Table Badminton

The first record of Table Badminton that we can trace appeared in the Lawn Tennis and Badminton magazine, in March 1901 – “Whiff Whaff or Table Badminton is to appear shortly. That the game will prove immensely popular there is not the slightest doubt, indeed, considering what an excellent game table tennis is, it is surprising Badminton has not been adapted to the table before now”     How wrong they were to be.

Click on images to enlarge

It was in the 1930s that this new game was being advertised in the Badminton Gazette as something to do while you wait to get on the court. In 1935 a book was produced by E.E.Natali with foreword by Jack Hobbs the well-known cricketer who was later knighted. We found inside our copy of this book a letter from St James’s Palace addressed to Mr. Natali, dated October 15 1935, and signed by the Assistant Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, thanking him for sending a handbook on Table Badminton and recording that his Royal Highness was interested in the game which he thinks should be a good one.

The National Badminton Museum has two sets of the game in their collection of memorabilia, one in a cardboard box, labeled, Arena Table Badminton, Empire Model, 25 shillings (£1.25p) containing two racquets, two net posts, net and marking tape, shuttles and a book of laws. The second Table Badminton set is boxed in a leatherette traveling case with the same contents, but the racquets are of better quality, described as Arena Table Badminton priced at 45 shillings (£2.25p).

Table Badminton shuttlecock with a modern shuttle.  

The table or playing surface would have been 2ft. 6ins (0.76m) above the floor with a playing surface of 5ft. (1.5m)  x  9ft. (2.7m). The net was 6ins. (15cm) in depth and the top of the net was 13.5ins. (34cm ) above the playing surface. Table Badminton racquets would not have exceeded 22ins. (56cm) in length, with a circular head of 7.5ins. (19cm) in diameter. The Table Badminton racquet is slightly smaller than a badminton racket. Games were played to 21 points, with the service changing sides every five points. During the rallies, the shuttlecock would not touch the playing surface.

Table badminton racquet with a modern badminton racket.

The Arena Table Badminton sets were advertised in the Badminton Gazette from November 1935 to April 1937.

Table Badminton sets were manufactured under license from Table Badminton Ltd. by British Music & Tennis Strings Ltd. London.

     Table Badminton display at the National Badminton Museum.

A small piece of badminton history that was expected to take off and flourish, but in fact came and went very quickly.

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Photos: – Geoff Hinder                                                         Click on images to enlarge

Visit the  National Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

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National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel

For more information and to book a room go to: – Badminton England website – https://www.badmintonengland.co.uk  –  National Badminton Centre  – National Badminton Centre Hotel.

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If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the National Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the National Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.