Badminton World Federation suspends dress code rule for female shuttlers – Badminton News
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has suspended the dress code rule for female shuttlers, on May 29. In this rule, it was mandatory that all females will wear skirts, instead of shorts, in all major events in badminton.
Chairman of Women in Badminton Committee, Nora Perry said, “There has been various feedback from many quarters and after taking into account all these comments, especially those from the Athletes Commission, it is our recommendation to Council to do further
study before implementing new clothing regulations.”
Nora further added, “It is still our intention to focus on a better presentation of the game, but we will like to broaden the scope to include both men and women, and the feedback will include views from various stakeholders such as the clothing manufacturers.”
BWF accepted the suggestions of the Committee to study further for improvements in the better presentation of the game, in order to attract more audiences and sponsors.
The rule of wearing a skirt was severely criticised by numerous female shuttlers and Women organizations, as it was opposing the religious and traditional aspects of different communities. For Muslim ladies, it is disapproving to wear a skirt, which is against
the principles of their religion.
Many countries criticised this rule including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Australia, China, USA and many others as well, which had the stance of not wearing a skirt as a compulsory measure. Female shuttlers said that they feel more comfortable
by playing in shorts, instead of skirts.
This wide criticism from different countries forced BWF to review their policies for the promotion of the game. Many recommendations came from different sports bodies to change this rule and to let the players wear what they want. After all, the most important
thing is the performance of the shuttlers in the court and not what the player wears.
The rule is suspended for further study and a decision is expected to be made in December, 2011. BWF has changed their decision on the dress code rule due to the huge disapproval from shuttlers and other concerned people.
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