USA Badminton Museum
A collection of
historical materials highlighting the sport of Badminton, focused on items that
are not available elsewhere and contributed by
interested individuals. If you have any materials to help complete the
various collections or start a new one please consider submitting them.
The intent of this digital museum is to catalog and preserve artifacts
and history of all things related to Badminton in the United States. While some
of the items here started out in digital format, for obvious reasons most were
hardcopy and have been digitized.
- Origins
Badminton was named after the country estate of the dukes of
Beaufort in England, where it was first
formalized in 1973. The roots of the game can be traced back to
ancient Greece, China, and India. Its
precursor was Battledore and Shuttlecock.
- United States
Badminton in the USA can be traced back to the late 19th Century. During that
time there have been three governing bodies. Founded in 1936, ABA (American Badminton Association) existed until 1977 and was then
reformed as USBA (United States Badminton Association). USBA remained until 1997
when it became USAB (USA Badminton).
An excellent presentation of the early history was written by Diane Hales for
her graduate research and was later summarized as an
article in the 1985 US
Nationals Program.
 |
The purpose of this study was to develop a history of the sport of badminton in the United States
between the year 1878, when the first badminton club was unofficially formed, and 1939, a year
that marked the end of a major period of growth of badminton in this country.
The original work was performed by Diane Hales at Cal Poly Pomona and is
available online at the
CalState
Website. A searchable version is provided here for convenience.
[10JUN2022] |
- General Information
The first President of USA's national body was Donald E.
Wilbur in 1936-38 followed by 33 presidents ending with Paisan
Rangsikitpho in 2007-2008. At the request of the U.S. Olympic
Committee in 2009, the USAB underwent a governance reform
process and the Board President position was changed to Chairman
of the Board. The USAB National Office was run from President's
homes until 1991 when the office was established in Omaha, NE,
followed by offices in Lincoln, NE; Colorado Springs, CO;
Anaheim, CA; and back to Colorado Springs, CO.
- ABA (1936-1976)
The American Badminton Association was founded in 1936 when
Donald E. Wilbur, Robert McMillan, Donald Richardson, and
Phillip Richardson decided to unite various badminton groups in
the country. A Board of Directors was formed to manage rules,
amateur status, membership, publications, and tournaments.
- USBA (1976-1996)
The name was changed to the United States Badminton Association
in 1976.
- USAB (1997-present)
The name was changed to USA Badminton in 1997.
- Tournaments
- Publications
- Philanthropic Organizations
The following are all non-profit 501.C(3) organizations.
We encourage you to donate to these worthwhile causes.
- USBEF -
US Badminton Education Foundation
This Foundation works in cooperation
with USA Badminton to promote the growth and
support support of badminton throughout the
U.S. Incorporated in 1967 all board members
are volunteers. Funds collected are used for
training, education, and furthering of the
sport in conjunction with the USAB. with USA
Badminton.
-
BGV - Badminton Goes Viral
The mission of BGV is to support youth
fitness, wellness and health through
badminton. Activities
include State School Team Championships,
outreach to health and wellness
organizations,
badminton program at Boys & Girls Club
America, teacher trainings, school and
professional
presentations, Kids Intensive Training Days,
and Kids Tournaments.
- USA Badminton Museum
- Media
Badminton in the USA has historically been largely focused on regional
organizations. These organizations tend to correlate with the
USAB regions and
have at time served as the de-facto regional representatives.
- Southern California Badminton Association
SCBA is one of
the oldest and most active Badminton organizations in the
USA. It has organized and promoted the sport in Southern
California and the greater Southwest since 1939. As part of
this effort many events and publications have been offered.
[10JUN2022]
More...
- Northern California Badminton Association
NCBA existed from ?? to ?? and was active in organizing
Badminton before the advent of dedicated clubs toward the
turn of the century
More...
- Midwest Badminton Association
The Midwest Badminton Association (MBA) served as the
organizing body for the USAB Region 2 for many years and
maintained a web presence (midwestbadminton.com) from 2001
until 2021.
More...
- Southern Badminton Association
The Southern Badminton Association (SBA) served as the
organizing body for USAB Region 3 where
the Shula Athletic Club hosted the US Senior International
from 1985 to 2017.
More...
- Northwest Badminton Association
More...
- Northeast Badminton Association
The Northeast Badminton Association (NEBA) has served
the region where USA badminton was born. In 1878 the
Badminton Club of New York started it all.
- Boston Badminton
- Gut and Feathers - one of the oldest in the US - Marblehead
Massachusetts
More...
- Olympics
Badminton had its debut as an official event in the 1992
Summer Olympics, and has been contested in eight Olympiads.
Seventy-four different nations have appeared in the Olympic
badminton competition, with 18 appearing all 8 times. The
competition is governed by the Badminton World Federation.
- BWF World Championships
- Adult
The BWF World Championships, formerly known
as the IBF World Championships, started in 1977
and was held once every three years until 1983.
In 1985 it became biennial, then in 2006 it was
changed to an annual event except for Summer
Olympics years.
- Senior
The BWF World Senior Championships,
sanctioned by the BWF, began in 2003 in Sofia,
Bulgaria, and is held biennially. The individual
championships include Men's & Women's Singles,
Men's & Women's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Age
categories run from +35 to +75.
- Junior
The BWF World Junior Championships were
organized by the BWF in 1992 to crown the best
junior badminton players (under-19) in the
world. Held annually it has two competitions: a
mixed team championships (Suhadinata Cup)
followed by individual championships (Eye Level
Cups).
- Team Championships
- World Master Games
Begun in 1985 this multi-sport competition draws upwards of
25,000 senior athletes every 4 years. Badminton has both team
and individual competition with over 1200 players at one WMG. US
seniors have always done well winning a good share of team and
individuals honors.
- Canadian Masters
- one of the premier senior tournaments in world
- Other Events
Various sets of items that have been created by individuals and groups.
More...
Items which do not yet have an appropriate room for display.
More...
- Other Racquet Sports Museums
- Pickleball - announced Jan
2022 - under construction as of Jan 2023
- Racquetball
- Founded 2010, appears static after 2017[31JAN2023]
- Tennis - there appear to be various museum sites for tennis
but none dedicated to USA tennis, If anyone can suggest a link
please do so.
© 1995-2023. All Rights Reserved.
Stan Bischof (stan@worldbadminton.com).
Last updated
29 March 2023 13:43.