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Does anyone else here play badminton competitively? I used to compete until I came here in college in the US. It's really hard to maintain my performance because no-one here plays well, it's even hard to find the real badminton equipment!

I really hope that more Americans get to know more about badminton as a competitive sport rather than just grandma's backyard game. Also it's really frustrating when someone gives me this weird smile when I say "I play badminton".

Please if you have the same frustration, let's chat and spread out the word

I do... (well i used to back in the UK), one of our gay badminton groups had 2 teams in the local league and there are loads of gay European 'social' tournaments that take place throughout the year, so I used to go to quite a few. I will get back into it when i return to London at the end of next month, but i do understand that in the US, it is not widely played at all and believe me many people say they play and then it's as you describe it - nothing more than "grandma's backyard game".

BTW if you get the chance to travel to Europe then check out http://www.gaysport.org/ as they have a calendar of sports events including badminton......and it will be played at both Outgames in Copenhagen next year http://www.copenhagen2009.org and the Gay Games in Cologne in 2010 http://www.games-cologne.de/en

Good luck in promoting in the US... but it may prove to be an uphill struggle if you cannot even get the right equipment!!!!!