Badminton in Design

(image from CommArts)

The brilliant design company Stitch Design incorporated a beautiful feathered bird in their invitation for the Mixson Bath and Racquet Club. 

(image from CommArts)

Loved the touch. It gives it an air of class and authenticity, and will hopefully get the members to start playing some badminton! If anything. I'm glad they're using it for aesthetic reasons...a pristine white bird is just so beautiful. Right before it gets beaten to a pulp. ;) 

Badminton Animation

It...speaks for itself...

(from 9Gag)

Buddhism and Badminton presented by RedBull China

(The monk at 3:00 has quite a mean hit)

RedBull introduces the idea of mindfulness in badminton.

When people ask you why you like badminton so much it's hard to really explain the feeling, isn't it? You say you love the competition, the tournaments, the social scene-- but what's that underlying feeling that's hard to share?

People say meditation is great for you, but what they fail to say is how meditation comes in many different forms. Some people sit quietly in a room, close their eyes and focus on their breathing. You, on the other hand, might play badminton.

That sense of intense focus-- adrenaline, the drive... the fact that you never realize you're crazy tired and sore until you're off the court. That's a form of meditation--to be in the moment, where your intense focus is on whatever you're doing. Your worries are all put aside for a few hours and you can focus on being mindful.

"Abide contentedly in the moment with one belief unchanged meditating without distractions, and achieving spiritual harmony" 

Oh. And don't underestimate the strength of Buddhist monks. :) 

Washington Open 2013

Tournament T-Shirt by Jennie Chan

Just got back from a trip to Seattle! Last weekend was the Washington Open 2013 and I had a BLAST!

It looks like Clinton and the WSBA team ran yet another successful tournament this year. The number of participants seems to grow every time -- people can't help but share the amazing experience with their friends and convince them to make the trip!

I saw people from Alberta, Southern California, Chicago, San Francisco...I heard there were even some players from Idaho, Oregon and of course Vancouver and Washington.

It looks like Seattle Badminton Club might have to think about expanding their space!

Clinton did a great recap on the Washington State Badminton Facebook page-- go join the page to get updated on the latest tournaments in the Pacific Northwest!

You can also take a look at all of the photos on flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintonc111/sets/72157633296454739/

If you missed out on this one, don't forget that the Washington State Games is right around the corner, and you'll likely see a lot of familiar faces! Sign up before it gets too packed!

Taking Another Look

The BWF just announced that they will be introducing a new line call challenge system at this year's Indonesia Open, which will involve high speed cameras and a new twist to the game. Coming from a player, I think it's a great idea to use the aide of technology when dealing with something black and white like line calls, however a small part of me is hesitant to embrace it.

I'm not sure if it's the traditionalist in me (if that's a thing) that appreciates the human aspect of honest-to-goodness people calling the lines as best as they can. Sure, mistakes will be made, but it goes both ways. Even review technology isn't perfect. Sometimes the camera's view might get obstructed and all you have to go by is the original line call and the umpire's judgement. 

Something bothers me about, in the middle of a game, a player stopping, thinking about a line call, taking a moment, challenging the call, sipping on water waiting for the result to come in, and then finally resuming play... It's like a sentence that gets dragged out too long with a bunch of commas. Hopefully the "instant challenge" of a line call won't take more than 5 seconds, so players can't use it to stall an opponent's momentum too much, and hopefully there will be a reasonable limit on the number of challenges a player/team is allowed. However, a review system would eliminate complaining about a line call, because all the umpire would need to say is "then just challenge it." This added degree of certainty to the game seems like it might at least keep the players in check.

Anyways, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough how this new system will affect the game. Football, Basketball, and our arch-rival, tennis, are all successful sports that use review technology, so I think it will be a good move for the sport. I know I'll be looking forward even more to the Indonesian Open to see the new system in action, and what the players' and fans' reactions are.

here's a link to the brief lil' article:

http://www.bwfbadminton.org/news_item.aspx?id=72894

Keep it real, and have badmin-tons of fun today!

Weekend Wrap-up

It was quite an eventful weekend at the Peru International Challenge, but the reason I wanted to make a quick post was because in the men's singles semi final between Guatemala's Kevin Cordon and Cuba's Osleni Guerrero. The match was shaking up to be a battle of the two singles giants in the Pan Am Region until Kevin jumped to his forehand for a routine smash, but when he landed, his knee wobbled awkwardly and gave out. He crumpled to the ground and the stadium fell to silence as Guatemala's superstar was down for the count. In my opinion: it looked bad. Really bad. He was slapping the ground in pain and didn't want to bend his leg at all. After about 15 minutes he was lifted, with the help of his opponent, onto a stretcher, and carried to an ambulance outside. I'm not sure what happened after that, but hopefully it's nothing career-ending. He's a great ambassador to the sport, especially in South and Central America, and I hope he recovers quickly.

UPDATE: Looks like he tore his ACL, so he might be done. sad faces abound :(

Hola

Hola Badminton Square! I am currently in Miraflores, Peru for the Peru International Tournament, and also currently not your regular post-er, Natalie. My name is Curtis, and you could say I'm a bit of a badminton enthusiast as well. I've known the sport ever since I was little, and recently moved down to SoCal to train at OCBC for a year to see what becomes of it. I'm about half way through my year, and this was my first trip outside North America for a tournament.

From what I've gathered from having watched, and now played in, a few international tournaments, it's as much about how well you can adjust to the conditions as it is about your skills as a player. Entering the gym, there are gaps in the roof of the super high ceiling, allowing for an inconsistent draft to occur, as well as for pigeons to fly in and land on the court (happened during a teammate's match). There are a lot of things you have to adjust to, which is part of what "experience" means. An experienced player can learn how to play in a new gym as well as learn how to play their opponent.

Anyways, I got knocked out of the tournament in a close first round singles game, and later lost in the doubles quarter finals to a team from Holland. What I am excited for now is watching the semi final matches tomorrow and learning more about the game, as well as possibly getting out to enjoy the oceanside town of Miraflores; a suburb of Lima... that is if I survive the cab rides. Almost all the cars on the road are taxis, and almost all of them are absolutely crazy drivers. The roads are buzzing with organized chaos and the sound of horns, but somehow everyone is on the same page, and there are no accidents.

If you want to follow the rest of the tournament, which includes a handful of Olympians, you can find the draws here: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=E2F957A3-E155-4EFD-A6A1-10C1F19D97DA

If you have any badminton-related questions about anything, feel free to leave a comment. I'm sort of stretching my legs out with this whole blog thing and would love to see how far we can run with it.