Crossminton

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

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.

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 Germany Berlin Sweden Per Hjalmarson Germany Daniel Gossen Germany Janet Köhler Slovenia Jasmina Keber Germany Daniel Gossen

Germany René Lewicki

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Sweden Björn Karlsson

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

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Slovenia Samo Lipušček

Slovenia Robi Titovšek

Hungary Krisztina Bognar

Hungary Ágnes Darnyik

Slovenia Helena Halas

Slovenia Jasmina Keber

Germany Daniel Gossen

Germany Jennifer Greune

Slovakia Tomáš Pavlovský

Slovakia Alexandra Kacviňská

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

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Switzerland Ivo Junker

Switzerland Severin Wirth

Hungary Krisztina Bognar

Hungary Ágnes Darnyik

Slovakia Barbora Syč-Kriváňová

Slovakia Lucia Syč-Kriváňová

Germany Daniel Gossen

Germany Jennifer Greune

Slovakia Tomáš Pavlovský

Slovakia Alexandra Kacviňská

Hungary Bence Pálinkás Slovakia Tomáš Pavlovský Slovakia Alexandra Kacviňská Croatia Tea Grofelnik
2014 4. ISBO European Championships Poland Warsaw Sweden Per Hjalmarson Serbia Mladen Stankovic Slovenia Jasmina Keber Germany Jennifer Greune Poland Tomasz Kaczmarek

Poland Marcin Ociepa

Sweden Mattias Aronsson

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Hungary Krisztina Bognar

Hungary Ágnes Darnyik

Poland Janina Karasek

Poland Marta Soltys

Germany Daniel Gossen

Germany Jennifer Greune

Slovenia Matjaž Šusteršič

Slovenia Jasmina Keber

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

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Germany Patrick Schüsseler

Germany David Zimmermanns

Poland Janina Karasek

Poland Marta Soltys

Germany Andrea Horn

Germany Verena Horn

Sweden Melker Ekberg

Sweden Rebecca Nielsen

Slovenia Matjaž Šusteršič

Slovenia Jasmina Keber

Germany Nico Franke Spain Saudo Tejada Dámaso Czech Republic Eliška Andrlová Slovenia Danaja Knez
2016 5. ICO European Championships France Gouesnou Germany David Zimmermanns Germany Sönke Kaatz Slovenia Danaja Knez Sweden Rebecca Nielsen Germany Patrick Schüsseler

Germany David Zimmermanns

Sweden Mattias Aronsson

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Germany Andrea Horn

Germany Franziska Ottrembka

France Alexandra Desfarges

France Julie Guyot

Sweden Melker Ekberg

Sweden Rebecca Nielsen

Hungary Tamás Dósza

Hungary Ágnes Darnyik

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

Germany Sönke Kaatz

Germany Patrick Schüsseler

Germany David Zimmermanns

Hungary Krisztina Bognar

Hungary Ágnes Darnyik

Germany Anna Hubert

Germany Franziska Ottrembka

Sweden Melker Ekberg

Sweden Rebecca Nielsen

Slovakia Ján Ščavnický

Slovakia Tamara Lukáčová

Slovenia Jaša Jovan Germany Nico Franke Czech Republic Eliška Andrlová Slovenia Lori Škerl
2018 6. ICO Speedminton European Championships 2018 Norway Skien Czech Republic Petr Makrlík Sweden Per Hjalmarson Czech Republic Eliška Andrlová Poland Marta Urbanik Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Czech Republic Daniel Knoflíček

Germany Patrick Schüsseler

Germany David Zimmermanns

Germany Andrea Horn

Germany Anja Rolfes

Poland Sabina Schabek

Poland Marta Urbanik

Sweden Melker Ekberg

Sweden Rebecca Nielsen

Croatia Nikola Kucina

Croatia Paula Barković

Hungary Dávid Takács Poland Maciej Filipowicz Czech Republic Anna Andrlová Croatia Nika Miškulin
2019 5. ICO Crossminton World Championships Hungary Budapest Sweden Per Hjalmarson Ukraine Myhailo Mandryk Slovenia Jasmina Keber Slovenia Lori Škerl Germany Patrick Schüsseler

Germany David Zimmermanns

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Czech Republic Daniel Knoflíček

Slovenia Lori Škerl

Slovenia Danaja Knez

Germany Andrea Horn

Germany Anja Rolfes

Japan Yurina Abe

Japan Akihiko Nishimura

Germany Sebastian Christoph Germany Anna Hubert Mauritius Shameem Elaheebocus Poland Maciej Filipowicz Mauritius Sendilla Mourat Hungary 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) Croatia Zagreb Japan Akihiko Nishimura Czech Republic Petr Makrlík Japan Yurina Abe Slovenia Jasmina Keber Šušteršič Switzerland Ivo Junker

Switzerland Severin Wirth

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Czech Republic Daniel Knoflíček

Slovenia Jasmina Keber Šušteršič

Slovenia Danaja Knez

Czech Republic Tereza Hogenová

Czech Republic Tereza Šimková

Japan Yurina Abe

Japan Akihiko Nishimura

Hungary Pál Pádár

Hungary Edit Osvay

Latvia Arturs Dzirkalis Poland Mateusz Faska Czech Republic Zuzana Holesinska Slovakia Katarína Daduľáková
2023 7. ICO Crossminton World Championships 2024 Czech Republic Brno
2024 7. ICO European Championships 2024 Hungary 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 Slovenia Laško Ukraine Myhailo Mandryk Sweden Melker Ekberg Slovenia Jasmina Keber Slovenia Lori Škerl Sweden Melker Ekberg

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Slovenia Jaša Jovan

Germany David Zimmermanns

28.-29.4.2018 10. ICO Speedminton® Hungarian Open Hungary Kiskunfélegyháza Czech Republic Petr Makrlík Sweden Per Hjalmarson Slovenia Jasmina Keber Hungary Ágnes Darnyik Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Poland Grzegorz Chmielewski

Poland Tomasz Moskal

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

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Germany Marcel Herrmann

Germany David Zimmermanns

19.-20.5.2018 9. ICO Speedminton® SLOVAK Open Slovakia Banská Bystrica Czech Republic Petr Makrlík Ukraine Myhailo Mandryk Slovenia Lori Škerl Slovakia Barbora Syč-Kriváňová Sweden Melker Ekberg

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Slovakia Adam Kakula

Slovakia Andrej Ostrihoň

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

Germany Patrick Schüsseler

Japan Akihiko Nishimura

Germany David Zimmermanns

22.-23.6.2018 ICO Speedminton® Polish Open Poland Warsaw Germany Nico Franke Czech Republic Petr Makrlík Slovenia Danaja Knez Poland Marta Urbanik Sweden Melker Ekberg

Czech Republic Petr Makrlík

Germany Robin Joop

Germany Adrian Lutz

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

Sweden Per Hjalmarson

Germany Robin Joop

Germany Sönke Kaatz

8.-9.9.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Serbian Open Serbia Sombor (future event)
29.-30.9.2018 8. ICO Speedminton® Czech Open 2018 Czech Republic Brno (future event)
19.-21.10.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® German Open Germany Fürstenfeldbruck (future event)
9.-10.11.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Latvian Open Latvia Riga (future event)
17.-18.11.2018 2018 ICO Speedminton® Spanish Open Spain 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 Portugal Guimaraes Slovenia Slovenia Germany Germany
2014 Hungary Budapest Sweden Sweden Germany Germany
2015 France Eragny sur Oise Slovenia Slovenia Germany Germany
2016 Czech Republic Brno Germany Germany Poland Poland
2017 Croatia Zabok Slovenia Slovenia Czech Republic Czech Republic
2018 Slovenia Laško Czech Republic Czech Republic Slovenia Slovenia
2019 Czech Republic Prague Germany Germany Czech Republic 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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