The Badminton Club of the City of New York
Established 1878
About the Club
Founded in 1878, The Badminton Club of the City of New York is proud to be known as the oldest badminton club in the world.
Social Register Observer
The Badminton Club of the City of New York was featured in the Winter 2025 Social Register Observer.
READ ARTICLE
Weekly Play
Members of all skill ranges convene weekly on Saturdays from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm October to April. We play on 5 courts and a mixture of double formats and single formats.
Social Events
We host a season opener cocktail party in the Fall that welcomes members and guests. We also have occasional tournaments with other badminton clubs in the New York area. Members and guests are also welcome to join together at a local bar for drinks and snacks after play on Saturdays.
Lessons and Tournaments
BCCNY organizes round robin and year end tournaments for all levels of play throughout the season. Additionally, our instructor Tiger Tan is available weekly for lessons. Tiger works with all abilities from beginners to top players.
Club History
The Badminton Club of the City of New York was founded during the winter of 1878 by two young world travelers, Bayard Clarke and his friend E.L. Wilks, and their sisters, Lilly Clarke and Katherine and Alice E. Wilks, in part for the love of the sport and in part “to relieve the dullness of the Lenten season.” What was revolutionary at that time was the fact that young men included women in a sport.