to all TORONTONIANS

[shaun]

is there anyone interested to meet up and play a few games this coming friday?
if so, leave a message! as for the location, i am not too sure yet...i'm thinking of rosemount.

[joseph]

i like your idea, but i can't attend this friday. so if you're setting up any other later dates, i'd be interested.

[Creative]

How is the skill level at Rosemount? Do you have to book courts? What is the fee for admission?

[Jack]

Just so you guys know, they will no longer accept guests for the time being until further notice...only members are allowed to play...

As for the level of competition, there are different levels of players and I'm sure you'll be able to find some competition...I'm the crappiest player there!!!!!

I might go to L'Amoreaux this Sunday to see the level of competitiveness there and hope to see some people there and setup some games :)

Jack.

[shaun]

fee for admission is free i THINK...they've changed their friday night thing so i'm open to alternatives...where else can we play on a friday night?

[zero]

YMCA!!!!.......JUST NEED TO FIND ONE AND WE ARE SET

[Creative]

L'am has Badminton Fridays. Have to book on Tuesday in order to play Friday. $10.00 for one hour. L'am on Saturday is very competitive and charges $5 for admission. Runs from 8:00pm-11:00pm.

[zero]

LETS GO ON SATURDAY THEN!!!!!......

[shaun]

OK LETS GO TO L'AM ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!

[Roger]

How about Sunday morning? So is this Aaron guy really that good according to Jenn or Megan? Is anyone going this Sunday, please let me know. thank you.

[john]

what's the difference between the saturday night badminton and the sunday morning one at l'am? everyone has been talking about l'am on sundays, but never heard about the saturday one. i'd be interested in going this saturday.

[Roger]

Has anyone here gone to Rosemount before? I think you have right Shaun? How was it? How do you rate the level of competitiveness there? How are you incomparison to the level of competitiveness there?

I want to go but I don't know how good the players are there? Please advice anyone~

[Creative]

I went in the last Saturday of July. I have to say that Saturday competitiveness is much greater then Sunday. People are more snobby and will only play with you if you are really good. "Really good", meaning you had been trained professionally. You will get teams mens or mix approach you to play if they feel you are a good match for them. The level is higher and people want to play and beat you. Also, the crowds get pretty big. Nine courts and at least forty to fifty people. I talked to Ken, the man in charge and he tells me the teens and people in their twenties play Saturday. Sunday, is more relaxed and all age groups come to play. Yes, Aaron and Chris(Ken's son) are really good. They probably won't play with you unless your team is really good. They can smash(jump smash a lot), drops, slices etc.. If you do get a chance to play against Aaron and Chris then you will not return Aaron's smash. I've watched him smash at people and no one can return it over the net. Vincent and Howard are also a good pair to play against if you get a chance. They don't have the monster power Aaron and Chris has but they are very well rounded players. You know they have been professionally trained. Then you have the another pairing, Caucasian and a short Chinese guy. Caucasian guy is deadly at the net, he just stands there and gets to everything. Don't put any high shots at the net or you will be sorry. The Chinese guy has an awesome backhand. He use to play Scarborough A in the 80's but has fallen to Scarborough B level. I think he is in his late 20's early 30's. He can get to impossible shots and still make a winner out of them. I've played against them and I learned my lesson. :) They aren't always there. They haven't been there for two weeks. There is also Joe and Ah Gay. They are well rounded players and from observation one can see they have been professionally trained. A good duo to play against if you are in the intermediate to advanced level or in between intermediate and advanced. Of course, you get to see HER ;) Guys know what I mean. :) I prefer Sundays because we all are there to enjoy badminton and not just kill each other and see who is the best. You have beginners to advanced players and most of them are intermediate except for the advanced teams mentioned above. There are a few guys in their 40's that play very well. Their skill level is intermediate and they would be very good if they were in their prime. They are slower now but they have skilled shots(drops and placement). I play against them every week since I've been to L'am. For equipment freaks, most of them use Ti-10 there. A handful of them use the legendary ISO800, some Ti-5 to Ti-8, ISO900's and one girl has a Slim-10. For the CP version freaks, there is a MP100 CP. Haven't talked to the guy but he is an intermediate player. I've seen him play with the advanced players and does quite well. He is kind of like the student to the advanced players. He has learned the skills but hasn't mastered them yet. He mostly plays with a group of older men in their 30's and 40's. They are also intermediate level. So there you have it, my observations of L'am since I have been there. It is up to you if you want to go to Saturday or Sunday badminton at L'am. Saturday for pure competition and Sunday for the overall badminton experience of fun and competition. Saturdays from 8:00pm-11:00pm. Admission is $5.00. Highly recommend you go on Saturdays if you don't mind the snobby kids and pure competition. Sundays from 8:00am-3:00pm. Admission is $4.00. Highly recommend you go on Sundays for overall fun. Go around 9:00am to 10:00am to warm up and practice some shots before the courts(nine) get full around 10:30. The advanced and intermediate players start arriving from 9:00am right up till 11:00am. Hope to see everyone there this Sunday that proposes to come. :)

[Creative]

Man, that was a long post!!! :)

[john]

i've never been to l'am, but what happens when all the courts are full by the time i get there? how do people take turns to play? am i suppose to just wait around and hope that a court frees up?

[Creative]

Happens to all clubs. Courts will be full. Just have to wait 15 minutes or so. People know when it is full they play one game and get off. People on Sunday are more disciplined. A lot of the 8:00 group leave around 11:00am or so. The times I have been there I've been able to finish one game and play another. Only a few times I had to sit for 15 minutes and wait till the people get off. John, you just have to come out and see for yourself.

[john]

thanx creative! i will definitely try to attend this sunday. i'll be wearing black tear-aways, with a gray t-shirt, using a mp77 with blue strings. if i bring a friend or two, i'll show up at around 11 or 12, cuz they don't want to wake up early. if i go by myself, i'll show up earlier.

[shaun]

aaron?! lol hes my friend from school! haha!
i beat him endlessly in singles...not that i'm good tho ^_^ just watch, i'm prolly the worst out of all of u!

[shaun]

oops nm that, u were talkin about another aaron, altho my buddy aaron knows a jen as well

[shaun]

um guys, so when are we going?
i think saturday sounds good for me...i'll go on saturday! and i'll bring 2 friends...and be wearing blue sleeveless and grey shorts...mp77 with white strings.

[Creative]

Shaun, this Aaron guy wears glasses and also wears sleeveless shirt. I think you are talking about another Aaron. I don't think you can be this guy in singles. His smash is too good. Good luck on Saturday Shaun. :)

[shaun]

whos going on saturday?
i'll see if i can go...and to the ppl that are planning to go: lets set up a meeting place some where inside the gyms...and tell us all what ur gonna wear/use etc.

[Creative]

I'll stick with the Sunday badminton. :)

[Andy]

Creative, were you there last Sunday? I think I know who Aaron is, that everyone is taking about his very powerful smashes. I was there on Sunday morning watching him play against this little kid with glasses and this other chinese guy. Aaron couldn't even get one smash over this chinese guy and when he counter smash, he hit Aaron in the head. I asked the kid what the score was, I think Aaron got trashed badly...think it was 15-6, 15-3. Have you seen that guy? He seems new to me, I've never seen him there before. I'm with my dad every Sunday, hope to see you all there this week.

[Creative]

I was there last Sunday. Did you play Andy? Who is your dad? What does he look like? If you know Chris then you know Aaron. He usually plays with Chris. Even when Aaron is playing with someone else he is still very strong. Unlikely, he got hit in the head. Yes, the little kid is very good for his age.

[Creative]

John, I'll see you there. I'll be the 6ft.2 tooth pick Chinese guy.

[Creative]

Hey everyone. :) Shaun, did you go to L'am on Saturday? John, did you go on Sunday? Were you with another guy and two girls? Guys with kind of long hair? L'am badminton will stop for 4 weeks till Sept.23rd. I believe for maintenance of the gym( basketball net is stuck and can't be moved up), wax the floor, the usual school six month cleaning. Also, Ken Tam the man in charge, has to renew his permit to use the gym if I am correct. So where else can we play for the next four weeks? Shaun, is Acadia opened on Tuesday and Thursdays? What are the operating times for playing badminton on the days mentioned? Us badminton fanatics can't stop for four weeks!!! :)

[john]

hey creative! yes, i went this sunday, and was with 2 girls and a guy. which one were you? what colour were you wearing? yes, l'am is quite nice! too bad it's not gonna be there for the next month. i'm quite surprised at how many amazing little kid players there are there! if they continue to train, i'm sure they can kick all our butts in 5 years.

[Creative]

John, L'am is pretty good. It was a big turn out yesterday and people were on the look out for open courts to play on. Usually, in the fall there are full 6-7 courts. The kids do have to do homework. :) If you didn't play with your female friends, you could of faced other all male teams with your friend. Yes, a lot of the kids you saw that were playing really good train at Lee's Badminton. They don't need five years to beat us. :) Give them 2 years. The membership is pretty good. It should be $60 from September to February. Which is a pretty good price. Then February to July, and July to August for another membership. Everyone else should come out and play. :)

[harry]

i'll answer your question since i'm shaun's friend and it was me who introduced rosemount to him.
rosemount has almost all levels of players, probably just except for professionals. friday 6:30-8:30 is for high schoolers so the level of competitions is pretty low, almost like beginner level then 8:30-10:00 is like sunday and saturaday level.
sunday and saturaday is much more competitive. it's kinda hard to tell wat level exactly they are in but i'll give a comparision.
me and shaun have been playing badminton for about a year now and we are kinda one of da best amount those high schoolers but on sat and sun, we are among the worst players but enough to score a few points once in a while among the descend players.

[john]

friday from 6:30-8:30 at rosemount is ONLY for high schoolers? what if i'm an university student, can i go play too? and what happens at 8:30? they kick out the recreational players to let the more competitive players to play?

[Creative]

Harry, how about Acadia? Shaun mentioned Acadia before but he didn't state the exact time and date they play. Thanks for the Rosemount schedule. :)

[john]

also, what's the cost at rosemount? what are the other days and times that are available at rosemount?

[Robert]

Try out St Pauls - downtown Toronto in the basement of the church, back walls are close, but high ceilings and wood floor (3 courts). Summer session ends Aug 30. Winter session runs Sept to May for $85, Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri nights 7:30 - 11pm and Sat. Players are mainly C level with a few B.

[Troy]

Robert, where is St.Paul's located? Four nights a week is very good. How many players on average attend? What do you mean by level B and C players?

[Robert]

St Paul's church on Bloor St near west corner of Bloor and Jarvis. Parking behind church or subway near by. If you want to be ranked A, B, C or D you need to play tournaments in Ontario which requires joining the Ontarion Badminton Assocation (which requires belonging to a club that is affiliated with them). You are ranked based on how well you play. You start off in "D" playing nylon shuttles. If you start winning you collect points, when you reach a certain point level you get to become a "C" player (mostly Nylon, some feather). Then on to "B" (Feather) and if you get really good on to "A". Check the Ontario Badminton site for more detailed information. There are also age groups with their own associated rankings (ie masters). The turnouts at St Paul's vary with some weeks being very busy and others not. A large turn-out would be around 24 people. Play is based on a 15 minute timer and games are setup by the court captain. Thursday nights are usually empty and a good night to get a group of friends together. The club provides nylon shuttles, If you want to play feather you have to supply your own. Saturday is mostly singles play. Most clubs in Toronto play at the D or C level, to play at the A and B level you need to join a private club or find a good club with some good players. St Pauls has about 8 good players.

[joseph]

what time are saturday and sundays at rosemount? i want to go... does it work similarly to friday nights?