the-BA : Flying shuttlecocks

Mixed doubles pairing, Simon Archer and Jo Goode, won a badminton bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. They were the first Britons ever to win an Olympic medal for badminton. Simon Archer said: “It’s such a proud moment for me; I cannot express just how delighted I am for British badminton … it shows we have a sport that’s capable of producing world-class players in Britain.” And he was right; four years later, Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms went one better, winning the silver medal at the Olympics in Athens.

Have you ever wondered what shuttlecocks are made from? And why they fly the way they do?

You might like to …

• find out what different materials are used to make shuttlecocks
• design and carry out tests to see which ones fly best; use lots of different shuttlecocks; you could try adjusting the weight
• design and carry out tests to see if some shuttlecocks need to be hit harder than others
• design and make your own shuttlecock based on your previous investigations.

Further links:
http://www.baofe.co.uk/

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