Badminton Organizations

Medieval peasants in Europe played a game called battledore and shuttlecock which evolved into a popular children's game during the 16th century.

By the early 17th century, the game was primarily enjoyed by the upper class as more of a pastime than an organized sport.

The name 'badminton' derives from Badminton House, the Duke of Beaufort's Gloucestershire, England residence, where a newer version of battledore developed during the 1850's. A booklet "Badminton Battledore- a new game" was published in 1860. In 1873, British military officers stationed in Poona, India modified the game, most prominently by adding a net and were credited with writing the first "official" rules to the game.

Armed with new rules, the game as played by people returning from India began to be taken more seriously and gained credibility in England. In 1893, the first gathering of clubs convened at Southsea, Hampshire and the Badminton Association was founded, agreeing on a standard set of rules. The first Open Tournament was held in 1898, followed by the first 'All England' Championships the next year.

By 1934, The International Badminton Federation was created, it's charter members consisting of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, France, Holland, Canada and New Zealand with India joining in 1936. Badminton was introduced as a Commonwealth Games program sport in 1966 at Kingston, Jamaica. The first professional open tournament was staged in London in 1979, and after being introduced as a demonstration sport at the Munich Olympics in 1972, badminton was officially admitted as a full medal sport at the Games of the XXVth Olympiad at Barcelona in 1992.

The governing body for the sport of badminton is the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The BWF consists of 164 member National Badminton Federations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and National Olympic Committees. The governance and management structure of the BWF consists of; the BWF Members, the ultimate authority for the Federation, charged with approving reports and budgets as well as managing the strategic BWF direction as presented by the Council, which provides policy and administrative guidance; the Executive Board, which oversees the day-to-day operation of the BWF; the Council Committees which develop and amend policies and procedures, and the Commissions, specialist working groups which provide reviews of current practices, develop procedures and advise the Council Committees.



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