The privately organized badminton hobby league in the Verden district is booming. New players are always welcome.
Badminton is a casual, recreational game for fun with long rallies, often outside and without a net. Badminton, on the other hand, may look a bit like badminton to the layperson at first glance, but it is a professional indoor sport with fixed rules, a net, a standardized playing field and the goal of beating your opponent. If necessary, you can play badminton in your own garden, but it is better to play it indoors in a regular league game or in a hobby league. They now had a match day in the multi-purpose hall in Cluvenhagen.
The hobby league for badminton in the Verden district is very popular and privately organized. Athletes have to apply for their indoor times from the relevant municipalities, this applies especially to tournaments, like the one now in Cluvenhagen, even if the athletes are otherwise in different clubs.
When entering the hall, the outsider noticed: a colorful group of ladies and gentlemen who were very enthusiastic about pursuing their hobby on a Sunday morning. There is a small buffet set up in a corner of the hall with lots of small treats to fortify you. There is a pleasant feel-good atmosphere, almost a family-like relationship. “Stop, time is up. Change sides,” you hear a shout across the hall. The first seven minutes are over. Half time, change of sides, and then the balls are flying again on the five playing surfaces in the hall.
Volker Renken from TSV Kirchlinteln and Marcus Migowsky from TSV Bassen hold the reins in the organization of this hobby league. In Cluvenhagen or elsewhere, between 36 and 45 players from ten clubs take part on each match day. The current number of registrations for the badminton hobby league is 83 players.
The game mode is the mixed doubles discipline with changing partners, the so-called Swiss system. Pair formation is decided regardless of gender, taking individual strengths into account. “In this way we can guarantee a balanced overall strength of the teams in matches that are as balanced as possible,” says Volker Renken.
Six rounds are played per match day. With a few short breaks it ends in the early afternoon. Volker Renken says that there has to be enthusiasm for the sport of badminton. The tournament format of the hobby league differs from the regular league games in badminton in that the game days are set, but there is no obligation: “I have to go there now”.
The hobby league plays according to the rally point system. Every rally counts one point. Counting is done by the teams themselves and the game is played in the classic way with natural feather balls. Marcus explains that a ball only lasts for one game. The play equipment weighs around five grams, consists of 16 goose or duck feathers and costs at least two euros per ball.
Anyone who would like to play hobby badminton can contact numerous clubs in the district or even register on one of the next preliminary round game days on February 1st in Bassen or Verden and on February 22nd in Ottersberg at the following email addresses: marcus.migowsky@tsvbassen.de or www.badminton-verden.de/kontakt. The final will be played on March 22nd.
