Several months ago, Jim Winkle didn’t have any badminton experience. All he knew was that he wanted to play a sport outdoors.

He posted ads in the paper and around town about a badminton group taking place in the park on Monday evenings. Little did he know, badminton was not designed to be an outdoor sport.

“People showed up and we discovered within the first two minutes that the wind really impacts how the birdie flies,” Winkle said.

But Winkle didn’t give up. Those who showed up still had a great time, so he hosted the game again the following week, only to find out — once again — that it was too windy to play in the park.

“Then I realized, I guess this is an indoor sport,” Winkle said.

Winkle went on to facilitate an ongoing weekly badminton game on Monday evenings at Bend Hoops. He welcomes all levels of experience and even provides rackets and birdies to those without their own equipment.

When Jeremy Hipps, an experienced badminton player, found out that Winkle was organizing the group, he reached out to get involved.

Hipps played badminton in university for four years in the United Kingdom, where he also earned his first coaching certificate. His love of the game followed him back to the U.S., where he continued to train and became a national USA Badminton umpire, the person responsible for seeing that the game is played in accordance with the official rules.

Hipps offers a half hour of free lessons on the fundamentals of the game at the weekly meetups for new players. He wants to provide the opportunity for players to not only enjoy “social play,” but also have the ability to learn and improve their skills.

One of Hipps’ favorite aspects of the game is community building.

“There’s that beauty in the creation of a good rally,” said Hipps, “and that’s something that you and the person across from you, or you and your partner and the team across from you, create together.”

As a player who is new to the sport, Winkle has gained an appreciation for how the birdie moves.

“You can smash it, but then it slows down before it reaches your opponent, which gives them time to hit it back,” Winkle said. He has found that the more he observes experienced players, the more he becomes aware of the strategy that goes into the game.

The badminton group at Bend Hoops typically has a turnout of 10 to 15 people. Hipps hopes to see the group grow into a league or nonprofit organization. He even hopes that one day there may be the resources to establish a facility specifically for badminton in Bend.

“It’s just another one of those sports where you can keep developing for a lifetime,” Higgs said. “It’s a fun journey to keep learning new skills.”

New players are encouraged to join the weekly group and can sign up to attend via the link or by searching for “Badminton Night” on Meetup.com.

What: Badminton night

When: Mondays 7-9 p.m.

Where: Bend Hoops, 1307 NE First St., Bend

Cost: $10

Contact: meetup.com/bend-badmi/events