Vancouver Fun Tournament Info

[Traum]

Hello folks. After much delay and a few false starts, I am glad to announce that the fun tournament I've been trying to organize is finally happening! Here are the details of the tournament:

Date
Saturday, November 22, 2003

Place
Bethany Baptist Church
22680 Westminster Hwy
Richmond, B.C.

Time
1:00pm - 5:00pm

Registrations and warm-ups starts at 12:30pm

Format
16 teams of "open" doubles (MD, WD, XD all playing together in the same draw)
Minimum 4 matches, 5 games per team

Prizes
Over $270 worth in championship, runner-up, and draw prizes
(and let me assure you that there'll be LOTS of draw prizes!)

Registration
Registration fee: $30/team
BC/BF-members only registration deadline: Friday, September 26, 2003
General registration deadline: Friday, October 10, 2003

If you are interested in participating at the tournament, please contact me at ryleung@telus.net . If you're a BC/BF member, don't forget to include your member name in the email. Please note that your registration cannot be confirmed until the registration fee has been received. Also, the registration fee is not refundable unless the tournament is cancelled.

Please contact me if you have any questions about the tournament. I hope I'll see all the local members at the tournament!

-Rick

p.s. Note to mods: I know another thread for this tournament has already been lurking around the forum for quite a while now, but I I think it would be easier for everyone if all the tournament info is presented at the top as the very first message of the thread. Thanx!

[hwongc]

it will be fun.. ^_^"

[Traum]

As always, I have forgotten to included some information which might be important to you.

Choice of Shuttles
Yonex Mavis 300

Method of Payment
As stated in the previous message, I'll need to collect the registration fee before I can confirm your registration at the tournament. The preferred method of payment is to send me a cheque via snail mail. However, since I am a little paranoid about posting my home address on the Internet, I'll only send it to those who want to play in the tournament. So please send me some email (at ryleung@telus.net) to let me know.


-Rick

[kwun]

Rick, good luck with the tournament!

i am a bit surprised by the shuttle choice with plastics.

[Traum]

Well, the choice to go ahead with nylon shuttles is a bit of a tough one. I wanted to make sure that a beat-up shuttle wouldn't be used in a game, but in order to do that with feather, a very conservative estimate came out to be approximately Cdn$100, given the large number of games that will be played. If that much money is tied up by the shuttles, then I wouldn't be able to afford any draw prizes at all. In keeping with the spirit of a fun tournament, I wanted more people to win something to take home from the event. But since there can only be one tournament champion, draw prizes are the next best thing I can think of.

In the end, the choices are a set of compromises that I hope everyone will be happy with.


-Rick

[cooler]

traum, do u use green or blue mavis 300?

[badrad]

nothing wrong with using the Yonex, and for sure a lot cheaper than supplying feathers. I think I went through one tube of featheres on the one day when Kwun and Cooler were in town.

Also if both teams agree, you could allow players to substitute using their own feather shuttles. That could be a choice to accomodate the feather diehards.

[Traum]

To Cooler:

I'll be using the Blue Mavis 300's. The green ones are too slow.
Now, my question is, would the tournament and the warmer Vancouver winter be enough to entice you to make another trip to Vancouver? :D


To Badrad:

As long as the players agree, I have no problem with them substituting their own feather shuttles in place of my Mavis 300s. Having said that, the players will have to decide for themselves whether they want to put up with the different flight characteristics of feather or plastic between the games. And of course, they would have to bear the cost of providing their own shuttles in addition to the registration fee.

In any case, the official shuttles of the tournament will be Mavis 300s, and those are the only ones I would provide.

So, is Badrad gonna team up with Mrs. Badrad for the tourney?


-Rick

[cooler]

To badrad:
hey, dont blame me:eek: , you and kwun were having some vicious XD games, i didn't dare to play against you that day;)

To traum:
Ahh, plastic birdies, mmm, tempting indeed;) I would definitely have an edge on this one. Will see.:)

[defiant]

Wow, it's finally official. I have been waiting for this for so long. Way to go, Rick! :D

[valourarc]

Anyone looking for a mens double partner? I'll be in Vancouver that weekend and I'm interested in playing. Would love to meet some BF/BC people since I missed out on the VRC weeekend!

[wood_22_chuck]

Super! I'm looking for a double partner too for this tournament ... maybe there should be a pool of "seekers"?

-dave

[badrad]

Traum: Just to clarify when you mention the priority goes to BF members first. Does both partners have to be BFer's or just one? Might make it easier for getting a partner. Or as Wood_22_Chuck suggests to allow "seekers" or "request partner" sign up and get their partners on the tournament day.

[Pointfore.Ca]

I think BFers technically have priority because no one knows about the tournament yet. :)

Drats, I wish I could make the trip out the BC for this. I wonder if my company would fly me out for this event? :D

[kwun]

Traum, i see, i see. make sense. i hope you guys have a great tournament! remember to post pictures and results!

[Traum]

Hey folks. To answer badrad's question, having just one BF member in the team would be enough to secure an early registration. That way, it'll be easier for all of us to find partners.

Also, I've received a number of inquiries from people who want to particpate in the tournament, but need to find themselves a partner. Wood22chuck and badrad's suggestion of a seeker pool is very logical, but I am afraid that the matching up would turn into an organization nightmare if we were to do it on tournament day. It would probably be less chaotic if all the singletons get paired up before the tournament. So may I suggest to the forum members that we take advantage of this forum and post our partner requests either in this thread or in a brand new one?

-Rick

p.s. And don't forget folks, early registration for BFers will end this Friday. After that, registration will be opened to everybody. So please send your registration requests in to me sooner rather than later!

[Traum]

Hey folks. I regret to tell you that as of today, response to registration has only been lukewarm. In particular, although interest in the tournament seems to be quite high, very few people (especially folks from the forum) are actually registering. In a sense, that is a little disappointing because the tourney is certainly not turning into the BC/BF event that I had originally hoped for.

But alas, there are still two weeks before the registration deadline, and I'm planning to talk to more people about the tournament. So, to the numerous local members in Vancouver, please reconsider whether you would like to participate in the tournament. If you're holding back because you don't have a partner, contact other local members to see if they're interested. If you're unwilling to participate because you're concerned about your skill level, don't be! The purpose of the fun tournament is to come out and enjoy a little competitive badminton.

I look forward to hear from all of you!


-Rick

[Traum]

Hey folks. Just a reminder that the registration deadline is coming up this Friday on October 10. We still have room for a few more teams, so if haven't made up your mind as to whether you should join or not, you better act fast! It looks like the competition is gonna be very interesting, so I would really encourage you to take part in the event.

-Rick

[valourarc]

What do you mean by "the competition is gonna be very interesting"? You're getting me worried Traum. :)


Originally posted by Traum
Hey folks. Just a reminder that the registration deadline is coming up this Friday on October 10. We still have room for a few more teams, so if haven't made up your mind as to whether you should join or not, you better act fast! It looks like the competition is gonna be very interesting, so I would really encourage you to take part in the event.

-Rick

[Traum]

Ha, no need to freak out Valour. I was only saying that because I know the level of play for quite a few teams should be pretty close to each other, and hence the "interesting competition" comment.

But there are at least three teams in particular that I think would be "especially interesting" to watch. And I'll leave that for you to interpret. ;)

-Rick

[dropshot51]

OH, OH, us small town folk from Kelowna may be out of our league against the big city players from Vancouver. Is anyone playing in the Cranbrook Tourney on
Oct. 25/03?

[Traum]

Hey Dropshot51. Don't ever underestimate the damage smalltown folks can do. A certain well-known Canadian from the small town of Shawinigan, Quebec is known to be very capable of doing some serious damage between Canada and the US! :D

-Rick

[Traum]

Hello folks. Just a reminder that the tournament is finally happening next Saturday at the Bethany Church. Here is a map to the church:

Link to Bethany Church Map (http://www.bethanybaptist.bc.ca/index1.html)

Due to a few last-minute registration requests, we have a total of 20 teams at participating at the tournament. As a result, the starting time of the tournament has been moved ahead by 1/2 hour. Registration/warm-up will start at 12:00, and the games will promptly begin at 12:30. I apologize for the late notice, and I'll send out the draw to all the participants some time this weekend.

-Rick

[wood_22_chuck]

Somebody PLEASE tell me how a computer-geek looking guy can pack such a POWERFUL round-house smash like CHI-HO !!! And places it so well too.

Traum, AWESOME competition ... I really wanted to win the head-band door prize too :(

Extremely good idea for the BC/BF donation box at the registration desk. Hopefully a lot of people contributed (yes, I did, btw :) )

Pics please.

Non-playing BF members who showed up: WinexWestCan, TTT ...



-dave

[kwun]

Originally posted by wood_22_chuck
Somebody PLEASE tell me how a computer-geek looking guy can pack such a POWERFUL round-house smash like CHI-HO !!! And places it so well too.

Traum, AWESOME competition ... I really wanted to win the head-band door prize too :(


ROFL :D :D :D

how did the tournament go?

[wood_22_chuck]

4 groups, 5 teams per group in the initial round, so each team plays 4 games in the initial round, then ranked according to winnings. Then it's single knock-out after, in two groups.

consolation group for 4th, 5th rank, and championship group for 1st, 2nd, 3rd of the initial round. So guaranteed 5 games for each team.

Correct me if I'm wrong Traum, timeless.

timeless and I were strutting our Asics 5000V shoes, which didn't make a difference to how far you can advance based on cool-looking shoes!

Initial round was 1 set, 15 pts, change sides at 8. Consolation/Championship round was 3 sets, 11 pts. The players I talked to liked the venue, as the floor wasn't hard-wood, but kinda like a springy rubbery surface.

Numerous prices such as posters, overgrips, head-bands, few strings - Gosen, among others, which timeless was eyeing for. Free water in pitchers with ice, gatorade too, I think. Plenty of chairs (with cushions!) for spectators. Lighting was okay, but a little harsh as it's straight flourescent tube and no diffuser, just tubes in wire cages, if you know what I mean.

Good for photography, though, somewhat ... F2.8 at 1/15 is the exposure I got.

A little cold in the gym, but okay if you're on court playing.

I think a lot of us were in awe at Chi-Ho's thunderous smashes, easily the most powerful one in the gym. Oh yeah, the acoustics in the gym is very conducive to badminton. We all asked Chi-Ho to lift up his shirt, just to check out if he's got a Superman "S" in red and blue under his trademark black T-shirt, grey sweatpants. He's called Chi "Clark Kent" Ho, now, if you must know.

Traum was also all over the court taking photos on his Digital Rebel, so I'm waiting for the pics. In a couple of situations, a player got struck in the face by the birdie, and another got whacked in the hand by his partners racket. Instead of ice and bandages and first-aid kit, Traum was on the scene with his Digital Rebel, thrusted forward :D ... although he did ask first if the player was okay. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, although the camera was in his hands.

dropshot51 and 2 others make the 3.5 hour drive up from Kelowna to compete and kudos for their never-give-up hustle on court.

Notable images for me:
1. timeless dripping with sweat after a game, while his partner was literally DRY. I had to ask if they were playing XD formation, with timeless covering the back!

2. Traum with Digital Rebel thrusted forward instead of first-aid kit.

3. Mike from Kelowna attemping a drop shot, bird hit the top of the net, then tumbling over and him standing their waiting for the bird to hit the floor for a winner. Valourac (my partner) calmly waiting till the bird to drop past the net, then slicing the bird cross-court, and Mike shouting at the top of his lungs "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" :D Okay not at the top of his lungs, but loudly nevertheless.

-dave

[wood_22_chuck]

oh and a cool racket bag too, as one of the draw prizes.

-dave

[Winex West Can]

Great job, Traum!

I stayed and watch the finals with Chi Ho and partner coming up winners. Timeless and partner made it to the semi. Txyu & Dropshot51 lose out in the first round of the Finals to eventual finalists.

Great games. Here's a shot of the action. I didn't want to take too many shots as Traum was all over with his camera and I am sure he will be posting pics.

[cooler]

thanks for the wrap up wood 22 chuck. Good to hear that so many BF'ers have participated in that tournament. It sure sounded like fun. BTW, were nylon or feather shuttles used in the tournament? If traum post pics here, his lack of medical attention would be forgiven ;)

[wood_22_chuck]

Plastic Mavis 300, although the Kelowna contingent brought their own feather birds. They were going to use them if their opponents didn't object, but in the end opted for plastics all the way through.

-dave

[kwun]

thanks wood_22_chuck for the information! it sounds like a real fun tournament. and congratulations to Traum for the organization.

what kind of porsche church you guys have in Vancouver have such a nice gym?

still waiting for Traum's 6 megapixels pictures... :)

i swear, when ChiHo was in secondary school, his smash wasn't as steep and hard. something must have happened in between.

[chihong]

wah.. thanks wood_chuck and WWC for all the updates :D

I totally agree with them that that Traum did a greeeeat job in organizing the tournament..the matches were organized properly, and the timing control of the whole tournament was great..

As for the "thunderous" smash, I was actually a bit embarrased by the sound it made.. For some unknown reasons, the racquets I used produced a high-pitch metal sound whenever I smashed hard. The echo in the badminton hall just made it sound even more like thunder..

but then it did seem to make my smash look harder than it was, so I was fine with it :) Some opponents were standing waaaay back in the court waiting for me to smash.. I figured only if I could made a bit more smashing noise, they would stood outside the court :D

but I have to say, watching timeless dripping with sweat while his dry partner standing next to him was quite an amusing sight.. too bad I don't think we have photos to prove our case :)

[chihong]

Originally posted by kwun
thanks wood_22_chuck for the information! it sounds like a real fun tournament. and congratulations to Traum for the organization.

what kind of porsche church you guys have in Vancouver have such a nice gym?

still waiting for Traum's 6 megapixels pictures... :)

i swear, when ChiHo was in secondary school, his smash wasn't as steep and hard. something must have happened in between.

yeap yeap.. you are right.. my smash was a lot weaker back then... but then i don't know what I did to make them goes harder though...:confused: the only thing I know is the movement when I smash gets more natural over the years.. may be that helps a lot..

[Traum]

Hey folks. Sorry my update is a bit late. But thanx to wood22chuck, WWC, and chihong, I suppose the folks on the forum found out a little bit about how things went today at the tourney.

There are some minor corrections to some certain details I'd like to mention though. Within each group of five, only the top two teams would proceed to the championship draw. The remaining three teams all proceed to the consolation draw, with the third team getting a bye for the first round of the consolation draw, while the fourth and fifth teams must fight for a spot in the consolation draw. I'll post the results and the format of the draw to the web later, after I've sorted everything out.

As wood22chuck was saying, I was going mad with my digital camera today. In fact, I somehow managed to use up all the space in my 1GB CF card!!! :eek: Since I don't think kwun will appreciate me uploading all those images up to BC/BF :D, I'll put them up at ImageStation once I finish sorting them out, and I'll post the link here at the forum. (I'm sure there are lots of crap shots though, so you won't have to worry about downloading 1GB's worth of JPGs.)

I'd like to thank everyone who came out today to participate in / watch the tournament. Without you guys, the tourney wouldn't be as fun as it was today. Also, I'd like to thank those who helped me run the tournament today. Without your help, I wouldn't be able to goof around, play my games, take pictures, etc.

Many, many thanx.

-Rick

[Traum]

Hello folks. I've uploaded the tournament results to my webpage. Feel free to check them out at:

http://www3.telus.net/ryleung/FunTourneyWeb.html

Also, after some hardcore (but completely amateurish) mucking around with Photoshop, here is the link to photos I've taken yesterday at the tournament. I've uploaded them to ImageStation, so you'll need an account from them in order to access the pictures.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288509941

Regarding the photos, although I am pretty happy with my composition, all of the pictures were severely underexposed despite the fact that I was already shooting with a wide open aperture (of only F2.8 to F4, depending the lens that I used) and a film speed of ISO 1600. Because of the underexposure and the high film speed, most of the pictures were pretty grainy. Nevertheless, I hope you'll still enjoy them.

Here is a teaser for everyone.

-Rick

[TTT]

Congratualtions rick on quite a successful tournment! It was really fun to watch. I hope there's one next year since I'll have more free time then and maybe my skill level improves enough to even stand a chance....

Nice pictures Rick!.....haha...I just had to change one of the pics to this:

[valourarc]

I'd like to congratulate Traum on running an excellent tournament. And I'm not saying this because he chose my name for a door prize :) I had a lot of fun and hope that I'll be in Vancouver for the next one.

Once again, thanks Traum.

[Traum]

Oh, man. TTT's pictures totally halarious!!! I almost fell off my chair because I was laughing sooooooooo hard! :D

I'm glad that a lot of you enjoyed the tournament and found the planning and organization to be at least adequate. However, I would only give myself a 6 or at most a 7/10 on the execution of the tournament. In the very beginning of the preliminary round, there was a bit of a mix up because some players came late. In order to keep the games going at full speed, there was a bit of juggling around with the order of games between the different groups. But in reorganizing the games' order, Tullia and I got a bit confused. The end result was that a team or two were playing back-to-back matches, while txyu and dropshot51 were sitting out for quite a long time. :(

Not gonna let that happen next time!

-Rick

[timeless]

Originally posted by chihong
... but I have to say, watching timeless dripping with sweat while his dry partner standing next to him was quite an amusing sight.. too bad I don't think we have photos to prove our case :)

Okay enough with the sweat jokes already!!! :D It's dayam hard work lugging my slow 185 lbs. frame around the court! hehehehe :D Plus, if my opponents weren't all so good that day then I wouldn't of had to work so hard! ;)

Good games to everyone who participated, and a job well done to our tournament host Traum! :)

[Traum]

Hello folks. I'd like to take the opportunity here to announce that the Fun Tournament is back! To all the past participants, I trust that you had a good time playing in the last tournament, and I sincerely hope that you'd be able to come out and play again. To those who haven't heard about the tournament before, I hope you'd consider joining us and enjoy some competitive badminton in a most friendly atmosphere.

Without further adieu, the details to this season's tournament can be found here:

http://www.badmintonforum.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=130669

Hope to see all of you at the tourney!

-Rick