Badminton is a professional sport that is played on a rectangular indoor court. But can badminton be played outdoors? In this article, let’s find an answer to this question.
Can You Play Badminton Outdoors?
Many people don’t have indoor courts near their place, and hence, all they can do is play badminton outdoors. In fact, I too have this problem when I’m living in my village. So it is really important for many of us to know whether it is possible to play badminton outdoors or not.
Badminton is a racket sport played indoors at a competitive level. However, people do play the game outdoors as well for fun and recreation. You can play the game outdoors with your friends and have fun. But, professional badminton isn’t played outdoors due to several reasons.
As I’ve said earlier, I do play badminton outdoors with my friends for fun whenever I’m in my home village. We’ve bought all the required badminton equipment and built a badminton court outdoors. We have a proper court with everything needed except an indoor stadium.
Even though we play outdoors, we are still able to play badminton properly and have a lot of fun. Most of the time, the weather here is perfect for playing badminton.
But sometimes, when the weather becomes bad, it is almost impossible to play badminton outdoors. It is really difficult to play the game when there is a breeze, too much heat, or rain.
Why Is It Difficult To Play Badminton Outdoors?
If you’re used to playing badminton indoors, chances are you’ll not enjoy badminton if you play outdoors. The main reason is that you won’t be able to hit the desired shots with perfection. This is because the shuttle is very light, and hence, the air affects its movement.
The shuttlecock is made up of feathers (or plastic) and a cork base, which has about 5 grams of weight. Since the shuttle is lightweight, it will deflect from its normal trajectory even if there is a slight breeze. This movement affects the quality of your shots, and it will be pretty difficult to time the shot to perfection. You will end up losing points.
On the other hand, if there’s rain, the shuttlecock will get waterlogged, making it much heavier. This again changes the overall aerodynamics of the shuttle, which makes it difficult to adjust to the pace of the shots.
Also, the courts will become slippery when it rains. That will make the footwork difficult. You might also get injured when playing on a slippery court.
Safety is one of the major advantages of playing badminton indoors. Indoor courts are often cleaned and moped so that you can play the game without worrying about safety.
On sunny days, the main problem you’ll face is the visibility issue. When there’s bright sun on the sky, it will be difficult to look upwards due to the light directly hitting your eyes. When the sunlight is coming from a direction, it will be difficult for a player/team facing the sun, and the opposite team can easily take advantage of it.
I play badminton with my friends early in the morning before the sun comes out. When the sun comes out, the player/team on one side of the court will face a lot of difficulty in seeing the shuttle. And hence, we stop the game at that time.
When we compare badminton with any other racket sport, it is the sport with the fastest movements. A shuttlecock travels so fast in badminton, and you need to practice hard and develop your skills to control the shuttle. When you play outdoors, you won’t be able to control your shots and the shuttle correctly.
For other racket sports such as tennis, a spherical-shaped ball with a lot more weight is used. A tennis ball weighs about 60 grams. But when we compare that with the shuttlecock, the shuttle is too lightweight. Also, it is built in a way such that it decelerates after being hit. That makes it even harder to play badminton when there is a light breeze.
Even though there are a lot of reasons not to play badminton outdoors, tons of people around the world play this game outdoors for fun. If you take the game casually, you can enjoy this game with your friends in parks, beaches, backyards, or anywhere. You can set up a court anywhere and have fun.
How To Play Badminton Outdoors?
What if you still want to play badminton outdoors? Well, let’s look at some of the best practices you can follow to play the game enjoyably.
The first and foremost thing I want to say is you play badminton when the weather is perfect for playing it. Probably, the best time to play badminton is early in the morning.
In my place, we play badminton in the early mornings before the sun gets too bright. There is less chance of wind or breeze in the mornings.
I’m not sure about the best time to play badminton in your area. The weather can depend on various geographic factors. However, try to choose a time slot in which there are fewer chances of breeze, heat, and rain.
It will be better if the court is covered by buildings or trees or something else to block the wind.
Set up a badminton court with all the required equipment and build a court based on the dimensions of an original badminton court.
When the weather is bad, try to avoid playing the game seriously. You can still play the game casually without swift movements around the court. But keep in mind that there are chances of injuries and you need to take care of yourself when you play outdoors.
People who are passionate about the game still play it even if the weather is bad. We play badminton even when there is rain or slight wind or hot sun. But I don’t recommend that to you. I have had many injuries playing badminton on slippery courts. So I would suggest you take proper care of yourself while playing badminton outdoors.
Final Thoughts
If you ask me whether you can play badminton outdoors or not, I would say “yes” all the time, as long as the game isn’t competitive or professional. Get the required equipment to play badminton outdoors with your friends and have a lot of fun.
Check out the rest of the articles on this website to learn more about the game and improve your badminton skills.
I hope this article was helpful to you. If it was useful, do share it with others so that they can also find it.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy the game!
