Badminton Study Guide

Terminology q Birdie: Nickname for the shuttle, also known as the Bird. q Doubles: A game with 2 players on each side. q Fault: Any violation of the rules: or playing error q Let: An incident where an exchange or rally is replayed. q Ace: A serve that is not touched by the opponent and is in. q Rally: the continual play between the time a player serves and one player faults. q Odd and Even Court: In singles the right half court when facing the net is “even” and the left half is “odd.” In doubles, where you start the game is your “even” court. Home court=start court=even court Types of Hits: q Smash: hard hit overhead shot that forces the shuttle sharply downward. q Drop Shot: A touch or finesse stroke hit with very little speed, which falls close to the net on the opponent’s side. Clear: High deep shot, most effective when hit near the back boundary line. q Cross­court Shots: Shots hit diagonally from one side of the court to the other. q Backhand: A shot made from the left side of the body (for right­handed players). (Back of hand is facing opponent on hit, belly button shot) q Forehand: A stroke hit on the right side of the body (right­handed players). (Palm is facing opponent) q Set­Up: Poor shot that makes a winning shot or “kill” easy for the opponent.

Game Play:

A. Serving Rules: q Must be underhand and below waist level. q Diagonally across the court and must land behind the service line. q Both the server and receiver must be in correct service court and must not move until the bird is hit. q Points are only scored when serving when the receiver fails to return the bird or commits a fault during play. q The server continues to serve alternating courts each time, as long as he/she continues to score points. q If the server fails to return the bird or commits a fault, he/she loses his serve (an out). The serve then changes to his partner if out remaining or to the opponent. q In doubles, each player on a side is permitted to serve until his/her service is lost (2 outs). The exception of this occurs at the beginning of each game when the first side to serve begins with “one out” or only one person getting to serve. From then on in the game both players get their turn of service. q You change service courts only when you serve and a point is scored. q In doubles, if the score is even players should be in their original half or in the reversed position if the score is odd. So, if you are in your even court your score should be an even number, Ie: 0, 2, 4,6, 8. Home court=start court=even court q In doubles, the first serve of the inning is always from the right court, regardless of the score. The player who is standing in the right court serves first regardless of whether he/she served last or not. This person continues to serve and change courts as long as he/she scores points. When he/she loses his/her serve, he/she stays in the court he/she is in and gives the shuttle to his/her partner who then takes similar terms of service.

B. Additional Rules: 1. Doubles play is to 15 points win by 2. 2. A player may not touch the net with a racket or his/her body during play. 3. A birdie may hit the net on its way across during play and the rally can continue. 4. A shuttle that lands on the line is considered good. 5. A person may not hit the birdie twice.

Double Strategy: q Learn to serve well. Points cannot be scored unless you are serving. q Try to use downward hits such as the smash or drop shots. q If you cannot use downward hits, try to use a half court shot to force opponent to hit up, or use a clear to get back into position. q Run your opponent from side to side or up and back until they make a weak return, then capitalize on it. q If you have to use an upward hit to return the bird, clear it to the back of your opponent’s court to give you time to get back to position. q Note your opponent’s weaknesses and use them to your advantage. q The short serve is used most often in doubles. If your opponent serves a high serve, try to quickly smash the shuttle down, or use a drop. If they serve low, try to return serve close to net or push shot flat down the sideline. Avoid cross­court returns except for change of pace.

Back Line

Rt. Crt Left Court Service Line

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Left Rt. Court Court