Goodminton: Like Badminton, but Fun
Oh, by the way, I totally did some badminton! Apologies for not letting you know sooner, it slipped my mind because…well…it’s badminton.
I didn’t actually set out to play badminton that day (12.11.2012); I actually drove to Reading Climbing Centre with my brother to use their bouldering wall and level up our adventuring skills. Alas, it turned out the wall was closed for most the week, whilst they swapped all the routes around.
Having driven around Reading seeking alternative adventure, we eventually cut our losses and drove home, via Wycombe sports centre. There, we rented ourselves some equipment and a court, and went about playing the noble is somewhat silly sport of badminton.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjOWuCN1vF4&w=420&h=315]
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the difficulty of the sport and the endurance necessary to compete effectively at it. It’s just…not for me. I like fighting, climbing, lifting, throwing, rowing – things that involve a concentrated force of will and strength. Not…swatting a feathered bauble out of mid-air for hours at a time.
That said, I actually had a huge amount of fun – probably because we didn’t pay too much heed to the “rules” of the sport. Having grown up in a school where sports and activities were mandatory on a daily basis, I am already familiar with the rules regarding serving, point-scoring and the size/shape of the court depending on how many people are playing.
Although we played a couple of matches (both of which I lost), we spent most the time playing the far more enjoyable version of the sport that involves seeing how hard or artistically one can whack the shuttlecock, whilst still maintaining a respectable rally. I call it Goodminton.
Once we had exhausted that version (which should be in the Olympics), we moved on to French Badminton – the art of playing badminton without being allowed any feet on the floor at the moment of striking the shuttlecock.
Eventually – and not before my trainer fell apart – we had exhausted the enjoyability of badminton and departed happy. A few hours later, we found a different bouldering wall in a more convenient location and practised our adventuring skills there, instead.