Estimated to be more than two thousand years old, Badminton has roots in ancient Greece, China, Japan and India. As the fastest racket sport in the world, badminton requires great reflexes, speed and stamina. Founded in 1934, with headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) acts as the world’s governing body for the sport. There are five regional confederations that work under the authority of the BWF, along with the five regions represented by the Olympic rings, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania.

Despite the sport’s long history, badminton was barred from the Olympic Games as a full-medal competition until 1992 . It first appeared twenty years before as a demonstration sport and made a re-appearance as an exhibition sport in 1988. Both men and woman compete for medals in singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches. The match is a best of three game format, and every competition involves a single-elimination tournament to determine the winners. The matches take place on a rectangular court that measures 13.4 meters (44 feet) long and 5.2 meters (17 feet) wide for singles and 6.1 meters (20 feet) wide for doubles. The net that stretches across the middle of the court is 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall.

Badminton has a reputation of being one of the most popular games in the world outside of the United States. The slightest breeze can throw the course of the shuttlecock off. As a result, most people who want to get involved in the sport need to find clubs with indoor courts. At Summer Olympic locations, officials warn spectators that the air conditioning will be shut down if it interrupts the flight of the sport's target.

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) hosts a badminton state tournament. A few years ago, a freshman at the Latin School of Chicago won the IHSA sectional tournament held at her school. She also earned the number two ranking in the Midwest Open Women’s class, which has no age limitations, and the number three ranking in Junior Nationals for girls under the age of 15.

To view more Badminton photos, please visit our Flickr page.