878, but it was primarily a social club. The Badminton Health Club of Boston was founded in 1908 to devote more time to the sport, which grew to more than 300 members by 1925. Despite the efforts, badminton did not become popular until the 1930’s. In 1935 the American Badminton Association, ABA, was founded and conducted the first ever national championship tournament on April 1, 1937. Badminton was on its way, it had become a full out competitive sport requiring speed, stamina, strength, and agility. The International Badminton Federation, founded in 1934, planned to hold the first world Gerrard 3championship in 1939, but due to World War II it was delayed until 1949. Badminton was staged as a demonstration sport at the 1972 Olympics, and premiered as a full medal Olympic sport in 1992 at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain and has continued to be such ever since. The ABA was renamed the U.S. Badminton Association, USBA, in 1978 and in 1989 it became a full-fledged member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. In 1999 the USBA became USA Badminton and now contains about 2,700 members, myself included.The competitive nature of badminton is demonstrated by the determination of the player to do such feats as hitting birdies clocked up to 200 miles an hour at the most advanced levels. Not something you would see in just any backyard. Badminton requires intensive training and conditioning, and in the most competitive countries children are often started as early as 4-5 years old. In America, the game is not regarded as a respected sport, but despite this fact, children with the desire and ability to play can begin at any age. As a coach as well as a player I can attest to the challenge the sport yields. ...
