Uber Cup

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The Uber Cup, sometimes called the World Team Championships for Women, is a major international badminton competition contested by women's national badminton teams. First held in 1956-1957 and contested at three year intervals, it has been contested every two years since 1984 when its scheduled times and venues were merged with those of Thomas Cup, the world men's team championship. The Uber Cup is named after a former British women's badminton player, Betty Uber, who in 1950 had the idea of hosting a women's event similar to that of the men .^[1] She also made the draw for the 1956-1957 inaugural tournament, which took place at Lytham St. Annes in Lancashire, England.^[2]

The cup follows a similar format to that of the men's competition of the Thomas Cup. After the twenty second tournament 2008 China is the most successful team, having lifted the trophy eleven times. Japan is second, having won it five times, followed by Indonesia and United States, each with three cups.

The 2010 Uber Cup was contested in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 2012 tournament will be held in Wuhan, China from May 20–27, 2012.^[3]

[edit] Trophy

The Uber Cup trophy was officially presented at the annual general meeting in 1956, the year the first Uber Cup tournament was first held.^[2] It was made by Mappin & Webb, prominent silversmiths on Regent Street in London. The trophy is 20 inches high with a rotating globe on top of a plinth and a female player standing on top of shuttlecock.^[1]

[edit] Results

[edit] Uber Cup summaries

[edit] 1957 - 1981

Year	Host	Final
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up
1957 Details	Lancashire, England	United States	6–1	Denmark
1960 Details	Philadelphia, United States	United States	5–2	Denmark
1963 Details	Wilmington, United States	United States	4–3	England
1966 Details	Wellington, New Zealand	Japan	5–2	United States
1969 Details	Tokyo, Japan	Japan	6–1	Indonesia
1972 Details	Tokyo, Japan	Japan	6–1	Indonesia
1975 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	5–2	Japan
1978	Auckland, New Zealand	Japan	5–2	Indonesia
1981	Tokyo, Japan	Japan	6–3	Indonesia

[edit] 1984 - 1988

Year	Host	Final			Third Place
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
1984 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	5–0	England	Korea	5–0	Denmark
1986 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	China	3–2	Indonesia	Korea	3–2	Japan
1988 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	5–0	Korea	Indonesia	5–0	Japan

[edit] 1990 onwards

Year	Host	Final			Semi-finalists
Year	Host	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Semi-finalists
1990 Details	Nagoya & Tokyo, Japan	China	3–2	Korea	Indonesia	Japan
1992 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	3–2	Korea	Sweden	Indonesia
1994 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	3–2	China	Sweden	Korea
1996 Details	Hong Kong	Indonesia	4–1	China	Korea	Denmark
1998 Details	Hong Kong, China SAR	China	4–1	Indonesia	Denmark	Korea
2000 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	China	3–0	Denmark	Korea	Indonesia
2002 Details	Guangzhou, China	China	3–1	Korea	Netherlands	Hong Kong
2004 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	China	3–1	Korea	Denmark	Japan
2006 Details	Sendai & Tokyo, Japan	China	3–0	Netherlands	Germany	Chinese Taipei
2008 Details	Jakarta, Indonesia	China	3–0	Indonesia	Korea	Germany
2010 Details	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Korea	3–1	China	Japan	Indonesia
2012 Details	Wuhan, China

[edit] Successful national teams

So far, only 5 countries have won the Uber Cup with China the most successful team with 11 titles, followed by Japan (5 titles), Indonesia (3 titles), United States (3 titles) and Korea (1 title). The Uber Cup has only crossed the shores of two continents so far: Asia and North America.

Eight teams have made it into the finals. The finalists other than 5 winner countries above are Denmark, England and the Netherlands. Sweden, Germany and Chinese Taipei are the other three teams which have made it into the final four.

Teams	Titles	Runners-up
China	11 (1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002*, 2004, 2006, 2008)	3 (1994, 1996, 2010)
Japan	5 (1966, 1969, 1972, 1978, 1981*)	1 (1975)
Indonesia	3 (1975, 1994, 1996)	7 (1969, 1972, 1978, 1981, 1986, 1998, 2008)
United States	3 (1957, 1960, 1963)	1 (1966)
Korea	1 (2010)	5 (1988, 1990, 1992, 2002, 2004)
Denmark		3 (1957, 1960, 2000)
England		2 (1963, 1984)
Netherlands		1 (2006)

* = hosts

[edit] Team appearances at the final stages

The map shows countries that qualified for the final stages of the Uber Cup

As of 2008^[update], twenty-one teams were qualified in the whole history of the competition for the final stages of the Uber Cup. Asia is the continent with most teams at ten, followed by Europe with six. Americas and Oceania have each had two teams that qualified while South Africa is the only team that has qualified from Africa.