I'll preface this by saying I'm normally a easy-going kinda a guy. So it takes a lot for me to lose my cool. Just wanted to share my badminton experience last night. Played at ClearOne from 7-9pm. 7-8pm was on Court #9 and 8-9pm on Court #8 (at the back wall). So the story goes like this... I arrive at 7pm. I change into my shoes and start to get ready in the lounge area. It's 7:05pm by the time I walk towards my court (court #9). Some late teens/early 20s boys and girls were still playing. So I get there and drop my bag and ask if they were done yet. They spoke in broken english and said "oh...you have this court?" They left with no fuss and went to court #8 were their friends were playing. They weren't really playing badminton as most of them were dressed in jeans. My friend and his cousin were 5 min late and we played until our time was up. Now it's 8pm and we see the people who booked the court coming. So we stopped our play and move onto our regular court (court #8) where the young group of boys & girls were standing by the back wall just chatting. So we dropped our bags on the bench and start playing on the court. At this time...I would think they would get a clue and leave but they just kept on talking. So here is when the fun starts. I'm playing singles against my friends cousin. Some friends of the group start walking towards them. They start to walk on the doubles line and I had to check my backhand swing or I would have smacked the kid. The shuttle landed on the doubles sidelines but I had to reply the point since it was interference. So now I'm annoyed. Games over so my friend and his cousin start to play. The group still chatting away...when one of the guy cuts the corner (walking 3 ft into the court). I lost it. I shouted so loud that that they could all hear. Said something like "Hey!!! We're playing a game here. You don't walk onto the court. You guys wanna talk. Go to the lounge for F** * sakes!!!". One guy said..."Sorry sorry sorry" and the girls froze up stiff like a board. So they gather their gear and left (AFTER 5 MIN OF STILL TALKING). My friend said he never seen me lose my temper before and said he knew I was serious. Old age and a family have mellowed me out some. I would have dropped more F bombs and would have told them to leave asap or I'll start kicking some ass. I grew up in East Van...and you don't grow up in East Van without learning how to fight. I may be small but I can do some damage. And I sized them up, so I know that I could take them on. As most were pimply faced chubby out of shape badminton posers. If I see them again and they are on my court...I'll promptly tell them to get the f*** out of my court or we'll settle this outside in the parking lot. /rant
Happens all the time everywhere including many times during our sessions. There will always be social "players" unaware of the consequences of being too close to a court or crossing the edge without thinking. Normally a sharp yell will draw their attention and they'll have learned their lesson. Failing that, plough into them "accidentally" as they wander into your court . I guarantee they'll know how to walk around a court the next time.
Funny that I had exactly the same experience 3 nights ago. Some newbie social player cut across the left rear corner just as my opponent was about to serve. So I called a let and shouted at the noob and she apologized. Just let them know nicely as they are just socializing and are not aware of the intense battle that you may be having on court.
So, some pimply giggly teens annoyed you? Welcome to the Curmudgeon Club! They were obviously clueless that they were doing anything wrong. Instead of fuming (and probably developing an aneurysm) while waiting for them to leave your court area, you should have said a quick calm word to them early on. However a good yell is sometimes therapeutic.
hey old man, keep that blood pressure down! it also happens often here, regardless of the court layout and spacing, people do that all the time. usually it happens with a group of kid or young people who are all moving in a group and not aware of their surrounding. while it is annoying to the players in court, what i believe is more important is that it can be potentially dangerous for the trespassers as well as the players. while we play, we are not always able to be aware fully of our surroundings, esp at the back. these trespasser are obvious not aware of what they are doing or where they are, when a racket or a body fly towards them at lightning speed, they will not have the time to respond and will inevitably end up in a collision. while i have never seen one before, the risk is there and so is the risk of injuries. having said that, i don't really know if there are solutions to such problem. most people who frequent badminton courts (like all of us here) are already pretty much aware of the risk and already courteous. the offenders are usually the casual players who are just there for social. perhaps it boils down to the responsibility of the club/gym attendents to explain to players who might be newcomers, not unlike restaurants explains their menu to first timers. this will not only be good for the integrity of the patrons, it will also reduce the risk of injuries or any potential legal troubles that can result.
I'm fine now. Just had to vent. Hopefully they learned their lesson. If not...I guess I might "accidently" bump into them while going for the shuttle.
. No, please don't bump into them; Not only that you could hurt them, but also hurt yourself too. I think that they are staying around/near your court in the hope that you would invite them to play with you. .
I'd probably invite them to play if they weren't all dressed up in jeans and non-badminton shoes. Besides...there were about 12 of them. It would be rude to only invite a couple and not the rest. And I would have to use an old racket I don't mind breaking though.
Damn ! ....... i know how you must feel bro. I've had my fair share of idiots who seem to have, basically, no sense of common courtesy (or intelligence) On some occasions, i've NEARLY 'rear-court-forehand-cleared' small kids who treated the hall as their own personal playground, while their clueless, dumb parents are nowhere to be found ! Or i'll have some teens who insist on leaving their gear on benches meant for MY court, while they either hang around and chit-chat ..... or play on some other empty courts. I've also had 'serious' and 'professional' players who arrive at the same court 15-30 mins before their scheduled time, dump their gears at the benches, change, and do their warm-ups ....... just next to the court ! (less than 2 metres away) The idea being they want to 'announce' that they have 'arrived' and maybe, just maybe, intimidate us into ending our game earlier. Needless to say, we just carry on playing till the very absolute last second of our alloted booking time .... and return them the favour by hanging aound the area to our warm-downs and packing up ......... just to piss them off.
Happened to me at a community centre. Bunch of obnoxious pimply teen boys trying to impress their chicks. Wandering all over the baseline. Chittering away. Vacant looks from their targets. I stopped play, went over, called them to me and asked them "why are you here? "Ehr, wot?" "Are you here to play badminton?" "ya." "Are you playing badminton just now?" Puzzled look, like, what's with this guy? "Ehr, No." "So then, why are you drifting on to the court? Do you want me to stand on the court when you are playing? See the other people: how they stand far back? So that no accidents happen?" "Ehr, sorry." Shockingly, they got the message!
. It's the same as here, at BadmintonCentral. Some are here for chit-chat - and not really interested in Badminton. Yes, we need them to get 'the message'. .
