Shuttle Check: Collect, Sort and Stretch

A cool-down where students collect shuttles, sort them by condition and stretch forearms, shoulders and calves. It looks after the equipment and the body after effort.

How to play

1. Pairs walk their court collecting shuttles (2 min).
2. Sort: good ones in the tube, bent feathers in a warm-up box, broken ones to recycling (2 min).
3. Forearm and wrist stretch with the racket: hold it upright with the arm straight for 20 seconds, then reverse (2 min).
4. Shoulder and calf stretch leaning on a partner, 20 seconds per side (2 min).

Rules

• Pick up shuttles by the base, not the feathers.
• No stretch should hurt; keep a gentle pull.
• Each pair hands in a counted tube to the teacher.

Variations

Adaptations

• Visual impairment: sorts by touch (broken or whole feathers) with a partner's help.
• Limited mobility: the partner brings the shuttles over and they stretch seated.
• Shoulder injury: stretches only the other arm and the legs.

Learning goals

• Look after shared equipment.
• Stretch the muscles badminton uses most.
• Take responsibility for closing the lesson.

Equipment for a class of 25

• shuttlecocks: 30
• shuttle tubes: 5
• badminton rackets: 28

Teacher tip

Feather shuttles last longer stored base up in their tube somewhere slightly humid, not in the sun. This routine saves a lot of gear over the school year.

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