History of badminton The sport of badminton has been around for very long now, maybe not in it's current form, but the art of hitting a feather shuttlecock with some type of racket or bat has been around since the middle of the 16th century.     At that time "badminton" wasn't considered a sport, but rather a way to socilize with friends. The variant of badminton played today originates from around the beginning of the 17th century, when playing with racquets with a string bed became common. It was still a way to socialize with people even though the characteristics of badminton as a sport was clearly visible.     People started laying tournaments and the first big tournament that was hosted annually was the All England Championship, which was played for the first time in 1898. The two first years only double categories were played. Singles were added to the tournament in 1900. Today's game Badminton, as it is played today, is by all definitions a sport. It requires speed, power, stamina, technique and finesse. A player must be a top athlete to be able to compete. One must also be able to master all aspects

Today's shuttlecock It is still just a feather and cork construction, but shuttlecocks now must endure play several times faster and harder then they used to. Since the development of the materials in racquets has been accelerated lately we now have racquets that allow the player to hit the several times faster and harder with the same amount of physical power, than just compared to 15 years ago. Still in 15 years very little has changed in the shuttlecock manufacturing.     The only way to make good shuttlecocks even today is by hand with the aid of machines, as no machine on the face of the earth can copy the special knowledge and precision required to make a top-grade shuttlecock. The selection of feather, the cutting of the feather, setting the angle of the feather when embedded into the cork base, all this must be done by hand to make sure that each shuttlecock meets the requirements of a top-grade shuttle. No machine has been able to duplicate this procedure with any success, thus the manufacturing of shuttlecocks is a time-honoured tradition that has changed very little in the past decades.

of the game, offensive and defensive play as well as playing strategically correct to make it as hard as possible for the opponent to play his own game.     The game today offers high-speed duels as well as longer, more tiring, rallies. During these rallies smashes that exceed 350 kilometers per hour, as well as finely controlled shots that pass the net with only a few centimeters or land just inside the base or side lines, are features of the game. All these are elements of modern badminton and still the shuttle has changed very little in its base construction in the last 200 years. The shuttlecock The basic construction of a feather shuttlecock has been about the same since the dawn of modern badminton, feathers from goose or duck joined together with a cork base. Of course, the way to produce shuttlecocks has been improved and with the coming of new technology the quality of today's shuttlecocks are far superior to the ones of old.

Shuttlecock quality So how do we keep our shuttles up to date and able to meet the requirements of today's game? There is only one answer: Hard work. Constant dialogue with the factory, working with them all the time to eliminate any quality deviance that can occur during manufacturing. Continous quality testing of the shuttlecocks ensures that the selection of feather and the manufacturing provides each shuttlecock grade the appropriate quality. A lot of research is necessary to find out from which areas to buy feathers and cork, to get the types best suited for shuttlecocks, and also during which time of year these are to be bought to make sure that we get the very best materials we want.     Last but not least a dialogue with our customers to solve their need for shuttlecocks goes on all the time. This ensures that they have shuttlecocks that are be appropriate for the level of play they will be using them for. Of great importance is also the feedback from our customers on how each shuttlecock grade has worked for them and if there are areas of the shuttlecock business that we need to work even harder at.