you have problem finding people to play in waterloo!?? there is no part of waterloo that is not within a 5 minute drive to a very good badminton club.
Actually I have a lot of trouble finding people to play with in Waterloo. Neither of the Universities have courts available to the public, the KW Granite Badminton / Curling club was witness to the curling club finding a different rec center to play in, and so its not even open yet -- Not to mention that the building is in shambles....although the courts are great, but once again, its not open yet. Conestoga (sp?) College has courts but the lines suck and there is a draft that affects shots with any degree of height on them. Oh, and since school's in now, the evening badminton has been cancelled. Team tryouts are going on and stuff like that, so its not open to the public right now. Toronto is over an hour drive from here, not 5 minutes. Woodstock I cant really comment on since I haven't played there, but a few of the top players in ontario right now played out of woodstock rather than KW last year so I'm assuming its good. Still, its a bit of a drive away. Stratford might be ok, its 40 minutes away. Guelph, I dunno, its the closest but from what I've heard there is nothing going on there. So, right now there are no options for me as a member of the public...the school teams keep to themselves and otherwise there is no competitive use of the courts. Maybe as a junior things are a lot different, but Im not a junior. Once KW Granite opens up again things will get better....or maybe Im missing places to play. If anyone knows of any around here, PM me and let me know.
you can buy a gym membership for $200 a term, and that entitles you to access all the sports clubs at UW, including UW badminton. Plus, you can then rent courts almost whenever you want for free. You still have to pay the UWBC memership fee though. The students have to play a mandatory $140 athletics fee so it's only fair you a little more since you will be using it more than the average student...
Ok, and as UW alumni I think the membership is $100 a term, which helps a bit. Access to all the equipment and facilities is nice, however Im a little dubious as to court availability. Its my understanding that the courts courts are shared with volleyball and basketball, both of which have open play times during the day -- which limits the open play times for badminton. Obviously there is no way to practice / play with the actual UW team, aside from the 1 open tournement they have. So, that leaves UWBC. True, I haven't fully investigated UWBC, but with there old webpage (www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/clubs/badminto/) saying that they moved to (www.uwbadminton.com), and that link being dead, its kinda hard to get a hold of them. Not to mention that I have played with a few people from the UW team over the past few years, and without mentioning names, they have suggested that the turnout is poor and the general quality of play is casual. However, I didn't know they allowed you to book courts! if they do, that would be great.
the website moved to http://www.badmintonclub.uwaterloo.ca/ 2 years ago. Turnout was pretty good when i was there, enough to fill about 15 doubles courts on average. (it was 6 courts, 1 on 2 off). There were usually half a dozen fairly good players there. Lots of beginners too but you can be partnered with whoever you want if you tell the execs. btw, can someone move this subthread to places to play?
wow that was fast... moved like 2 minutes later. Odd since no known mods are logged in right now.... do we have a new mod now in addition to Kwun/Cheung/Mag?
Just to add to this thread, the UW Badminton Club is unfortunately full this term. We've already had 325 members sign-up this term... Badminton is not rare in Waterloo, that's for sure. There are other community badminton clubs around though, and it's better than playing nothing at all. Joining the KW Granite Club would be a good idea, especially since they need as many members as they can get...
Hmm... has the calibre of play gone downhill at UWBC since I left? But seriously, when I was in Waterloo between 2000 and 2002, there was this core group of diehard baddy fanatics that always played at the club. Quite a few of them graduated the same year as I did, so some of the talent is certainly lost. Then again, I would be surprised if there are no fresh blood to replenish the pool. <sigh> It was certainly some good ol'days at Waterloo... -Rick
The calibre has dropped somewhat or I'm getting much better. I'm going to guess that it's the first of the two. But the calibre always drops in the fall because there are tons of frosh who come to play in the club and have not played much badminton before. And then most of the high calibre players are on the varsity team so they don't have time to play at the club much.
I agree with Pointfore.ca in terms of the calibre of players at the club. A few years back around 2000 - 2001 there was a large core of good players. Now there is a smaller group. WHY? One of the reasons may be the amount of court time due to large membership. I know a few players that play during open gym times or play with some of the varsity players because many of them are such huge baddy fanatics!! Hopefully this problem of court space will be alleviated with the new gym being completed. Addition: From observations, membership in the club mainly consists of intermediate players. UWBC - Great place to play badminton and more importantly (for ME especially) have some fun. Maradona: You should try to register for the badminton club at UW during the winter term, or even register for the upcoming Survival of the Fittest tourney coming up in late november. you'll be surprised with the number of players who are interested in playing badminton. Oh since the website is a little outdated: Badminton club times at CIF gym: Tuesday and Wednesdays: 8:30pm - 11:30pm Friday - 6:30pm - 9:30pm (but a few players play until 11:30 because it is open gym afterwards) Saturday - 12:30pm - 4:30pm If I am not mistaken, you can always sign up as a guest for $2. (am i right Pointfore.ca?)
Only if there are less than two rotations, so about 30 or less players? Wow, that doesn't seem like a lot actually. It's especially not busy these past couple of weeks because of something called school. Drool, 5 hours of badminton for me tonight!
Doh...you're right pointfore.ca The club is only busy for the first couple of weeks of the semester....afterwards court times drastically improve. 5 hours!!!! <sigh> i have a midterm to study for. guess i'll have to wait till friday for 5 hrs
Guelph Club Hey Everyone Just thought I would let you know that there IS a Guelph Badminton club, it is open to everyone... $110 membership or $6 pay as you play. We are located at Centenial Highschool and play Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays... If you watn some more info please feel free to contact me... I would love to get some new members....especially more competative... ones out to compete against! OH yeah and if anyone else is interested... I'm looking to get into some tournaments this year... I'd love to find a good Men's doubles partner and a Mixed Doubles partner... if there's anyone in the area interested If you need anymore info you can write me on here or e-mail me at : firebush_dh34@hotmail.com Thanks hope to see some of you soon Dave
