Air Badminton- The new outdoor Game

01、Introduction

In 2022 the Badminton World Federation (BWF) in collaboration with HSBC, its Global Development Partner, successfully launched the new outdoor game – AirBadminton – and the new outdoor shuttlecock – the AirShuttle – at a ceremony in Guangzhou, China. AirBadminton is an ambitious new development project designed to create opportunities for people of all ages and ability to play badminton on hard, grass and sand surfaces in parks, gardens, streets, playgrounds and beaches around the world.

Badminton as we know it is a popular, fun and inclusive sport with more than 300 million active players globally, encouraging participation and excitement with a plethora of health and social benefits. Given that most people first experience badminton in an outdoor environment, the BWF is now making it easier for everyone to access the sport through a new outdoor game and a new shuttlecock.

02、Why play AirBadminton?

·It encourages participation and excitement

·Just one hour of badminton can burn around 450 calories

·It’s fun and inclusive

·It can prevent stress

·It’s great for speed, strength and agility

·It can reduce the risk of myopia in children

·You can play it anywhere, on hard, grass or sand surfaces

·It can help maintain a healthy weight

03、Court Dimensions

Following considerable testing, piloting and data collection, the proposed playing court is a rectangle measuring 16m x 6m metres for doubles and triples, and 16m x 5m for singles; surrounded by a free zone, which is a minimum of 1m on all sides. The length of the court is slightly longer than the 13.4m traditional badminton court, this is due to the fact that the AirBadminton court has a 2m dead zone at the front of the court in order to incentive rallies away from the net area, which will lead to better AirShuttle flight performance. The new court’s dimensions ensure that the AirShuttle will stay in play longer and rallies will be more entertaining. The posts supporting the net shall be placed outside each side line, and shall be no further than a 1.0 metre from each side line. ■ When playing on grass and hard surfaces courts, posts shall be 1.55m in height from the surface of the court. ■ For sand surface, the posts shall be 1.5m in height, and the top of the net from the surface should be 1.45m at the centre of the court. Research showed that by lowering the net to 1.45m, errors were reduced and rallies were extended.