From a sociological standpoint the game is desirable for it is one of the few games that appeals to mixed doubles. The girl or young woman is usually more adept than the boy or man at the short, drop shots and she likes to play up at the net; whereas the man is thrilled by the smashes and the energetic swings at the long volleys.
In spite of all these advantages and attractive qualities, it seems, at present, that the cost of regulation playing equipment, particularly birds, is almost prohibitive for widespread use by the average school player. Schools desiring to introduce the game but having limited funds may be interested in the following variations and substitutions in equipment.
With ordinary care the good rackets will stand considerable use but one might find it economically advantageous, and perfectly satisfactory for beginners, to use the very reasonably priced and extremely light tennis rackets found in some of the dollar stores. The handles of these rackets may be large for some youngsters but with little effort they can be planed or turned to a convenient size. In order to prevent birds from being cut by the sharp corners it is sometimes advisable to round off the edges of the racket head.