BY STEPHANIE AKIN
THE RECORD 

North Jersey towns must find a way to balance the needs of their growing immigrant populations, whose love of fringe sports is placing a demand on local resources.

Activities such as badminton, cricket and table tennis -- widely popular in many other countries -- are starting to grow in popularity here. And many tax-paying immigrants are pressing North Jersey officials to make room for them at area recreation centers and fields.

In Fair Lawn, for instance, scores of mostly Russian immigrants unpack their rackets and birdies at the borough's recreation center for the few hours of court time the town allows them to play badminton -- a beloved sport in their native country.

The group is now pressing town leaders for more playing time in the public building, which they say unfairly caters to more traditional American sports -- even though more than 10 percent of the town's population is of Russian descent.

"The larger issue is how immigrants figure out how to navigate the political system and get their desires and needs met," Rutgers sociology professor Sherri-Anne Butterfield said.

Hudson County cricket players, mostly from the Caribbean and South Asia, spent decades lobbying before the county agreed to build a $2.2 million pitch in Secaucus. That field, slated for completion this spring, will be the first cricket pitch in the state, where 104 teams are sharing fields with baseball, football and soccer players.

READ MORE: http://www.northjersey.com/news/Shuttlecock_diplomacy.html

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