Hello everyone! I will be moving to Vancouver in the new year and would like to get back to playing regularly. I've browsed through the more recent threads here, but haven't found anything conclusive... So, I'm looking for high intermediate/advanced groups that okay regularly on week nights and/or weekends. Two or three different groups would be ideal so I can balance out my schedule I'm probably what you would call a high intermediate / advanced MD and XD player. I'm never sure how to rate myself, but I can say that one of my favourite tactics is stepping forward with a backhand smash to knock down the 3rd shot before the opponent has gotten back into their ready positions. Although I have to say that since I haven't played much since I tore my Achilles tendon 8 years ago. I've begun to play again this year in Shanghai, but my god my consistency has gone to hell! So I would like to find groups who are just as interested in sparring and training as with friendly games. I expect to be living near my office in Mount Pleasant, although I am expecting to make regular trips up to Richmond to play ;-) Any leads or contacts for groups that may be suitable will be highly appreciated! Thanks much! V
I go to ClearOne at Richmond every time I'm in Vancity. Most people are really nice and you can join various groups during drop-in, the players can vary in skills, but generally better than people you find in community centers. Unfortunately I can't help you find a group of people which you can play with on a constant basis, but I hoped I helped.
Hi Vince: First, an early welcome to Vancouver; badminton is certainly a very popular sports here and there are not short of places here to play. I would recommend to start from the drop-in sessions, the Saturday morning ClearOne Leslie drop-in maybe a good place to start. As you start to know more players, you will be able to branch into other regular groups. Also, it maybe helpful to give a bit more of your playing history, such as if you been any offical training or into local and other level of tournaments? As most groups do shine away from taking on new players not knowing the playing level. I personally play in a couple of groups, and I consider myself a low-intermediate player, our group may not able to provide you much of a workout here but you are welcome to join us for a fun session of two. Cheers and hope this help
Whoops. Looks like I completely forgot. Well, I'm here in Van now, and am definitely looking for a group. Went to Richmond Pro drop-in Sat night and didn't really get a workout. Anyway, more about me: No official training outside of highschool and varsity (3/4 of a year) teams. I competed a lot on the hs team and also in tournaments. If I remember correctly, my highest ranking was 60-something in Ontario under 19 at the time. Nothing even close to elite players. University was just occasional club play after quitting varsity due to engineering school. Played more regular tournaments again after university until my Achilles tendon got torn and stopped for a good 8 years. Started to play again last year in Shanghai and played in one large Yonex-sponsored tournament and reached QF in the "overseas group" losing really badly to the eventual champions... Other than that, I played in various rec clubs and smaller inter-club competitions usually winning or runners-up. I did have the privilege of regularly playing against a recently retired Chinese provincial player who is the coach at one of the clubs I played at in Shanghai. Having smashes coming at you at 200kph is exhilarating and fun!! PS. Everything in MD. XD only during club play.
mt pleasant? well, vrc is just up the street from there... they have a drop in 10pm - 2am? on fridays and saturday nights, iirc check out their web site... http://vrc.bc.ca/latenightbadminton
About my playing style: I'm a very fast player with a good read on opponents game and quick/large net coverage, with a slight favour to keeping pressure up than netshots to setup my partner. My biggest weakness now is that I have completely lost my big jump smash since my injury - combination of reluctance to jump and hence mistiming/inaccurate contact point... And general laziness when my back starts to ache. Oh, and extremely inconsistent now... Aging is killing me! :crying: If you play against me, you now know what to do
