Intramural badminton is now meeting weekly Mondays at 6:30 p.m. on court 3 of the Truax campus. All Madison College students of all skill levels are invited to compete in the thrilling sport. Participants will have input on the style of tournaments and gameplay. Games will be played on four courts with rackets available for those who do not have their own equipment.

“Students will mostly run the weekly club,” said badminton course instructor Jan Schaefer. Her and Michael Davenport are the lone badminton teachers on campus and plan to attend games whenever possible. With enough participation and interest, additional weekly meetings will be considered once spring sports teams are able to begin practicing outside.

Badminton is played in a set of three games according to badminton.org. Rules for the game differ depending on the source, but below are some basics to get players ready for action.

Games begin with a toss or net drop. Whichever side the birdie points to, is awarded the first serve. The toss is when the birdie is released from the top of the net or hit over it.

Badminton shares some basic similarities with tennis. Besides use of a racket and net, both sports are played on a sectioned court with alternating serving positions. After that, the two are very different.

Court dimensions are contingent on the number of players. Doubles games use the entire 44 feet by 20 feet while singles only use 44 feet by 17 feet. The net is set at 5 feet 1 inch on the sides and 5 feet on the center of court.

In a game, a point is scored when the server wins a rally by landing the birdie on or within the lines of the opponent’s court. Unlike tennis, there is no service fault and redo. Also, hitting the net does not kill a serve. If the server is unable to place the birdie in the diagonally opposite square, the opponent takes control of the serve. All serves are required to be underhand and receivers aren’t allowed to move until it is delivered. The server begins on the right side when having an even score and left with an odd point total.

Singles games typically run to 11 points, but is occasionally played until a player reaches 15. Doubles is played until a team scores 21 with. Both game styles require a two-point lead to win.

The first games were played on Feb. 4 and students are glad that the sport finally has a home at Madison College outside of curriculum. One of the strongest players goes by the name E.T and wanted to encourage everyone to come and play. “It’s just fun,” he said. His words were simple, but very true.

Interesting Game Facts

• Badminton is believed to be the fastest racket sport with shuttle speeds clocked near 185 miles per hour.
• Over 1.1 billion television viewers tuned in to badminton’s first Olympic appearance in 1992.
• Soccer is the only sport more popular than badminton.
• The best badminton shuttles are made from the feathers from the left wing of a goose.
• The birdie was once known as battledore and shuttlecock.
• 16 feathers are used to make a shuttle.
• The 2012 Olympic Games involved badminton controversy when the Chinese team was found guilty of throwing a match.