To upgrade the professional image of its distributors and give better service to customers, in 2013 VICTOR established the VICTOR Stringing Institute (VSI) in China. July 8, 2013 saw the graduation of the second group of graduates from the VSI and the proud moment when the 41 training course participants from VICTOR’s China distributors received their A-Grade stringer certificate.
A group photo featuring some of the VSI stringer training course’s graduates
Generally, qualified stringers have professional product knowledge, follow stringing rules and use their stringing skills to make the racket perform better. The skills of a stringer include avoiding damage to the racket or string, retaining the original shape of the racket, and ensuring the right string poundage. In comparison to the everyday stringer, qualified stringers provide a more precise, professional service.
Learning how to use a stringing machine
There are quite a few technical problems a stringer has to overcome, for example, how to correctly skip holes, how to reduce or increase string poundage, how to handle the string pulling details without damaging the racket, how to maintain precise string comparative poundage, and how to prevent the racket from becoming misshapen; of course, they also have to prevent the racket and string from being damaged, while also retaining the original shape of the racket and ensuring the racket has the correct poundage; these are all things the skilled stringer must pay particular attention to.
The trainer shows a participant the correct way to wrap grip tape
The course trainers said that, although there are quite a few existing professional stringing organizations, to quickly raise the professional level of distributor personnel, the VICTOR Stringing Institute was created; however, due to limited places, at present this training course is only open to employees of VICTOR distributors.
In the seven-day course, participants not only learned specialized knowledge about badminton, and all about the complete product range and VICTOR brand culture, through the practical course, they also learned the details that need to be paid attention to when actually stringing a racket, such as grip tape wrapping method, how to change grommets, and the 72/76/80 hole racket string pulling technique etc. It is hoped that, after graduation, the participants will provide more professional service to badminton players.
Trainers patiently explained specialized skills (changing grommets & stringing method)
The VSI offers A-Grade, AA-Grade and AAA-Grade(the highest grade) certificates; the higher the level of certificate, the better the stringing quality and speed the stringer has attained.
At present, badminton players can only find VICTOR-certified stringers at VICTOR’s China distributors; they wear special vests and t-shirts or wear a stringer’s tag on their chest, providing top quality stringing services to turn rackets into lethal on-court weapons for professional and recreational players alike.