VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - It's the ugly cousin of racquet sports and it gets nowhere near the same credit as tennis. Roughly 40 per cent of Canadians have played or are fans of badminton.
Despite what many people may think, it's not the sport you play with your Uncle at the family reunion, because you have to. Badminton is actually a sport that requires great skill, hand-eye coordination, agility and stamina.
However, it doesn't get the same attention as its sexier counterpart, tennis.
Brock Turner with Badminton B.C. says we're going to see more of a push to have courts available province-wide. "The popularity of the sport hasn't necessarily been that organized. We're trying to say, let's gather those people together and show the masses, the politicians and the businesses, that it's worthwhile doing more."
Turner explains the sport has some pretty good numbers across the province. There are 14,000 B.C. high schools students registered as well as a number of ladies clubs and recreational players across the province.
He adds that unlike badminton you don't see people playing tennis or even racquetball into their 80s. In fact, up until three years ago B.C. held the world record for the oldest badminton player at 97.
For more information on badminton click here.