Badminton Catalunya
Although the origins of badminton can be traced back thousands of years, it was not formalised into the game we know today until the 19th century. Sports played with a shuttlecock and racquets probably developed in ancient
In England a children's game known as "battledore and shuttlecock" in which players used a paddle - a battledore - to keep a small feathered cork - a shuttlecock - in the air as long as possible - was popular from medieval times.
In the 17th century, Battledore or Jeu de Volant was an upper class pastime in many European countries.
Versions of the badminton had been played for centuries by children in the Far East, and were adapted by British Army officers stationed in Pune, India in the 1860s.
They added a net and the game became a competitive sport called "
In 1981 badminton made its way to Catalonia after a group of athletes began to practise it precariously in Barcelona and La Seu d’Urgell (Lleida). New badminton clubs were created and competitions started to be organised among the supporters of the sport.
It was credit to its popularity in the area that in 1987 the Catalan Badminton Federation was set up, after six years of management, promotion and dissemination.
Having been a demonstration and exhibition sport in 1972 and 1988 respectively, the sport was finally granted Olympic status for the 1992 Barcelona Games. Some changes happened later on. In
The Catalan Badminton Federation is now working hard on three main areas: promotion and development, competitions, and high performance. Development has been based around the Millor Badminton programme. This latter High performance has been possible with the creation of a High Performance badminton centre in Granollers, Barcelona under the guidance of Performance Director Richard Vaughan and coaches from China and Indonesia.
The centre has produced many Spanish junior medallists in the past two years prooving Catalan Badminton is growing from strength to strength.
