A Physiological and Notational Comparison of the Conventional and New Scoring Systems in Badminton

Badminton is currently undergoing a transition in scoring from the conventional 3 games to 15 points (3x15) to 5 games to 7 points (5x7) format. The purpose of this study was to compare the physiological responses and shot selection of male singles players between the two formats. Six male athletes played two matches (one 3x15, one 5x7) against the same opponent on different days. Matches were notated using a systematic observation instrument and physiological data was recorded using heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (BLa) sampling. Although athletes' peak HR and BLa responses did not differ between the formats, athletes spent a greater proportion of the 5x7 format at higher HRs (of HRpeak) than the 3x15 format (44% vs. 39% respectively). Notational analysis showed a decrease in total match playing time, number of rallies, and number of shots played in the 5x7 format compared to the 3x15 format (44.4mins vs. 25.1mins, 151 vs. 84 rallies, 943 vs. 533 shots, respectively). Match rally comparison showed the mean number of strokes played in each rally was similar between formats (6.7, 3x15 vs. 6.4, 5x7), however, the mean time duration of the rallies was 1.3s shorter in the 5x7 format (6.6 s) than the 3x15 format (7.9s). The findings indicate that the 5x7 format differs physiologically and tactically to the 3x15 format and may require coaches to modify current on-court training methods to maintain specificity with the demands of the new system