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Sport/Schmort: Badminton

» Putting the ‘bad’ in schmorts?

Natalie Serafini
me. Editor-in-Chief
L) M editor

fF. @theotherpress.ca

  

ye-bye birdie, hello

badminton. It’s a classic
back-and-forth seen both in
backyards and in sanctioned
competitions. Badminton can
be played one-on-one or in
teams of two, requires a certain
amount of skill and energy,
and its place in the Olympics
means that most don’t question
its validity as a sport. The

birdie can get a bit leisurely
though, as returns of the birdie
get increasingly light ‘n’ easy.
The traditional racquet sport
also harkens to old-fashioned
images of ladies in hoop skirts
almost as muchas it does to
lightning-fast athletes in their
prime. So, does this Olympic

or isit aschmort at heart?
Badminton is played with
racquets, a net, and a birdie—
that’s about it. The opponents
determine who will serve and
who will receive, with the
starter serving diagonally over
the net to the receiver. From
there the players can volley the
birdie wherever they'd like,
sending one another careening
back and forth across the court.
When one side lands the birdie

: inascore, they get to serve the

: next round, and play continues.
: Traditionally, a match is made

: up of three games, with each

: game ending at 21 points, unless :
: aclose-call forces scoring up to
: whoever scores the 30th point.

: The player who wins the best of
: three games wins the match.

Badminton is extremely

: accessible, as it really only

: requires some dollar-store

: racquets anda half-decent

: birdie; consequently, this game
: gets a reputation asa leisurely

: pastime at beaches, barbe-
game’s volley with the ever-airy : CUES, and backyards galore.

: Badminton is consequently

: seen as less of a sport, what

: with kids cavorting about

: insomething that lacks the

: regulation of organized sport.
: Many games find themselves

: touting the title of recreation

: rather than sport asa result of
: their popularization inless-ath- :
pastime have validity asa sport, : letic realms. The prestige as

: the game of champions gets

: diluted as it becomes a loose
: romp, to be casually enjoyed:
: “Is anyone keeping score?”

: “Who cares, it’s just a game.”

Badminton also emerges

: froma time of old-fashioned

: decorum, meaning that one

: can easily draw upon images of
: ladies in hoop-skirts givin’ it

: all they can muster—and they

? can’t muster much, what with

: tripping over inconvenient and

: unathletic attire. Badminton
: was made to be played by

: people who can participate

: despite cumbersome attire,

where other games require

: that one is as aerodynamic as

: possible. I used to work at a

: historical museum, and one

: of my duties in the summer

: would be to play badminton

: against patrons, while dressed
: in full-1920s garb. Trust me,

: the game doesn’t demanda

: particularly sporting uniform.

Nonetheless, it’s important

: toacknowledge that profes-

: sional badminton players can
: become astoundingly skilled

: and quick. They dash across

: the court to dive in and whack
: the birdie over the net, or

: spike it into the face of their

: opponent. This requires a

: certain amount of athletic

: talent, which your average joe

cannot profess to possess.
Badminton has also main-

: tained its status as an Olympic
: event, despite the fact that—if
: the players aren’t giving it their
: all, asin the case of a match fix
: at the London 2012 games—

: badminton is deathly boring to
: watch. When they are hitting

: that birdie with all that they’ve
: got, the game gains a redeem-

: ing competitive edge—and

: that’s what sports are made of.

Verdict: sport

Know the score?

Contact: Sports Editor

M sports@theotherpress. ca

www theotherpress.ca

 

 

Guzzling for sports

» How should you hydrate when exercising?

Natalie Serafini

mm. Editor-in-Chief
™ editor

 @theotherpress.ca

 

ports are synonymous with

health and vitality, right? All
things athletic—whether food-,
drink-, or training-related—must
be primed to help these paragons
of health do what they do best.
But the food, drink, and training
that help some be the ultimate
athletes might prevent you from
reaching your full potential.

Consider sports drinks.

They provide energy before,
after, and during a game, and
return important electrolytes
to the body. But, while sports
drinks are generally fine for adult
professional athletes, they aren't

: so good for regular exercisers.

First off, studies have shown

: that consumption of sports

: drinks can affect oral health,

: as they contain higher levels of

: acid and sugars which dissolve

: the tooth enamel, MarketWired.
: com reports that “Leading sports
: drinks can contain 21 grams

: of sugar.” And according toa

: University of lowa study, “sports
: drinks had the greatest erosion

: potential on both enamel and

: roots of teeth when compared to
: leading brands of energy drinks,
: soda, and apple juice.’

The reason sports drinks

: are so dangerously erosive is

: that, as CBN.com reports, “The
: acid in sports drinks erodes the
: teeth from the first sip until 45
: minutes after the last sip.” That
? means that your teeth continue

: to be saturated in an erosive
: libation well after you've finished
; chugging back your electrolytes.

The fact that sports drinks

: tend to be so high in sugars is a

: serious health concern as well.

: As Patrick J. Skerrett of Harvard

: Health writes, these sports

: drinks, ideally used by and once

: marketed to endurance athletes,

: “have now trickled down to

: anyone who exercises.” This is of
: particular concern when it comes
: to kids, who might guzzle back a
: bottle of Gatorade while playing

: a soccer game: the bottle-sized

: serving likely contains ideal sugar
: portions for an adult professional
: athlete—not so much fora small
: child who's occasionally on the

: field. Dr. Richard Hoffman also

: reports to CBN.com that people

: might end up gaining weight

: through caloric energy drinks
: which don't get counterbalanced
: by enough exercise.

Skerrett points to the

: common misconception that

: one should drink when they

: aren't thirsty in order to avoid

: becoming dehydrated; he reports
: that “sports drink makers spent

: a lot of money sponsoring less-

: than-rigorous research damning

: thirst as a guide to hydration and

: casting doubt on water as the

: beverage for staying hydrated.” He
: suggests simply drinking when

: you start to become thirsty—your would be a good replacement for
: body isn’t just telling you to drink :
: for the hell of it.

So, what should you drink

: instead of sports drinks, or god
: forbid energy drinks? Plain old
: water is all you need to stay

: hydrated and ready to take part in :

Plain old water is
all you need to stay
hydrated and ready
to take part in the
game, regardless of
your age or athletic
abilities.

the game, regardless of your age
: or athletic abilities. Dr. R. Brick
: Campbell also suggests that milk

: sports drinks, especially to help

: improve bone strength. As a final
: tip, even if you occasionally drink
: a sports drink, be sure to read

: the labels to know what you're

: putting in your body.