in a tournament I attended. Grabe, the player and her opponent's mom got into a shouting match...then eventually the whole family (dad, brother, sister, alalay...in short, buong barangay) got involved. It was a sorry sight.

Anonymous said...

Good manners should really be practised in all aspects of life.

My middle son is oh so pikon whenever he loses a game that we play here at home. I know he's not like that when playing with other kids outside the home but I always remind him to always be a good sports.

ipanema said...

Naku ladybug baka ilampaso mo ko. Volunteer na lang ako umpire. :)

ladybug said...

niceheart> I agree, it should be practised at all times. Kids can be like that sometimes. My nephew was also pikon before, but he outgrew that stage.

ipanema> Nako, imposible. I'm not as active as before. Sige, ako na lang umpire. Hahaha... :-D

Rey said...

mahilig ka pala sa badminton... Manuod.

hehehe... Parang si Jean. some of the best badminton players in the world are singaporeans so there's always a tournament here and there.

ladybug said...

rey> Yes, singaporeans are good in badminton. There was a time in the past when Filipinos could beat them (my husband beat the #1 Singapore player during his time). But now, sadly, we're at the bottom of the food chain. During the last SEA games, kulelat na tayo. Vietnam made a better showing than we did. Ang sarap niyo naman, you always get to watch world-caliber badminton games there.

Abaniko said...

What about unnecessarily delaying the game to stall your winning momentum? Nakakainis din to, ano?

anotherT said...

It is a great list for a beginner of badmintor like me. Thanks a lot!

Senorito<- Ako said...

Re: Bicol Express

I didn't know that makin bicol express was that simple... I'm makin one this week.

ladybug said...

abaniko> I agree. Kakainis din yun. :-) Hmmm, maybe I'll come up with list #2...hahaha. Thanks!

3water> You're very much welcome! And thanks for visiting my site. :-)

senorito<-ako> Yes, it's just easy to cook bicol express. Matatagalan ka lang sa pagpalambot ng pork...lalo na kung matigas pa. Thanks for dropping by. :-)

Lazarus said...

Sometimes, we play hostile games between friends, wanting to get even.

Tuksuhan, shouting, and hitting the opponent's body parts. Wala namang personalan. But it's really really bad if you have a losing streak.

ladybug said...

lazarus> Haha..I guess that's acceptable as long as it's clear and among friends. Kaso, ingat lang baka magkatampuhan. :-)

Lazarus said...

@ladybug - the tampuhan did happen. After being absent for many months, one of the group pioneers, showed up. He used to head the kantsawan, but this time, he's different. He walked out.

Anonymous said...

A very good list... though I have another one to add. Married couples should never play on the same team in doubles... kc parati nag-aaway. Ay... sakin lang pala yon applicable. :)

ladybug said...

lazarus> That's sad to hear. I hope things can still be patched up among all of you.

toe> Hahaha..actually, applicable din yan sa iba. Minsan, sinasadya talaga nilang huwag mag-team up kasi para maiwasan ang awayan.

Señor Enrique said...

I can't undestand why people get so twisted over a simple game of tennis or badminton; acting as if their honor and their ancestors' are involved over a 200-peso per hour of courtime play... hahaha!

ladybug said...

eric> Oh, but for some it is a matter of honor. Some people can be very intense, even during informal games. These people do not like to lose. Mas lalo na pag tournaments. That's why I always remind myself that the most important thing is to enjoy. Life is short.

Señor Enrique said...

I know, Ladybug. I used to play tennis with a group of doctors who really get so steamed over a simple line call. I mean, we're talking respectable people suffering from momentary lapse of reason over a leisurely tennis game. Hilarious, actually.

It should always be just for fun and comraderie, no?

ladybug said...

eric> Yes, I agree. Very well said. :-)

badmintonhk said...

It is really a good list of good manner of playing badminton.
I want to add one point:
Please do not change the badminton shuttle while the shuttle is still in good condition because nowadays, the badminton shuttles are very expensive. Changing shuttle is dirty tactic.

ladybug said...

badmintonhk> You have a point there. Thanks for your contribution and for dropping by. :-)

Serena said...

May I post this link to our website because I think all players should learn this, no matter how good/bad they are !