Clubs play fast, furious badminton

Pricey gear, serious workout set competitive players apart

Seven years ago, Pete Boyd's take on badminton probably wasn't much different from that of most Americans.

"I don't want to play that," scoffed Boyd, a softball player. "It's a sissy game."

He was thinking of the backyard game played at family reunions, where the hand/eye-challenged flail about with little more than a fly swatter trying to keep the shuttlecock off the neighbor's roof.

Then his wife had a heart attack and was assigned to the Duke Center for Living for rehab. The center is happens to be a hub of local badminton activity. On a visit with his wife, he saw local club players executing a much different version of the sport.

"It's fast!" Boyd said of the competitive version. Before long, he had a racket in hand and was hooked.

Fast indeed.

In games played at the center, the shuttlecock can reach speeds of 115 mph, says Boyd. In top-level competition, it's been clocked at more than 200 mph.

Badminton may not enjoy the popularity of pickup basketball in the Triangle, but there's a thriving community. Clubs exist in Chapel Hill, Durham and Cary.

Though the sport is typically associated with Indonesia, China, Malaysia and Korea, the United States once dominated competition. Between 1949 and 1967, the U.S. won the equivalent of 23 world individual championships, according to the International Badminton Federation.

Today, the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association says about 7.5 million Americans play at least once a year. Enthusiasts like Boyd, who play at least once a week, total about 300,000.

There's a big gap between the two populations.

For instance, the once-a-year crowd plays on a badminton set -- including four rackets, net and plastic shuttlecocks -- that cost $20 at Target. Boyd's graphite racket cost $315.

You and I play on grass (or more accurately, crab grass). Boyd plays on a specially designed, quarter-inch-thick, $3,500 badminton mat.

Perhaps most notably, you and I are ecstatic just to get the bird over the net. Boyd?

"It's competitive," he says. "We try to beat each other to death."

Boyd's version of the sport is also more physically demanding.

"It's good cardio," says Boyd, who is 65 and plays three nights a week and on Saturdays. "My feet, my legs, my hips. ... It's good exercise. When I leave here on Saturday, I'm completely worn out."

You and I? Our biggest physical challenge is to not spill the beer in our other hand.

That said, Boyd says there's plenty of room for players new to the sport. Though his club doesn't have a formal beginner's program, newcomers are welcome.

"We accept all levels of play," Boyd says. "When you're around the court we'll try to make you feel at home."

Note that he said "around the court."

Not "on" it.