Badminton: Origine Histoire

Just like every superhero has an origin story, every sport began sometime, somewhere.

For badminton, its origins are believed to be traced back for more than two thousand years in ancient civilisations of Greece and Egypt. A badminton-like game named Battledore and Shuttlecock involved two players who hit a feather shuttlecock back and forth with paddles for as long as possible without hitting the ground. It was also referred to as Jeu De Volant, which means "The Game of Flight" in French; this is also the origin of our brand name.

Volant is the feeling of flight when you’re on court and how Jeff and I feel when we are playing our best. We hope to share this incredible feeling with badminton players and fans around the world.

By the 1600's, it was a popular game among children in England and many European countries. It also began to gain popularity in China, Japan, India and Siam (Thailand). In China, one of the most dominant countries in the sport today, the shuttlecock was used to play a kicking game known as ‘Ti Jian Zhi’, which means 'to kick shuttlecock' in 5th century BC. Check out what the Jian Zhi looks like below:

The sport of badminton that we know today can be traced to 18th century British India, where British military officers adopted it while stationed in the town of Poona; Poona is now known as Puna and is the second largest city in the Indian state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai. The game, which was sometimes known as 'hit and scream' became a success at a party given by the Duke of Beaufort in 1873, at his residence called Badminton House on Badminton estate, in Gloucestershire (Avon), England.

Thus, badminton became the name of the game.

The original set of rules was formed in 1877 by the Bath Badminton Club. Years later, badminton clubs began to appear and there was a need to standardise the playing of the game. To do this, an international body called International Badminton Federation (IBF) was created in 1934. Today the IBF is known as Badminton World Federation (BWF), which is the world governing body for the sport of badminton.

The IBF initially included members of the following countries:

• England
• Wales
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Denmark
• Holland
• Canada
• New Zealand
• France

In 1936, India joined as an affiliate member

The game also grew in popularity in Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia and the first fully professional open badminton tournament was played at Albert Hall in London, 1979.

It was a demonstration sport at the 1972 Munich Olympics and officially became an Olympic sport in Barcelona, 1992. Since then, it has grown to become the second most played sport in the world, behind football (also known as soccer).

We are extremely proud to be a part of a sport with such a long-standing, rich, and diverse history. And we hope to continuously grow the sport in the future, along with our Volant Wear Community.

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