Middle School Physical Education
Badminton Unit Study Guide
History of the Game
The beginnings of Badminton can be traced to mid-18th century British India, where it was created by British
military officers stationed there. The International Badminton Federation (IBF) (now known as Badminton World
Federation) was established in 1934 with Canada, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, New
Zealand, Scotland, and Wales as its founding members. Since 1992, badminton has been an Olympic sport with five
events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in which each pair consists of a
man and a woman. The Badminton World Federation is the international governing body of the sport and publishes
the "Laws of Badminton."
Object of the Game
Badminton is a racket sport with similar rules to tennis. Players rally a shuttle/birdie across a net to score points.
Generally, a side scores a point when the opposing side fails to hit the shuttle and the shuttle lands within the
court boundaries. The winning player or two-person team wins two of the three games. The winning side is the first
to score 21 points. Although badminton is a popular outdoor recreational sport, competitive badminton is usually
played inside.
Modified Physical Education Rules
 Timed doubles games will be played.
 A point is earned when the birdie hits the ground on the opposing side of the net, or the opposing side
commits a fault.
 Lines are in. Cones will mark the lines.
 The players on the bench will help judge the lines.
Faults
 Players may not hit the shuttle twice in a row. Players may only hit the shuttle once per inning. After the
shot, the shuttle must go over the net and be returned by the other team for that player to hit the shuttle
again.
 After the serve, the opposing side hits the shuttle back to the serving team. Play continues with each side
rallying the shuttle back and forth until it either touches the ground or a player faults.
 Players commit faults when they touch the net with their rackets, bodies or clothing.
 If the shuttle lands out of bounds, passes through or under the net or lands in the net.
 If the shuttle touches the body or clothes of any player, the side receives a fault.
 If the shuttle touches anyone or anything outside of the court, the side receives a fault.
 If the same player hits the shuttle twice in a row, or if a player and his partner hit the birdie back to back
before it goes to the opposite side, the side receives a fault.
 If any part of a player crosses to the opposite side of the net, the player receives a fault.
 Players also receive faults if they distract or obstruct an opposing side during play.
 The player may not allow the racket to carry the shuttle.
 If a player is charged with a fault, the opposing side earns a point.
 A player commits a fault during the serve if they serve incorrectly.
Serving
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The serving player and the receiving player stand diagonally opposite each other.
The serve must move across the net diagonally in order to be a good play.
The serve is underhand and hit below the waist.
If the receiver is not ready when the service is delivered, a let shall be called; yet, if the receiver
attempts to return the shuttle, he shall be judged to have been ready.
The serving side serves from the right side of the court when that side has no points or an even number of
points. The serving side serves from the left side of the court when that side has an odd number of points.
The player with the right to serve is the last player or side who scored a point.
In doubles play, serving rotates between all four players in
a specified order.
Either the serving or receiving player can earn a point
during a rally.
Safety Rules
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Communicate with your teammates.
Do not touch the net or go over the net.
Do not swing the racquet near your team mate.
Remain on your feet at all times.
Grip your racquet firmly.
Etiquette
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Badminton etiquette is essential for the sport to be fun and
fair.
Players should call their own illegal shots and return the
shuttle in a gentle manner for the next serve, according to
Official Badminton.
Each server should state the score before serving, their
own score first.
After the match is over, the opponents should shake hands.
Strategy
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Both pairs will try to gain and maintain the attack, smashing downwards when possible.
In doubles, players generally smash to the middle ground between two players in order to take advantage of
confusion and clashes.
At high levels of play, the backhand serve has become popular to the extent that forehand serves have
become fairly rare at a high level of play.
The straight low serve is used most frequently, in an attempt to prevent the opponents gaining the attack
immediately.
Flick serves are used to prevent the opponent from anticipating the low serve and attacking it decisively.
Be in a ready position.
Hit to the open space.
Don’t be predictable.
6/2011