One world rulebook, national categories
Unlike sports with competing sanctioning bodies, badminton has one world body: the BWF publishes the Laws, with no schism. What varies from country to country is the youth pathway: the FFBaD (MiniBad, Dispositif Jeunes, PassBad), Swiss Badminton / J+S-Kids. These federations localise the categories and adapted formats; they do not rewrite the Laws. So keep the federation category next to the Paak band — but do not expect a per-federation rule matrix: there isn’t one.
The FFBaD age categories
The FFBaD publishes seven categories, MiniBad to Senior, set by year of birth (age is assessed at the 1 January following the season).
| FFBaD category | Definition | ≈ |
|---|---|---|
| MiniBad | under 9 | U9 |
| Poussin(e) | under 11 and 9+ | U11 |
| Benjamin(e) | under 13 and 11+ | U13 |
| Minime | under 15 and 13+ | U15 |
| Cadet(te) | under 17 and 15+ | U17 |
| Junior | under 19 and 17+ | U19 |
| Senior | adult (Vétéran from ~35) | — |
International eligibility (Badminton Europe / BWF) can differ slightly from the French categories — do not assume they are identical.
The Plumes ladder (PassBad)
The FFBaD’s Dispositif Jeunes evaluates progress through the PassBad: five “feathers” (plumes) passed strictly in order, like judo belts, judged on technique, tactics and knowledge of the activity.
- White — “get ready to play”: for under-9s (optional from Benjamin on); backed by 3 MiniBad booklets.
- Yellow — “become a badminton player”.
- Green — “read the game and organise”.
- Blue — “act with intent”.
- Red — “build a tactical problem”.
At most ~2 plumes per season, and never before the previous one is passed. The four colour plumes (yellow→red) earn a diploma and a first ranking from the Benjamin category. The testing net is fixed at 1.40 m, targets at 1 m².
Net, shuttle, racket: the adapted formats
The principle behind youth formats is three moves: lower the net, slow the shuttle, shorten the racket. The MiniBad net is at 1.40 m (against 1.524 m at the centre / 1.55 m at the posts for the adult net); the shuttle is a slow nylon one — Swiss J+S colour-grades speed (rot = fast, blau = normal, grün = slow); rackets are shorter and lighter. Beyond youth, two adapted formats exist: AirBadminton (BWF’s outdoor format: court 16 × 6 m for doubles, 16 × 5 m for singles, a 2 m dead zone each side of the net, AirShuttle ~8 g) — a distinct discipline with its own court, shuttle and rules; and para-badminton, which runs six sport classes (WH1, WH2, SL3, SL4, SU5, SH6) with a 1.55 m net for all.
From the 1.40 m net to the adult net: the format ladder
Lower the net, slow the shuttle, shorten the racket — then the format catches up to the adult game, category by category.
- The MiniBad net is at 1.40 m; the adult net at 1.524 m at the centre / 1.55 m at the posts (slow nylon shuttle, short racket for the youngest).
- Each Paak band straddles two FFBaD categories (e.g. u13 = Poussin + Benjamin): it is an inference, never an official category. Keep the federation category next to the band.
Source: FFBaD, Guide du Badminton ch. 02 (age categories) and Dispositif Jeunes / PassBad (5 plumes; 1.40 m net; 1 m² targets) · BWF, Laws of Badminton, Law 2 (adult net 1.524 m / 1.55 m) · Paak corpus 02. The Paak-band ↔ FFBaD-category mapping is a Paak derivation, published by no federation.
Paak’s bands — a derivation, not a federation rule
Paak sorts categories into four bands — u9, u13, u17, sen. None maps onto a single FFBaD category: each band straddles two categories, and this mapping is a Paak derivation (an inference), published by no federation. Always keep the exact FFBaD category next to the band, never instead of it.
| Paak band | ≈ age | ≈ FFBaD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| u9 | <9 | MiniBad | 1.40 m net, slow shuttle, short racket; white plume |
| u13 | 9–12 | Poussin + Benjamin | straddles two categories; yellow→green; first ranking from Benjamin |
| u17 | 13–16 | Minime + Cadet | green→red; power strokes arrive by readiness |
| sen | 17+ | Junior + Senior | full curriculum; the recreational band where Achilles-rupture risk peaks |
Load and development, band by band
The development order is the same everywhere: movement literacy and coordination first, technique on adapted equipment next, power and volume last.
- u9 (MiniBad): motor development, coordination, adapted format; power strokes (the jump smash) and full doubles rotation are not introduced.
- u13: stroke foundations and the first doubles positioning; decision games; keep high-intensity volume modest during growth.
- u17: power strokes and full doubles rotation by readiness; the jump smash and Achilles-protective landing arrive here.
- sen: full curriculum, mixed doubles included; this is the recreational age band where Achilles rupture peaks — prevention matters most here.
Frequently asked
From what age does badminton competition start?
What net height for children?
Are the u9/u13/u17/sen bands official categories?
Sources
FFBaD, Guide du Badminton ch. 02 (age categories) · FFBaD, Dispositif Jeunes + PassBad brochure (5 plumes; 1.40 m net; 1 m² targets) · Swiss Badminton / J+S-Kids (OFSPO-BASPO), Rückschlagspiele mit Kindern (shuttle speeds, ages ~5–10 — reconfirm on mobilesport.ch) · BWF, Shuttle Time and Laws of Badminton (adult net 1.524 m / 1.55 m; AirBadminton; para-badminton, six classes). The band↔FFBaD-category mappings are a Paak derivation (an inference), published by no federation. Content verified August 2026.
help.badminton.age-groups-and-adapted-formats