Switching it up

I'm a badminton player and what I lack in skill I make up for in enthusiasm. This is my game, this is what I love. I lived most of my life hating sports, hating exercise and resenting anything that meant I had to sweat or put down my glass of wine. I am lucky that I found badminton as a sport and lucky that the club I am a part of has so many opportunities to play. Tonite was no exception. Every year at this time we have  Sadie Hawkins tournament, where the women must ask a man to play. In that spirit, everything is done in the opposite way of what is normally expected. Who doesn't love turning things upside down?

Normally, in badminton, when it's a mixed doubles game, the man plays in the back court and the woman plays "up" at the net. When it's Sadie Hawkins, all that is reversed. In order to score, the man must stay up. Indeed. True of so many things. This tournament is about fun, it's about switching it up and it's about punishment too. A man who fails to stay up will be chastised and made fun of.  But truly, it's all in good fun. I played tonite, and a lovely man and fellow club member was nice enough to say "YES" to playing with me. A good time was had by all and really, that is the point.

Change it up a little. Do something you don't normally do. Step outside the lines. Badminton is one way that I have been able to do that, but there are lots of opportunities to change it up. Turn things over. Flip the script and see what happens, but most of all enjoy. No matter what side you wind up on.

In my book I had this to say about badminton:

"I started with my game. I came late to finding a sport I loved, but badminton was it. The reason I took to it had to be because of the women who taught me how to play. They didn’t mind that I had no idea where to stand or how to keep score. It wasn’t a problem that most of the time I couldn’t get the bird over the net. They showed up every week and they gave me this game, they gave me something I’d never had before: a sport.

Were there embarrassing moments when I first started? Absolutely. The falling down thing didn’t just go away because I had a racket and a new pair of shoes. There is nothing like going for a smash at the net and winding up flat on your back on the court during your first tournament. It wasn’t all in my head, people were staring, and a few were laughing.  Just keep swimming? Sure, that helps when you’ve just gone ass over teakettle in front of a hundred or so people. The fact that I’d been down before though? That did help. Someone who has never failed or struggled isn’t someone who knows how to stay in the game."

Try something new. Switch it up, flip it over and do the opposite of what is the norm. It's a good way to stay afloat. Check out the book and find out more about going ass over teakettle and still staying above water. 

SINK OR SWIM