The Korea Open is back in Seoul after 4 consecutive years in other cities. This is the first year I've seen current information published so far in advance of the event. They've already put the location up on the website as well as information on organizing staff, entry deadline, official hotel, etc. all in English.

They are once again offering the most prize money of any tournament of the year and, at US$300,000, possibly the largest prize package ever for badminton. I've only been keeping track since 2002 and I'm sure it's the most since then. Someone correct me if I have erred in assuming that prize money has simply been rising over time.

I just hope we get the competitors. The Hong Kong Open is the following week but I'm worried that both of them are too close to the World Championships.

considering the WC is slated to start mid-late September..

They are once again offering the most prize money of any tournament of the year and, at US$300,000, possibly the largest prize package ever for badminton. I've only been keeping track since 2002 and I'm sure it's the most since then. Someone correct me if I have erred in assuming that prize money has simply been rising over time.

I just hope we get the competitors. The Hong Kong Open is the following week but I'm worried that both of them are too close to the World Championships.
Whoah..$300,000..?!?!..:eek: :rolleyes: ..Sorry, what do you mean by "once-again"? Have the Korean Open offered the same prize money before??..I assume this Korean Open is a 6-star tourney??..But what is the limit of prize money for a 6* tourney?? I believe the recent Indonesian Open, which is 6-starred, prize money offered @ $250,000...:rolleyes:
IMO, that's a very attractive prize money and *should* attract all the top players/pairs in the world..:cool:

what do you mean by "once-again"? Have the Korean Open offered the same prize money before?No. By "once again", I mean that Korea's prize money is the highest on the circuit in 2006, just as I believe it was in 2002 or 2003 if not other years. At any rate, every year since 2002, the Korea Open has been alone at the top or tied for the top prize money on offer. All the 6* tournaments I've seen up until now offered $250,000 so I'm guessing that is the 6* minimum.IMO, that's a very attractive prize money and *should* attract all the top players/pairs in the world.Yes, theoretically, but as you pointed out, the players might not want to burn out before the WC. Also, the prize money hasn't been enough in the past to prevent a lot of high-profile absentees. Zhang Jun has only played in the Korean Open once this century, Lin Dan and Gao Ling haven't been at the Korean Open since 2002, Zhang Ning, Xie Xingfang, Chen Hong and Bao CL skipped it in '03 and '05. Taufik showed up only once in those four years, sick, to lose in the first round against a Spaniard in '04. Candra/Sigit skipped it from 2002 and 2003 but made it the last two years.

good news,

indonesia will send full team to korean open 2006 :)

I have very high regards of The Koreans.They mean business in whatever they do.They are showing the way to other nations that one of the ways to improve the popularity of badminton is to offer better cash incentives to the professional players.For the kind of money,they are offering Iam sure all the top players will not miss the chance to have a crack of it.Kudos to the BA of Korea.

Yes the Koreans are setting very high standards, not only in prize monies but also in raising their technical standards. Korean players are much respected in whatever tournament they participated. Most recently, their junior boys have proven they are the best in Asia, even outsmarting the Chinese.

Their men's doubles have made such great impact in the badminton world for a long time although the other countries have recently caught up and left the Koreans a little behind. While many other countries find the Chinese women doubles almost unbeatable, I think the Korean ladies have proven this wrong once a while.

The Koreans will return to the high pedestal in the not too distant future. We just hope that the North Koreans will not spoil the party with their missile antics.

good news,

indonesia will send full team to korean open 2006 :)

With this big prize...this is a must-participate tournament...Full Team!!!

Now Korea Open will soon be classified as the 3 most prestigious tournaments:

1. Olympics
2. World Championships
3. Korean Open

Bravo Korea!!!

With this big prize...this is a must-participate tournament...Full Team!!!

Now Korea Open will soon be classified as the 3 most prestigious tournaments:

1. Olympics
2. World Championships
3. Korean Open

Bravo Korea!!!

I'm not sure about describing the Korean Open as the "most prestigious" though. One cannot just associate high prize money alone with prestige although high prize money can certainly influence its status.

If an IBF Grand Prix event can attract the best in the world to participate in large numbers on a regular basis, then that will be a very prestigious event indeed! But, as revealed, in the past the Korean Open has not been as well supported by the world's best as it should if prize money is the only criterion. On the other hand, the 4-star All England has been one of the world's most prestigious, apart from the Olympics and WC, since its inception although the prize money remains relatively paltry.

Certainly, even today, the AE is more prestigious than the KO. One cannot but be reminded of AE's colourful history, its stature as the birthplace of world badminton, the superstars that had passed through the years, the famous names that had managed and organized the tournament, the support given by the royalty, the splendour of its prize presentation ceremonies, etc, etc. So it is not just the hardware or the prize money, the software also counts. :D

Certainly, even today, the AE is more prestigious than the KO. One cannot but be reminded of AE's colourful history, its stature as the birthplace of world badminton, the superstars that had passed through the years, the famous names that had managed and organized the tournament, the support given by the royalty, the splendour of its prize presentation ceremonies, etc, etc.I think you are correct on all counts. I hadn't even considered the splendour aspect. Interesting. Another thing that comes into play is history, even in quantitative terms. The Korea Open only dates back to 1990. At that time, the Singapore and Japan Opens, to name two, were already established events. I don't know how the other events like the Indonesian, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Denmark Opens compare in terms of just plain number of years, but Korea still seems to be in the process of establishing a tradition. I wish the prize money worked better than it has so far but Korea is getting its act together in other ways, too, I think. I hope it pays off.

So far, the Aviva Singapore Open has been the most well-organized GP event apart of the All-England and World Championships. Timely updates, live scores, live-televised finals, decent-size crowds and nice venue. What more can you expect from a badminton tournament? The next will be most of the European events. Even a 2-3* tournament like the Holland Open or Swiss Open are better organized than most of the other Asian events. They offer live scores!

Despite the 6* ratings, the Indonesia Open was poorly organized with lack of updates sometimes even wrong. The other recent events like the Macau Open and Philippines Open were also poor. We have to wait one whole day just to get an update from its official website. The Malaysia and Chinese Taipei Opens were slightly better in the sense that we can at least have live telecasts from QFs.

On the other hand, Thailand has been pretty good with its tournaments. Both the Satellite and the Open (rated A and 3*) have timely updates (no live scoring though) which make it convenient for us to post updates and discuss the happenings as soon as we receive the news. I hope they keep up with this good work in the upcoming years.

As for the upcoming Korea and HK Opens, I am very skeptical that they will be as good as the Thailand Open...despite their 6* ratings :cool:

I think IBF and BadmintonAsia need to put up a requirement that ALL TOURNAMENTS use the tournamentsoftware.com. Even a 2* rated NZ Open use it for next week's tournament!

So far, the Aviva Singapore Open has been the most well-organized GP event apart of the All-England and World Championships. Timely updates, live scores, live-televised finals, decent-size crowds and nice venue. What more can you expect from a badminton tournament? The next will be most of the European events. Even a 2-3* tournament like the Holland Open or Swiss Open are better organized than most of the other Asian events. They offer live scores!

Despite the 6* ratings, the Indonesia Open was poorly organized with lack of updates sometimes even wrong. The other recent events like the Macau Open and Philippines Open were also poor. We have to wait one whole day just to get an update from its official website. The Malaysia and Chinese Taipei Opens were slightly better in the sense that we can at least have live telecasts from QFs.

On the other hand, Thailand has been pretty good with its tournaments. Both the Satellite and the Open (rated A and 3*) have timely updates (no live scoring though) which make it convenient for us to post updates and discuss the happenings as soon as we receive the news. I hope they keep up with this good work in the upcoming years.

As for the upcoming Korea and HK Opens, I am very skeptical that they will be as good as the Thailand Open...despite their 6* ratings :cool:

I think IBF and BadmintonAsia need to put up a requirement that ALL TOURNAMENTS use the tournamentsoftware.com. Even a 2* rated NZ Open use it for next week's tournament!

Ridiculously BAD food and drinks vendor; lousy food/drinks, limited quantity, etc. TWO wonderful tables to cater to an entire stadium. Irritating man-in-charge with a funny accent, pose and doesn't know how to operate the cash register. :p

Lackluster festive atmosphere. In fact, I only remembered hearing one announcement of Singapore's Kenderick Lee will be signing autographs at the main foyer. Besides that, I don't see much events happening during the Singapore Open.

Oh, regarding the tournament software, it is difficult for IBF to insist on organisers using internet technology or any particular software unless lower-grade ones are exempted. Its because not all the tournaments are big-budget and not all targeted local audiences are internet-capable. At the end of the day, the priority for the organisers is to attract local interest and awareness and hope audiences pay to see it and not to satisfy curious foreigners who doesn't contribute directly to the bottomline at all. Unless they can charge a fee for viewing live scores which can be paid by credit cards or PayPal? That may motivate the organisers.

The fundamental law is there's no free lunch.

[quote=EastDevil]Ridiculously BAD food and drinks vendor; lousy food/drinks, limited quantity, etc. TWO wonderful tables to cater to an entire stadium. Irritating man-in-charge with a funny accent, pose and doesn't know how to operate the cash register. :p
/quote]

Well..that is one minus point...but I wasn't too bothered. We don't go the Indoor Stadium to have lunch or dinner anyway...

My main point is that the Aviva Open was very well-organized...and that is the thing I like about them. I went to the HK Open last year...and it paled in comparison.

Yes the Koreans are setting very high standards, not only in prize monies but also in raising their technical standards. Korean players are much respected in whatever tournament they participated. Most recently, their junior boys have proven they are the best in Asia, even outsmarting the Chinese.

Their men's doubles have made such great impact in the badminton world for a long time although the other countries have recently caught up and left the Koreans a little behind. While many other countries find the Chinese women doubles almost unbeatable, I think the Korean ladies have proven this wrong once a while.

The Koreans will return to the high pedestal in the not too distant future. We just hope that the North Koreans will not spoil the party with their missile antics.

The just concluded Thailand Open have proved my point on the abilities of the Korean team.

Out of five finals, the Koreans featured in four of them, with the exception of MS. And they won 3 titles: XD, WD and MD (walkover from compatriots). And on TV I saw Tan Kim Her talking to his Korean players during the WD break. Malaysia's WD team of Wong Pei Tty and Chin Ei Hui lost to the same Korean pair of Lee Kyong Won and Lee Jung Hyo during the semis 19-21, 11-21.

That was Malaysia's contribution to Korea and it will only be logical to take Kim Her back home for next year. And for Korea to take back Park Joo Bong from Japan! ;) But what happens if Rexy should be recalled back by mighty Indonesia? :D

In the finals, the Korean girls trounced their Thai counterparts, Saralee and Satinee, 21-18, 21-9! But the Thai girls have done very well already to have gone this far! They have beaten the strong Danish pair of Lena Frier and Kamilla Juhl 21-14, 16-21, 21-7 in the SF. :)

[quote=EastDevil]Ridiculously BAD food and drinks vendor; lousy food/drinks, limited quantity, etc. TWO wonderful tables to cater to an entire stadium. Irritating man-in-charge with a funny accent, pose and doesn't know how to operate the cash register. :p
/quote]

Well..that is one minus point...but I wasn't too bothered. We don't go the Indoor Stadium to have lunch or dinner anyway...

My main point is that the Aviva Open was very well-organized...and that is the thing I like about them. I went to the HK Open last year...and it paled in comparison.

It's well organised that's true but it failed to deliver because it couldn't attract LCW and LD. The Finals was only about 50% full house and the highlight was actually the WS match. A tournament is only as good as the top MS it draws.
As for AE,it may have a tradition but it is disgustingly cheap. The Brits showed little respect for world class badminton with its paltry prize money and coupled with some smelly umpiring and service judging (MD semi MAS vs DEN ), its prestige may gradually be eroded. Anyway TH proved his wedding is more important than AE and I wouldn't be surprised if he let AE pass him by. However 2007 onwards, AE have to increase its prize money because it want to be part of the Super series. The best feature of the AE is the TV telecast; camera work and lighting is probably the best in badminton.
The KO and HO will draw top names because they represent the last opportunities to add ranking points before the WC. The money is not the main draw, just the bonus.With the top three MS neck to neck, I wouldn't be surprised if they also participate in HO as well.

This year Korea Open will be very exciting. Don't worry about people going to watch even HK open is near. If i'm crazy enough i might drop by.

This year Korea Open will be very exciting. Don't worry about people going to watch even HK open is near. If i'm crazy enough i might drop by.

Ants, do be crazy for at least once! :D

I will see... have not visited my office there for sometime.

[quote=badMania]

It's well organised that's true but it failed to deliver because it couldn't attract LCW and LD. The Finals was only about 50% full house and the highlight was actually the WS match. A tournament is only as good as the top MS it draws.
As for AE,it may have a tradition but it is disgustingly cheap. The Brits showed little respect for world class badminton with its paltry prize money and coupled with some smelly umpiring and service judging (MD semi MAS vs DEN ), its prestige may gradually be eroded. Anyway TH proved his wedding is more important than AE and I wouldn't be surprised if he let AE pass him by. However 2007 onwards, AE have to increase its prize money because it want to be part of the Super series. The best feature of the AE is the TV telecast; camera work and lighting is probably the best in badminton.
The KO and HO will draw top names because they represent the last opportunities to add ranking points before the WC. The money is not the main draw, just the bonus.With the top three MS neck to neck, I wouldn't be surprised if they also participate in HO as well.

Yes, I too, think that the Aviva Singapore Open this year was well organized though it could not compare with last year's as it coincided with the important Olympic Council Committee (IOC) meeting here to decide on the venue for next Olympic Games which London won eventually. Most of the world's top ten in all the five events participated and it must have been a feather in the cap for the SBA. ;) Punch Gunalan made sure that some prominent IOC officials were invited to watch some of the important matches just to let them know that badminton is a well-supported, pleasing to watch and an exciting game which should continue to be supported at the Olympics.

The SBA did its best to ensure not only internet facilities are available but also for live scores. As mentioned, not many tournaments in Asia provide such facilities which is necessary to keep the interest of badminton fans in other parts of the world engaged at the same time to what is happening out here.

Unfortuanately, this year's Aviva Open was forced to be held during a very congested period in the badminton calendar. Some players were having problems trying to cope with so many tournaments held back-to-back and some pros were injured as a result (such as Wong Choong Hann and Taufik). This year happens to be the year for some important tournaments like the Thomas and Uber Cups and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games though this involved only Commonwealth countries. The WC is impending and the Asian Games will round off in Dec. So the demands on players will necessarily make them think hard on which tournaments they should schedule according to their needs, physical and technical preparation. Thus, the Aviva Open could not get every top player to participate, esp LCW and LD. But the other high-ranking singles players, notably Peter Gade, KJ, Bao, Chen Hong, etc did come by. (Remember LCW was knocked out last year in the earlier rounds.) But I think next year will be better for the Aviva Open as far as the time table is concerned.

The Singapore Indoor Stadium, at full capacity, could take more than 10,000 spectators (maybe 15,000). So even at 50% capacity, it was still not too bad for this year's Aviva Open. I always find the SIS an ideal place to watch badminton. No doubt a greater variety of food should be offered.

As for the AE, I agree that the organizers give scant attention to the prize money for such a prestigious tournament. Indeed, by today's standards that was a paltry sum and thankfully the Super Series will make the AE look more respectable.

It could be a case of why bother to get more sponsors when UK players would not have a chance to win any of the prizes. But the English are best known for their sportsmanship. The detailed work that went into organising the AE is testimony to what the English can achieve if they set their minds to it.

So England, please keep up the high tradition of the AE and make it a role model for aspiring badminton nations to emulate! :)

[quote=badMania]However 2007 onwards, AE have to increase its prize money because it want to be part of the Super series...The money is not the main draw, just the bonus.It's hard to know what draws the individual players (or their associations inasmuch as the decisions are not the players' own). This Super Series point is an interesting one. So far, the star rating seems to be a reaction to how much prize money the organizers are willing to put up and the ranking points are in turn based on the number of stars. If there is this "Super Series" that they can't be a part of without anteing up the prize money, it might fool the likes of Badminton England. On the other hand, the Super Series could be simply viewed as a variation on the star formula. If England doesn't come up with the cash for SS, their winners won't get the SS points like the winners in Korea and Hong Kong. However, when you think about it, that is the case now with the 4* AE and the 6* KO and HKO. Will the Super Series' manufactured prestige do the trick? Or will England thumb its nose at it the way they do now at the 6-star "status"? We'll see.No doubt a greater variety of food should be offered.Korea should do slightly better in that department this year. They have never served anything but bad snacks and ramyun in the actual stadium but in the past three years, the venue has been milesaway from any quality eating establishments. There was NOTHING near Dowon in Incheon nor near the Chungju stadium. This year, there is at least a restaurant alley near the stadium and the shopping district of Myungdong, 2 subway stops away, has lots of restaurants as does Daehangno, just 4 stops away, and Insa-dong, also 4 stops away, has some great traditional food. Even Itaewon, the only area in all of Korea with Thai, Indian, middle-eastern and Indonesian food, is only 4 subway stops or a short taxi ride away.This year Korea Open will be very exciting. Don't worry about people going to watch even HK open is near. If i'm crazy enough i might drop by.Drop by Korea? or Hong Kong? PM me if it's the former. I plan to be there most of the week.

I plan to be there most of the week.
Yes, we(at least i myself) will be ecstatic if you can share some of the close up encounters and experiences...and since most likely you will be the only BC representative in the Korean Open, if you don't mind taking and share some pics with us...;) :) :cool:

On the question of food at the Aviva Open, for the convenience of badminton fans who watched at the SIS, they expected a greater variety of food and more tables and chairs at the venue itself, although food can be brought back to the seats for consumption.

If fans are willingly to move away from the SIS venue, an abundant source of food outlets are available nearby: the Old Airport Road food center, the Suntec City for more expensive restaurant-type food or slighly cheaper buffet-type outlets, the Lau Pa Sat which offers a great variety at very reasonable prices and where our BC friends converged the last time for our meals, etc.

The only problem is transport if one doesn't drive to the venue as there are limited buses operating there. However, this will soon be solved when the Cirle Line (for trains) is linked to Kallang where SIS is situated.

Have any of you ever worked on a big tournament? It looks as if I'm going to spend the whole Korea Open sitting at the microphone. I just hope the microphone is set up in view of all the courts. At least I won't have to worry about losing my seat every time I get up to get a cold drink. If any of you have any pronunciation tips for players' names, feel free to pass them along. I know I have the English, French, Indonesian, and Korean ones covered but the Chinese and Thai names are going to be interesting. From a different standpoint, I now have an excuse to speak to each and every top badminton player, if only to ask for help in not butchering their names over the PA system.

Have any of you ever worked on a big tournament? It looks as if I'm going to spend the whole Korea Open sitting at the microphone. I just hope the microphone is set up in view of all the courts. At least I won't have to worry about losing my seat every time I get up to get a cold drink. If any of you have any pronunciation tips for players' names, feel free to pass them along. I know I have the English, French, Indonesian, and Korean ones covered but the Chinese and Thai names are going to be interesting. From a different standpoint, I now have an excuse to speak to each and every top badminton player, if only to ask for help in not butchering their names over the PA system.
hmm, are you going to be at the tournament's desk, doing general PA, announcing the players' name as they march toward the court area?? or as a reporter?? or other position??..:rolleyes:
personally, i've had a similar experience last yr at the World's, but simply as a translator but fortunately didn't have to pronounce other players' names(ie. Thai, European name etc.)..hehe:p:)
anyways, enjoy the gig in the upcoming tourney..and hope you'll share some pics with the players with the rest of us..;) :)

hmm, are you going to be at the tournament's desk, doing general PA, announcing the players' name as they march toward the court area?? or as a reporter?? or other position??
personally, i've had a similar experience last yr at the World's, but simply as a translator but fortunately didn't have to pronounce other players' names(ie. Thai, European name etc.)..hehe
anyways, enjoy the gig in the upcoming tourney..and hope you'll share some pics with the players with the rest of us.Yes, apparently I'll be announcing the matchups for court no. such-and-such and so on. I expected to be asked to translate. Most of the important information would originate in Korean and need translating into English and beyond. I expect a lot of the interpretation that goes on here requires 2 translations: Korean-English then English-[players'/coaches' native tongue]. I'm sure they can come up with translators directly for jumps like Korean-Chinese and Korean-Japanese and of course a lot of players and coaches will speak English but I doubt they will find a lot of translators who can interpret directly between Korean and Thai or German or Bahasa Indonesia or Vietnamese. Of course the Danes, Dutch, and Filipinos and even the Americans;) will all speak English but there must be a lot who don't speak English and whose mother tongue is not widely studied in Korea. Anyway, they decided to give me a task wherein my lack of complete fluency in Korean won't be a hindrance.
Did you interpret for the Indonesians, then? That wasn't you translating between Charmaine Reid and Candra and Sigit at the medal ceremony, then, was it? If so, then "simply as a translator" is being rather modest. That was the kind of thing I was afraid of when they asked me about announcing. I didn't want to have to translate what a foreign player said back into Korean for an entire stadium full of Korean brows furled in incomprehension.

Yes, apparently I'll be announcing the matchups for court no. such-and-such and so on. I expected to be asked to translate. Most of the important information would originate in Korean and need translating into English and beyond. I expect a lot of the interpretation that goes on here requires 2 translations: Korean-English then English-[players'/coaches' native tongue]. I'm sure they can come up with translators directly for jumps like Korean-Chinese and Korean-Japanese and of course a lot of players and coaches will speak English but I doubt they will find a lot of translators who can interpret directly between Korean and Thai or German or Bahasa Indonesia or Vietnamese. Of course the Danes, Dutch, and Filipinos and even the Americans;) will all speak English but there must be a lot who don't speak English and whose mother tongue is not widely studied in Korea. Anyway, they decided to give me a task wherein my lack of complete fluency in Korean won't be a hindrance.
I see...so i assume you'll probably be translating from Korean-English and vice versa only, correct??..Or you'll be translating other languages(ie. Chinese, Thai, French) into Korean and vice versa also??..Hmm, if that's the case, then i think you'll do fine...pardon for not fully comprehending what you just wrote..:p
Did you interpret for the Indonesians, then? That wasn't you translating between Charmaine Reid and Candra and Sigit at the medal ceremony, then, was it? If so, then "simply as a translator" is being rather modest. That was the kind of thing I was afraid of when they asked me about announcing. I didn't want to have to translate what a foreign player said back into Korean for an entire stadium full of Korean brows furled in incomprehension.
uuuuhh, yah, that was me helping out Ms. Reid:p :o (well, at least if you are referring to the QF and SF days. Another person did the interview for me on the Finals day, i believe when Taufik and Nova/Lilyana won the championships)...Well, most of my translating "work" were done "behind the scene"(after the matches had ended, even on the prelims days). Esp. on the Semifinals and Finals days, where they were interviewing the players on top of a mini stage...
As for you doing the TV translation, well i was also a bit caught off guard when they asked and then told me i will be doing the translation live on tv which will be broadcasted around the world(you don't know how surprised i was:p)..I almost declined it, but then they kinda insist me to "try it"(cos they tried the previous night talking to Sigit and Candra and they weren't too satisfied), so i said ok:p..Don't worry nervousness will be there but just take a deep & long breath and relax..;)Plus I don't think you'll be translating an Indonesian player back to Korean and vice versa, correct??..:p ;) :rolleyes:

I see...so i assume you'll probably be translating from Korean-English and vice versa only, correct??..Or you'll be translating other languages(ie. Chinese, Thai, French) into Korean and vice versa alsoActually, I don't think I'll even end up doing any translating. Just announcements in English. They asked me to do that instead even though I had volunteered to do interpretation, which I was pretty confident with unless it would involve real-time translating for interviews or any other task where the translation back into Korean were of primary importance. I figured that if I were interpreting between Korean organizers and coaches or players who spoke English, most of the important information would be given to me in Korean and I'd just have to make sure it got rendered properly for the foreign teams but that rendering would be in my mother tongue, English. Going the other way, the information that would need to pass from visiting teams to local organizers wouldn't require as much tact or formality. Anyway, all of that is moot because I'm basically just going to be reading stuff and asking people to disable the flashes on their cameras and stuff like that. The only remotely linguistic endeavour will be my attempts to refrain from butchering names.I was that was me helping out Ms. Reid (well, at least if you are referring to the QF and SF days.I guess I didn't see you, then. I only saw Charmaine Reid doing the interviews on Finals Day. We had coverage for several days on Star Sports but I don't have Star Sports and I didn't get around to having a friend tape from his TV until finals day. I didn't see interviews on CCTV or GDTV that week.As for you doing the TV translation, well i was also a bit caught off guard when they asked and then told me i will be doing the translation live on tv which will be broadcasted around the world(you don't know how surprised i was)..I almost declined it, but then they kinda insist me to "try it"(cos they tried the previous night talking to Sigit and Candra and they weren't too satisfied)I can imagine you must have been nervous. Which one is your native tongue? What weren't they satisfied with? Did Sigit and Candra try being interviewed in English? I thought they interviewed Sigit and Candra as the runners-up after the Men's doubles final, too. Maybe I am thinking of the interviews with Lilyana, Nova, and Taufik.

I don't know why I suspected the announcing task would be combined with real-time translation. The TV coverage here will only be in Korean and I don't actually remember any interviews for everyone in the stadium at past Korea Opens. I guess I was thinking of those TV interviews at the WC because they were broadcast over the PA system for everyone in the Anaheim stadium. They won't likely do that here, though, and if they do, they'll get a Korean to translate because the most important thing will be telling the spectators in Korean what the players said in English or another language.

Actually, I don't think I'll even end up doing any translating. Just announcements in English. They asked me to do that instead even though I had volunteered to do interpretation, which I was pretty confident with unless it would involve real-time translating for interviews or any other task where the translation back into Korean were of primary importance. I figured that if I were interpreting between Korean organizers and coaches or players who spoke English, most of the important information would be given to me in Korean and I'd just have to make sure it got rendered properly for the foreign teams but that rendering would be in my mother tongue, English. Going the other way, the information that would need to pass from visiting teams to local organizers wouldn't require as much tact or formality. Anyway, all of that is moot because I'm basically just going to be reading stuff and asking people to disable the flashes on their cameras and stuff like that. The only remotely linguistic endeavour will be my attempts to refrain from butchering names.
Sounds pretty simple & fun, then...;)

I guess I didn't see you, then. I only saw Charmaine Reid doing the interviews on Finals Day. We had coverage for several days on Star Sports but I don't have Star Sports and I didn't get around to having a friend tape from his TV until finals day. I didn't see interviews on CCTV or GDTV that week.I can imagine you must have been nervous. Which one is your native tongue? What weren't they satisfied with? Did Sigit and Candra try being interviewed in English? I thought they interviewed Sigit and Candra as the runners-up after the Men's doubles final, too. Maybe I am thinking of the interviews with Lilyana, Nova, and Taufik.
Yah, i only did the live tv translation on the QF and SF days(you can check last yr's World's threads in this forum and look for the QF and SF days threads; should be quite a bit of them)..;)
Yes, my native tongue "now" is English.:p Eventhough i was raised and taught the Indonesian language. Fortunately i'm still fluent in Indonesian.;) The reason they said they wanted me to help translate was because they tried interviewing Candra & Sigit, in English, the previous night but for some reason they were having a hard time understanding what either of them were saying(i wasn't there to see the interview myself, so i can't judge which part they had trouble with)..poor Candra & Sigit though:p
I believe the last time they interviewed Candra & Sigit was after they won their Semifinals match(and i was helping them). On Finals day, ESPN(Ms. Reid), only interviewed the winners..;)
I don't know why I suspected the announcing task would be combined with real-time translation. The TV coverage here will only be in Korean and I don't actually remember any interviews for everyone in the stadium at past Korea Opens. I guess I was thinking of those TV interviews at the WC because they were broadcast over the PA system for everyone in the Anaheim stadium. They won't likely do that here, though, and if they do, they'll get a Korean to translate because the most important thing will be telling the spectators in Korean what the players said in English or another language.
..well, if that's the case then they have to do an "extra" translation, for the local fans who can't really understand English..unlike the WC, where they just translate straight into English and vice versa..

So event, you now feel more comfortable about revealing a little of yourself. ;)

You know, I have been wondering for some time now that you are perhaps the only 'Korean' to have posted for such long periods in BF. I think not many native Koreans would like to communicate in English and for one who has been doing so in such good English, you are rare, that is if you are Korean. :D

You revealed that your native tongue is English, so you can't be Korean. You must be a foreigner (American ?) who has lived in South Korea for quite a long time and are now quite well-versed with the Korean language and culture. You might even have a Korean wife (as one of my ex-American colleagues had) and now have many Korean friends who now want you to do some announcements in English and Korean for the Korea Open, something you feel quite happy and comfortable to do as you like badminton.

If only they gave you the post of translator, then we may be able to see you in person on TV! Good Luck and enjoy yourself and remember to post may pics especially those that you'll definitely have a chance to take with the badminton stars. Then your record will be very difficult to beat! :rolleyes:

I didn't realize I was being cryptic. I've mentioned before that I'm Canadian and that my native tongue is English but only when it was relevant so it's not too surprising that you haven't come across these instances in the subset of my posts that you happen to have read. I certainly didn't mention it in each of the 845 blurbs I posted. As for the announcing, the KBA put out a notice on their website so I responded to that directly. I know lots of people who play badminton here, of course, but they don't scour the badminton sites like I do. Nor does my wife. The last time I was asked to interpret, though, was by the chair of the local city badminton fed. He is a man I play with occasionally and our city was hosting a national amateur tournament to which amateurs had been invited from several Asian countries/SARs including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Japan.
I doubt you'd see any translators on TV, though. Do you normally get coverage of the Korea Open where you are? I doubt CCTV or GDTV will show two events in a row so I'm guessing we'll only get the HK Open on PPLive. But if you do get it on TV, you might get lucky and hear my dulcet tones.