It was the purpose of this study to determine the effectiveness of a badminton shuttlecock projecting device upon the skill achieved by a group of beginning badminton players. The subjects were college students enrolled in two beginning badminton classes and one recreational sports class. The two badminton classes were designated as the experimental (N = 16) and control (N = 18) groups, both groups receiving class instruction. In addition, the experimental group practiced hitting shuttlecocks projected by the device. The recreational sports class was designated as the comparison group (N = 12). Initial and final Miller Wall Volley Test scores assessed badminton ability at the beginning and conclusion of the study. A pre-instruction knowledge test was also administered. Scores were analyzed with the analysis of variance procedure followed by Scheffé tests which further assessed differences. The significance level was set at the .05 critical value. Results revealed significant differences between the three groups on final badminton playing ability although the conservative Scheffé tests failed to pinpoint the exact nature of the differences. A significant improvement in playing ability was found for both the experimental and control groups. It can be concluded, within the limitations of this study, that badminton instruction supplemented with the aid of a badminton shuttlecock projecting machine was as effective as badminton instruction alone
