Our Badminton History


WASHINGTON

NWBA Home
Washington
Spokane
Lilac-06

Badminton's Beginnings
Badminton is a game in which either individuals (in singles) or pairs (doubles play) of players use lightweight rackets to hit a nylon or feather shuttlecock (also called a bird or shuttle) across a net. Points are scored by winning rallies (points may only be scored when a player had the serve). While it sounds cute and fun, it is also the fastest racket sport in the world, and fierce rivalries have been forged on the badminton court.
In the late 1800s, badminton was introduced in England by British officials who had learned the game (called Poona) in India. The game actually dates back to ancient Greece and China as well, and was called battledore and shuttlecock. The first standardized rules for what we call badminton were outlined in 1895 in England; the United States Badminton Association was founded in 1936.
Badminton was originally played as a cooperative sport, where the goal was mainly to keep a rally going as long as possible. Many people still enjoy that style as a backyard game. However, badminton is also a worldwide competitive sport, and the innocent-looking shuttle can travel off the racket at speeds up to 200 miles per hour. Men's and women's singles, doubles, and mixed doubles have been Olympic sports since 1992, and since that time, the sport's popularity has increased steadily the world over. More than 140 countries are now affiliated with the International Badminton Association.

Original objectives of the Spokane Badminton and Pickle Ball Club

1. Promotion of fun, fitness and friendship. 2. Promotion of sportsmanship in play. 3. Promotion of two individual sports in a public facility that is adequate for play, in which regularly scheduled times are available and can be offered at low-cost. 4. For adult participation primarily. (Children are welcome and get court priority during Sunday Early Birds session.)

New objective for the Spokane Badminton Club

To contribute to the development of the sport of badminton through peer coaching and local promotion. The Early Birds' badminton group has been started on Sunday afternoons for beginning adults to receive peer instruction and to supplement to Lincoln Heights Shuttlefreaks Juniors' Program. The club is experiencing a period of growth as more youths and beginning adults join the sport in our area.

Historical Background of Badminton in Spokane

By Lucille Lill (SB & PC Coordinator), September 2002

Lucille Lill, Spokane Club Coordinator      Back in the late 30’s and 40’s, the sport of Badminton was enjoying a heyday in Spokane with hundreds of players in two established clubs. By far the larger, The Spokane Badminton Club met and played at the Armory. A smaller but lively group played at the YMCA.
     With backing from the Spokane Athletic Round Table (today known as the Spokane Regional Sports Commission), these groups were able to sponsor Spokane City Tournaments, Inland Empire Tournaments and even Spokane Open Tournaments, which attracted elite national and international players. In the late 50’s, however, tennis clubs surged and tennis became “the sport,” resulting in the demise of both Badminton clubs.
     Lucille Lill, because of her love for Badminton, was very disappointed with this turn of events and tried to revive Badminton interest. For some time, she tried to promote organized play at the YMCA. Later, when teaching at North Central High School, she obtained permission to secure evening play time in the girls gym. Neither of these attempts was very successful. In desperation, she finally, after her retirement, enrolled in a Badminton class at Spokane Falls. This gave Lucille some personal satisfaction as the instructor, who was not experienced in the sport, would often turn the class over to her, and in due time several of the boys became quite skilled and competitive.
Jesse Lill is co-coordinator, with his wife Lucille, of the Spokane Badminton Club     In 1980, Lucille’s dreams of a rebirth of a Spokane Badminton Club became reality. That was the year the West Central Community Center was being built. Since the Lills live in close proximity, Lucille wandered down and asked if they would paint lines on the gym floor for Badminton courts. The response: “Badminton, what’s that?” After lengthy explanations, Lucille was given permission to tape two courts for a trial period. Trying to recruit some of the former Badminton players and to promote interest for non-Badminton players was a challenge but, with a handful of players, the club had a beginning.
     After two years, the center painted lines for us on 2 courts. It was about then that Pickleball (which is played on the same court as badminton) became a very popular sport at Spokane Falls Community College and drifted over to our players. For a time then, interest in Pickleball surpassed the original interest of many of the Badminton players, so we added the “and Pickleball” to our club name and became, “The Spokane Badminton and Pickleball Club”.
     Then came an influx of Indian Badminton players and our predominantly Pickleball players were challenged. Once again the majority of the group became Badminton enthusiasts. Now, in 2002, we find ourselves a multiracial group of enthusiastic players.
     Lucille also credits Marion and Jack Harvey for the renewed and sustained interest in Spokane Badminton. When they began attending regularly, they quickly gained the respect and admiration of our players and have been most inspiring to them. They have also contributed their time and talents to promoting the sport in Spokane and to the development of a juniors’ program.
     As there are no other public facilities for Pickleball in Spokane, we keep out the welcome mat for Pickleball players. It is also an individual sport worth promoting and it has been part of the evolution of our club.