Testing a shuttle for speed: the Law 3 method
How the Laws say to check that a shuttle flies at the right speed, step by step.
Why read this
Shuttles are sold in different speeds, and the Laws give one official way to check one (BWF Laws of Badminton, edition in force 26 April 2025). It is a reference method, not something every club night needs.
The method (Law 3)
- Use a full underhand stroke.
- Make contact with the shuttle over the back boundary line.
- Hit it at an upward angle, in a direction parallel to the side lines.
- Watch where it lands.
What a correct speed is
A shuttle of correct speed lands not less than 530 mm and not more than 990 mm short of the other back boundary line (Law 3.2, Diagram B). The Laws mention optional testing marks on the court diagram (Diagram A, note 3).
Using it at the club
- Hit several shuttles of the same box the same way; compare where they land with the 530 to 990 mm zone.
- If one lands outside the zone, it is not "of correct speed" in the sense of Law 3.
Limits
- The Laws give the stroke and the zone, but not the number of trials, nor what to do when two shuttles of the same box give different results.
- They do not link the zone to the speed numbers or colours printed by makers.
- The Laws do not say who may perform the test in a competition, nor what the consequence of a failed test is; other BWF regulations may cover this and we did not read them.
- Atmospheric conditions (Law 2.4) matter; the Laws do not say how to correct a test result.
General practice advice: play within your limits and stop if something hurts.