Crossminton, previously known as Speed Badminton, is a racket game that combines elements from different sports like badminton, squash and tennis. It is played without any net and has no prescribed playground, so it can be executed on tennis courts, streets, beaches, fields or gyms.

International Crossminton Organisation
AbbreviationICO
Founded25 August 2011; 13 years ago (2011-08-25)
TypeFederation of national associations
Legal statusGoverning body of crossminton
PurposeSport governance
HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
Region served
Worldwide
Membership
31 national associations[1]
Official languages
English
President
Matjaž Šušteršič
Financial officer
Yoko Koizumi
Board of Executives
Maximilian Franke
Petr Marklik
Daniel Robles Rodríguez
Charly Knobling[2]
Secretary General
René Lewicki
Main organ
General Assembly
Websitewww.crossminton.org
Crossminton players on a rooftop in Berlin

The sport is often associated with the brand Speedminton because of their historical relation. From 1 January 2016 the name of the racket sport has been changed from Speed Badminton to Crossminton. Today, Crossminton is played all around the world. Currently, there are tournaments all over the world which are organized by a growing number of clubs. On August 25, 2011, the International Crossminton Organization (ICO) was founded under the name International Speed Badminton Organisation (ISBO) in Berlin. By 2018 the ICO already had 26 members - national federations from Europe, America, Asia and Africa.

History

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The special shuttlecock and the idea of the game were invented in 2001 in Berlin by Bill Brandes.[3] The game was refined into the final game of crossminton by the Speedminton company. The inventor first named his new sport "shuttleball", but soon the game was renamed "speed badminton". Starting from January 2016 the name was changed again, to crossminton. Originally, the idea of the inventor was to create an outdoor variant of badminton, so he changed the ball to be smaller and heavier (today called speeder). The analogy of badminton now exists only in a technical way: there is no net and the game tempo is faster. In 2003, there were already 6,000 active players in Germany. The sport is growing steadily and there are numerous international tournaments across Europe.

Game

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Court

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The court consists of two squares of 5.50 m (18 ft) length. They are fixed opposite to each other at a distance of 12.8 m (42 ft).

Equipment

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Match Speeder

Both of the players need a racket.[4] The rackets are similar to the ones used in squash but are specially produced for Crossminton. They are 58–60 cm long, and the material and the strings are different. The ball is called a speeder and is heavier than a conventional badminton shuttlecock, meaning it can be used up to wind force 4.

Speeder-Type Flight distance Speed
Fun Speeder 13–18 m 260 km/h
Match Speeder 17–25 m 290 km/h

Rules

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Equipment

The field consists of two squares measuring 5.5 meters (18 ft) on each side. The distance between the squares is 12.8 meters (42 ft). Crossminton can be played on half of a tennis court which can easily be modified with elastic lines. Match Speeders are used for normal games. Children and adolescents (U12) play with fun speeders on a smaller court (4x4 m) over a smaller distance (9 meters).[5]

The aim of the game is to reach the square of the opposite player with the speeder. If the speeder falls outside the opposite square, the other side gains a point. Both players are allowed to step out of, or anywhere inside their square during play.

The game ends when one player has at least 16 points and has at least 2 points advantage over their opponent. Every time a set/round finishes, the players switch sides.

Match

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A game ends when one player reaches 16 points. If the score is tied at 15 or greater, play continues until one player has a two-point advantage. A match usually consists of two winning sets (best of three).

Service

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The right to serve first is drawn by throwing a coin or a speeder. Every player has three serves. Every rally scores. At a score of 15:15 the serve switches after every point. The serve must be done out of the designated zone which is 3 m behind the front offensive line. This line must not be crossed and the serve is played bottom-up. The first serve of the next set is done by the loser of the previous set.

Points

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Every rally scores if there is no necessity to repeat it. Points can be gained if:

  • the serve is not correct
  • the speeder touches the floor or the roof
  • the speeder lands in the opposite court and cannot be returned
  • the speeder lands outside the court (the lines count as being within the court)
  • the speeder is touched two times immediately after each other
  • the speeder touches the body

If a player returns a speeder from outside the court, it is considered to still be in play.

Change of ends

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After every set, there is a change of ends to guarantee equal opportunities concerning wind and lighting conditions. If a third game (tiebreak) becomes necessary, players change sides after every 6 points.

Variants

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  • Doubles : The doubles match is played on a single court.

At the double division, both players are standing in the same court. The coin or speeder decides the side who serves first. The serving player stands at the backline, and their partner stands in front. The serves rotate between the four players. The first serve in the following set goes to the loser of the previous one.

Crossminton can be played outside and inside; the court can be painted or pegged off. There is even the possibility to use a portable court. Crossminton, which is played in the dark, is called Blackminton. With black lights, fluorescent paints, rackets and special speeders (night speeders) with glow sticks (speedlights) it is possible to play even at night.

World & European Championships

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The first Crossminton (former Speed Badminton) World Championships took place on 26 and 27 August 2011. It was officially named ‘ISBO Azimut Hotels Speedminton® World Championships’. Over 380 participants from 29 countries played in Berlin, in 10 categories. Players from Canada, the US and Australia also attended. Per Hjalmarson from Sweden won the men's title, Janet Köhler from Germany won the women's title and Rene Lewicki & Daniel Gossen from Germany won the doubles title in the final games. Since then the World and European Championships alternate every year.

Overview of World & European Crossminton Championships - adults & U18 (U19 since 2021)
Year Tournament City Open division Female open Open doubles Female doubles Mixed doubles U18 (U19 since 2021) male U18 (U19 since 2021) female
Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up
2011 1. ICO Crossminton World Championships   Berlin   Per Hjalmarson   Daniel Gossen   Janet Köhler   Jasmina Keber   Daniel Gossen

  René Lewicki

  Per Hjalmarson

  Björn Karlsson

not played not played   Tomáš Pavlovský   Dasen Jardas   Alexandra Kacviňská   Lenka Levková
2012 3. ISBO European Championships   Poreč   Per Hjalmarson   Mattias Aronsson   Jasmina Keber   Ágnes Darnyik   Mattias Aronsson

  Per Hjalmarson

  Samo Lipušček

  Robi Titovšek

  Krisztina Bognar

  Ágnes Darnyik

  Helena Halas

  Jasmina Keber

  Daniel Gossen

  Jennifer Greune

  Tomáš Pavlovský

  Alexandra Kacviňská

  Tomáš Pavlovský   Jakub Kosicki   Zita Ruby   Alexandra Kacviňská
2013 2. ICO Crossminton World Championships   Berlin   Patrick Schüsseler   Melker Ekberg   Jasmina Keber   Marta Soltys   Mattias Aronsson

  Per Hjalmarson

  Ivo Junker

  Severin Wirth

  Krisztina Bognar

  Ágnes Darnyik

  Barbora Syč-Kriváňová

  Lucia Syč-Kriváňová

  Daniel Gossen

  Jennifer Greune

  Tomáš Pavlovský

  Alexandra Kacviňská

  Bence Pálinkás   Tomáš Pavlovský   Alexandra Kacviňská   Tea Grofelnik
2014 4. ISBO European Championships   Warsaw   Per Hjalmarson   Mladen Stankovic   Jasmina Keber   Jennifer Greune   Tomasz Kaczmarek

  Marcin Ociepa

  Mattias Aronsson

  Per Hjalmarson

  Krisztina Bognar

  Ágnes Darnyik

  Janina Karasek

  Marta Soltys

  Daniel Gossen

  Jennifer Greune

  Matjaž Šusteršič

  Jasmina Keber

  Bence Pálinkás   Jaša Jovan   Nikola Bariaková   Terezia Gibalová
2015 3. ICO Crossminton World Championships   Berlin   Per Hjalmarson   Myhailo Mandryk   Jasmina Keber   Janet Köhler   Mattias Aronsson

  Per Hjalmarson

  Patrick Schüsseler

  David Zimmermanns

  Janina Karasek

  Marta Soltys

  Andrea Horn

  Verena Horn

  Melker Ekberg

  Rebecca Nielsen

  Matjaž Šusteršič

  Jasmina Keber

  Nico Franke   Saudo Tejada Dámaso   Eliška Andrlová   Danaja Knez
2016 5. ICO European Championships   Gouesnou   David Zimmermanns   Sönke Kaatz   Danaja Knez   Rebecca Nielsen   Patrick Schüsseler

  David Zimmermanns

  Mattias Aronsson

  Per Hjalmarson

  Andrea Horn

  Franziska Ottrembka

  Alexandra Desfarges

  Julie Guyot

  Melker Ekberg

  Rebecca Nielsen

  Tamás Dósza

  Ágnes Darnyik

  Nico Franke   Szymon Andrzejewski   Lori Škerl   Rebeka Škerl
2017 4. ICO Crossminton World Championships   Warsaw   Per Hjalmarson   Marcin Ociepa   Ágnes Darnyik   Janet Köhler   Robin Joop

  Sönke Kaatz

  Patrick Schüsseler

  David Zimmermanns

  Krisztina Bognar

  Ágnes Darnyik

  Anna Hubert

  Franziska Ottrembka

  Melker Ekberg

  Rebecca Nielsen

  Ján Ščavnický

  Tamara Lukáčová

  Jaša Jovan   Nico Franke   Eliška Andrlová   Lori Škerl
2018 6. ICO Speedminton European Championships 2018   Skien   Petr Makrlík   Per Hjalmarson   Eliška Andrlová   Marta Urbanik   Petr Makrlík

  Daniel Knoflíček

  Patrick Schüsseler

  David Zimmermanns

  Andrea Horn

  Anja Rolfes

  Sabina Schabek

  Marta Urbanik

  Melker Ekberg

  Rebecca Nielsen

  Nikola Kucina

  Paula Barković

  Dávid Takács   Maciej Filipowicz   Anna Andrlová   Nika Miškulin
2019 5. ICO Crossminton World Championships   Budapest   Per Hjalmarson   Myhailo Mandryk   Jasmina Keber   Lori Škerl   Patrick Schüsseler

  David Zimmermanns

  Petr Makrlík

  Daniel Knoflíček

  Lori Škerl

  Danaja Knez

  Andrea Horn

  Anja Rolfes

  Yurina Abe

  Akihiko Nishimura

  Sebastian Christoph   Anna Hubert   Shameem Elaheebocus   Maciej Filipowicz   Sendilla Mourat   Georgina Veres
2020 6. ICO European Championships 2020 (Cancelled : COVID-19 pandemics)
2021 6. ICO Crossminton World Championships (played in 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemics)   Zagreb   Akihiko Nishimura   Petr Makrlík   Yurina Abe   Jasmina Keber Šušteršič   Ivo Junker

  Severin Wirth

  Petr Makrlík

  Daniel Knoflíček

  Jasmina Keber Šušteršič

  Danaja Knez

  Tereza Hogenová

  Tereza Šimková

  Yurina Abe

  Akihiko Nishimura

  Pál Pádár

  Edit Osvay

  Arturs Dzirkalis   Mateusz Faska   Zuzana Holesinska   Katarína Daduľáková
2023 7. ICO Crossminton World Championships 2024   Brno
2024 7. ICO European Championships 2024   Balatonboglár

International tournaments

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There are many international crossminton tournaments taking place all around the world under the supervision of the International Crossminton Organization.[6] Every member country can host up to one 1000/500 points tournament and four 250 points tournaments every year. There are only five 1000 points tournaments every year, chosen by the ICO based on the applications sent by member federations. The series of 1000 and 500 points tournaments is called World Series.

By participating in international ICO tournaments the players receive ranking points based on their results.[7] Ranking points are used to determine seeding for upcoming tournaments.

World Series Tournaments in 2018
Date Tournament City Open Division Female Open Open Doubles
Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up
17.-18.3.2018 10. ICO Speedminton® Slovenian Open   Laško   Myhailo Mandryk   Melker Ekberg   Jasmina Keber   Lori Škerl   Melker Ekberg

  Petr Makrlík

  Jaša Jovan

  David Zimmermanns

28.-29.4.2018 10. ICO Speedminton® Hungarian Open   Kiskunfélegyháza   Petr Makrlík   Per Hjalmarson   Jasmina Keber   Ágnes Darnyik   Per Hjalmarson

  Petr Makrlík

  Grzegorz Chmielewski

  Tomasz Moskal

5.-6.5.2018 11. ICO Speedminton® Croatian Open   Zagreb   Petr Makrlík   Jaša Jovan   Lori Škerl   Eliška Andrlová   Adam Kakula

  Petr Makrlík

  Marcel Herrmann

  David Zimmermanns

19.-20.5.2018 9. ICO Speedminton® SLOVAK Open   Banská Bystrica   Petr Makrlík   Myhailo Mandryk   Lori Škerl   Barbora Syč-Kriváňová   Melker Ekberg

  Petr Makrlík

  Adam Kakula

  Andrej Ostrihoň

1.-2.6.2018 ICO Speedminton® Japan Open   Tokyo   David Zimmermanns   Olivér Vincze   Yuka Nishimura   Andrea Horn   Shinichi Nagata

  Patrick Schüsseler

  Akihiko Nishimura

  David Zimmermanns

22.-23.6.2018 ICO Speedminton® Polish Open   Warsaw   Nico Franke   Petr Makrlík   Danaja Knez   Marta Urbanik   Melker Ekberg

  Petr Makrlík

  Robin Joop

  Adrian Lutz

21.7.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Swedish Open   Gothenburg   Per Hjalmarson   Melker Ekberg   Rebecca Nielsen   Eliška Andrlová   Mattias Aronsson

  Per Hjalmarson

  Robin Joop

  Sönke Kaatz

8.-9.9.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Serbian Open   Sombor (future event)
29.-30.9.2018 8. ICO Speedminton® Czech Open 2018   Brno (future event)
19.-21.10.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® German Open   Fürstenfeldbruck (future event)
9.-10.11.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Latvian Open   Riga (future event)
17.-18.11.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Spanish Open   Las Palmas (future event)

* 1000 points tournaments are denoted in bold characters

Nations Cup

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Since 2013 the ICO has organized a national team competition called ICO Nations Cup.[8] The concept is derived from tennis competitions like David Cup or Fed Cup, but in crossminton mixed teams consisting of both male and female players are competing. First, Regional tournaments are played in group- or elimination system and then the winners of Regional tournaments – Regional Champions – battle it out for the title of ICO Nations Cup Champion at the Final tournament.[9]

A national team consists of at least three players – 2 male players (open category, but not as a rule) and 1 female player (women's category, but not as a rule) – and not more than five players (3 players + 2 reserves that can step in for either singles or doubles matches). A clash between two national teams consists of 6 matches – 4 singles and 2 doubles matches.

ICO Nations Cup Results[10]
Year Final Tournament Venue Champion Runner-up
2013   Guimaraes   Slovenia   Germany
2014   Budapest   Sweden   Germany
2015   Eragny sur Oise   Slovenia   Germany
2016   Brno   Germany   Poland
2017   Zabok   Slovenia   Czech Republic
2018   Laško   Czech Republic   Slovenia
2019   Prague   Germany   Czech Republic
2020 (not played) (not played)
2021 (not played) (not played)

References

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  1. ^ crossminton.org. "Members - International Crossminton Organisation". Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  2. ^ crossminton.org. "Executives - International Crossminton Organisation". Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Speed Badminton - ein Sport, den es ohne Berliner nicht gäbe - Berlin-Sport - Berliner Morgenpost"
  4. ^ "Equipment". International Crossminton Organisation. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  5. ^ "The Rules". International Crossminton Organisation. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  6. ^ "Tournament calendar". International Crossminton Organisation. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  7. ^ "World Rankings". International Crossminton Organisation. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  8. ^ "Past results". International Crossminton Organisation. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  9. ^ "Tournament mode". International Crossminton Organisation. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  10. ^ "Past results". International Crossminton Organisation. Archived from the original on 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
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