ClearOne Badminton Centre [Archive] - Badminton Central Discussion Forums

ChipmunkBoy

06-03-2003, 12:23 AM

Just wanted to let everyone know about a new badminton centre with 6 Olympic mats and wood Singles teaching court in Richmond, BC on No. 3 Rd behind Liquidation World. I played here the other night and it was awesome. I also heard they offer lessons and stuff.

The address is:#138-4551 No. 3 Rd
Richmond, BC
Tel: (604) 231-8281

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU CHECK IT OUT!

dex

06-03-2003, 08:58 AM

Would you know who is running these new courts? & also are they open for hourly rental or membership?

Winex West Can

06-03-2003, 11:48 AM

That's news indeed. I will be dropping by later to check out the facility and get more information.

Jay L

06-03-2003, 12:09 PM

I'm not too familiar with Richmond, but is that beside Superstore?

LoveJoy

06-03-2003, 12:38 PM

Darryl is running the center....and they are almost ready for the grand opening....I am going there to check the place out tomorrow.

cooler

06-03-2003, 02:27 PM

I envy you vancouverian. Post some pics if you can.

TTT

06-03-2003, 04:18 PM

sweet.....I have another home....haha

too bad I got a midterm tomorrow...or else I'll be driving down there right now

wood_22_chuck

06-03-2003, 05:06 PM

Awesome FYI ... I'll probably drive down there later today ... if any of you have further info, don't hesitate to post it up here :)

Hope they have coaches with reasonable rates, drop-ins etc.

Xero

06-03-2003, 06:13 PM

There are drop ins and hour rentals I think

badrad

06-03-2003, 06:32 PM

We were invited for a fun tournament there on Sunday evening. Almost all the VRC players were there in attendance.
For your info:

The center is run by Daryl Yung. It is a private enterprise, but the courts are available for booking in 1 hour segments - $15 per hour. There are 6 courts, four side by side and two end to end. The ceiling height is adequate although it is not that high. The flooring is concrete but he has installed green court mats. Very good quality mats.

The entire gym is painted green - walls and ceiling is dark, so visibility is quite good.

Daryl is running his training programs, of which there are many he is creating that caters for all ages and levels. The prices are comparable and in some cases better than the VRC.

Winex West Can

06-03-2003, 06:33 PM

I dropped by and spoke with Darryl. There are no signs out front as he is still waiting for some permits to allow the signage.

Basically, the facility is located at the back of Pit Stop. So if you drive in from No. 3 Road, instead of heading down to Liquidation World, you want to head down the other side of the building and it is right at the back from No. 3 Road. (North/West side of the building).

There are 6 courts available (all doubles) and the cleared ceiling height is around 25 ft. The courts are on mats (Gerflor) with padding underneath. There is a pro shop stuffed with Forza products (of course) :D and the facility is open 7 days a week up to 10 or 11 pm on week nights and 12 midnight on weekends. The services offered are lessons (Private and Group), court rentals and drop in sessions.

Drop in sessions are $6.00/hr for 2.5 hrs at selected times (M/T/W/Th) with a limit of 32 players (first come, first serve). Court rentals are $15/hr and can be booked a week in advanced. I don't think there are any age limits for the drop-in sessions. Group lessons ranged from Jnr Beginners up to High Performance. Darryl said that he is almost fully booked.

Website is www.clearonebadminton.com (not active yet).

wood_22_chuck

06-03-2003, 06:52 PM

Thanks badrad and WWC for "in-depth" embedded reporting :D

I'm always interested in the drop-ins as I don't have a group of players that I play with regularly. As such, I wonder if I'll brave the line-ups for first-come-first-serve. Maybe I'll give them a call and find out how long in advance I can sign-up.

When I played at Collingwood House on Sunday, one player there told me that when Collingwood first started up, there would be lines out the door, with players coming in from all over, i.e. Coquitlam, Surrey, Richmond, all converging there.

-dave

SmashingBird

06-04-2003, 09:34 PM

gotta check it out..when is it projected to be opening...hey wwc, isn't 25 ft kinda low...lower than anderson eh?

Winex West Can

06-08-2003, 07:34 PM

A few of us got together to play Sat. morning since Wunderbar (Ottawa) came in on a work assignment. There were 7 of us (Pete LSD couldn't make it as he was still asleep at 10:45 am). Timeless, Badrad, Mrs. Badrad, Badrad jr, TTT, myself and Wunderbar played for slightly over 2 hours from 10 to 12 noon.

The facility is very good and the mats sure provided very good grip for the shoes and Darryl has installed extra padding under the mats. It was very quiet as we were the only ones playing aside from Darryl giving a few lessons a couple of courts away. There is only one shower available so I would assume that most folks would shower at home.

As for the ceiling height, we hit the main I-beam a couple of times but it wasn't any big deal as it wasn't totally in the way for most of the games.

SChan

06-08-2003, 10:35 PM

Can anyone possibly post a pic of the facility???

Thanks.... :D

SmashingBird

06-09-2003, 01:00 AM

ahhh...wwc u didn't invite me..how could u?!!>..... and i wanted to see how good badrad jr is too...>.<!!....

TTT

06-09-2003, 01:10 AM

Originally posted by SmashingBird
ahhh...wwc u didn't invite me..how could u?!!>..... and i wanted to see how good badrad jr is too...>.<!!....

I think she's better than you....hehe

Sorry again, badrad, for smashing the birdie at your back...couldn't aim properly with my beginner skills...I'm working on that.

badrad

06-09-2003, 02:03 AM

It wasn't my back that you hit!

Winex West Can

06-09-2003, 02:06 AM

Originally posted by badrad
It wasn't my back that you hit!

Yeah, it was your b*** :D :D :D :D :D :D

The Mrs. and Jr enjoyed it :D

SmashingBird

06-09-2003, 02:48 AM

anyone got the schedule for the center..want to go check it out..anyone want to come play wif me?

wood_22_chuck

06-09-2003, 12:30 PM

I'd love to come and play! :)

Badrad et. al., if you guys are going out again, and don't mind another player, ditto, I'd love to come out and improve my game.

-dave

SmashingBird

06-09-2003, 08:24 PM

There is a summer program at clearone

Summer Camps

Date: Aug 18 - Aug 22
Location: ClearOne Badminton Centre - Brand New Badminton Only facility
(opening June 1)
Address: #138 - 4551 No. 3 Road Richmond

3 camps per Day
Beginner - 9am-12pm
Intermediate - 2pm-5pm
Advance - 7pm-10pm
Maximum 20 people per camp.
Minimum age grade 5 and up

Camp cost: TBA (should be around $90.00)
Info will also be posted on ClearOne Web site soon !!

TTT

06-10-2003, 01:38 AM

Originally posted by badrad
It wasn't my back that you hit!

oops!..........

cooler

06-10-2003, 02:27 AM

that spot sound like is reserved for mrs. badrad only :cool:

wunderbar

06-12-2003, 11:20 PM

Thanks guys(WWC, badrad, mrs. badrad, badrad jr, timeless, TTT) for coming out to play. It was quite a workout since I got to play so much (well atleast for me and I noticed badrad wasn't hardly trying...heee...probably his backhand was enough to kill me). Maybe I'll end up out there some other time and we could hook up. I liked the ClearOne place but like WWC said, we hit the ceiling a few times but no complaints overall. Thanks again!
:D

Marky

06-15-2003, 12:56 PM

I scan from its information slip and attach:

Marky

06-15-2003, 12:57 PM

its map:

SmashingBird

06-16-2003, 11:00 PM

great..now everyone knows where it is..shall we organize a clearone meet then?:D :)

Absinthe

06-17-2003, 07:04 AM

Hey, that's pretty near to where I live!
Guess I'm gonna see ya guys there more often :)

wood_22_chuck

06-17-2003, 01:25 PM

Originally posted by SmashingBird
great..now everyone knows where it is..shall we organize a clearone meet then?:D :)

If it happens, I'm in :)

SmashingBird

06-17-2003, 03:06 PM

Originally posted by Absinthe
Hey, that's pretty near to where I live!
Guess I'm gonna see ya guys there more often :)

where exactly do u live? what school do u goto if u go to school

Winex West Can

06-17-2003, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by SmashingBird
great..now everyone knows where it is..shall we organize a clearone meet then?:D :)

SB, you said it. you organize it! :D

SmashingBird

06-17-2003, 03:43 PM

dat isn't a problem...but u guys mind telling me when u guys will be free coz i m pretty much free the whole summer...

wood_22_chuck

06-17-2003, 04:45 PM

Originally posted by SmashingBird
dat isn't a problem...but u guys mind telling me when u guys will be free coz i m pretty much free the whole summer...

I'm free
i) weekday nights after 7:00 pm (work)
ii) weekends

:)

Absinthe

06-17-2003, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by SmashingBird
where exactly do u live? what school do u goto if u go to school

I live on Granville Avenue, studying at Kwantlen.
Hey, that's pretty close considering I was playing at Burnaby & Downtown previously.

Absinthe

06-17-2003, 05:52 PM

I went to ClearOne today. Darryl was coaching someone using this telescope-like thing to throw the shuttlecocks (Dunno what's that called :D)

Managed to take some pictures.
I'll post them tonight provided the results r good :p

Man, I'd love to try out the mats. Still look brand new.

Absinthe

06-17-2003, 05:57 PM

Originally posted by SmashingBird
dat isn't a problem...but u guys mind telling me when u guys will be free coz i m pretty much free the whole summer...

I'm free almost every night (After 5) for the summer.

Absinthe

06-17-2003, 08:19 PM

How to upload pics?

SmashingBird

06-17-2003, 09:05 PM

Originally posted by Absinthe
How to upload pics?

u need a server to upload them to... u can get a free one like geocities or yahoo..if u dun want to go thru all the trouble..icq me n i can do it for u 47806167

Absinthe

06-17-2003, 10:06 PM

Here are the pics....

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4126411&a=30732784&f=0

Enjoy! :)

SChan

06-23-2003, 01:44 AM

wow nice pics, Absinthe! It looks like an excellent facility.... maybe i should drop by sometime.... :D

tofu_boy

07-01-2003, 11:05 AM

coming to Vancouver for a visit in a couple of weeks. Just wondering about this clearone place in Richmond...is it a drop-in? and if so...how much is it?

I appreciate the help...thanks

t

Marky

07-01-2003, 11:28 AM

http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10321

Winex West Can

07-01-2003, 11:41 AM

Got to tell you that the drop in sessions are quite different from the other places. When John Luu and I went last Thursday, most of the drop ins are young kids (<17 yrs) and they all played within their own group. John and I ended playing with a couple of players that I know the entire evening. It was like the four of us had booked a court for the period.

Pete LSD

07-01-2003, 12:08 PM

From previous experience, I find drop-in sessions at ClearOne are badly organized. Everybody play with their own groups.

wood_22_chuck

07-01-2003, 02:44 PM

Talking with the lady at the front desk, she says that when ClearOne gets full, they go by sign-up on the chalkboard. Otherwise, no sign-up and they let the players roam free :) or group together in their groups.

wunderbar

07-01-2003, 05:08 PM

I think it depends on the skills. Ones that are more beginners don't want to play with others that are overpowering and then the more advance players wouldn't want to have like a 5 minute game. Thats probably why they tend to group together at drop-ins. I think its a good idea to get like 8 or so people together and then rent the courts like what WWC had done while I was out there. Atleast, you could mix up the games but know you'll get a good match. Its too bad most of the people are < 17, I would personally feel uncomfortable approaching kids that age for a games.

tofu_boy

07-01-2003, 06:03 PM

are most of the drop-in matches doubles or are single games arranged also?

Not that I mind playing doubles...but I prefer playing singles whenever possible. I do realize that if it's crowded and only a certain number of courts are available doubles gives everyone a chance to play.

thoughts?

SmashingBird

07-01-2003, 06:27 PM

the only time singles could be played in drop ins is if there no one waiting..i haf never seen singles in a dropin where there is someone waiting on the side..althought i haf seen 8 ppl playin on one court before :eek:

tofu_boy

07-02-2003, 10:09 PM

anyone know what the summer rates are for the VRC?

Marky

07-02-2003, 11:27 PM

http://www.vrc.bc.ca/member.html

ie: Summer (June, July, August) - no initiation: $185.00

Traum

02-14-2004, 12:45 AM

Just to keep the fellow Vancouver BFers informed, I was talking to the ClearOne staff today, and it seems like starting in March, there won't be evening drop-ins anymore other than on Fridays and Saturdays.

-Rick

wood_22_chuck

02-14-2004, 01:05 AM

I dropped by there on a Thursday evening, and it was just deserted. Just two families playing recreational badminton. Wonder if the "new baddy court" fad has passed, and if ClearOne can still operate profitably for the owners.

I think that starting a court has to involve a core of players dedicated enough to show up twice weekly and actually enjoy doing so. I got that feeling when I dropped-in at VRC and RBC, otherwise said venue might be headed for desertion.

-dave

Traum

02-14-2004, 01:24 AM

I think ClearOne should still be profitable, although their primary revenue would probably come from group training, private lessons, and the pro-shop instead of massive amounts of frequent players. They never seem to have a shortage of kids who are taking lessons, and there is a core group of people that train under Darryl.

One of the problems that I noticed is, if you go there twice a week, then the drop-in fees would already amount to

$6 x 2 x 52 = $624

in a year, which is almost your annual VRC membership. But if you join VRC, you can play there 24x7 every single day of the year. Perhaps Darryl might want to consider some form of membership structure as well?

-Rick

Joo Bong

02-14-2004, 08:28 AM

$600 something dollars for memberships?? wow... I don't think many of us have that kind of money. I whether stake with ClearOne.

Regarding drop-in for Friday, and Saturday. I heard this is only for Spring. They might switch back in Summer!! Will see what happen?!! :p