When is Bintang not crowded?

Discussion in 'Bintang Badminton Academy' started by tyentr99, Aug 16, 2004.

  1. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Hi,

    I've recently been trying to get back into badminton because I need something athletic to do instead of sitting infront of my computer. I've been going to Pleasanton on Wednesdays on and off for the pass couple of months, but I find it too crowded and on avg I can maybe get two games in. I mostly play with my brother and his friends who are in high school on the weak courts, haven't had enough confidence yet to play other people. I haven't really played in 5 years so I'm not very good, plus I'm slightly out of shape, and Pleasanton just doesn't give me enough court time to help me get back into rythm. I saw Bintang mentioned on the boards and it seems like a good place to go to but I would like to go when it's not crowded, preferably when it's dead actually so I can get more court time. So if anyone know when is the best time to go when it's not crowded please let me know, I would appreciated it. I'm assuming that it would be less crowded during the noon session, right?

    How is the crowd on Monday for the noon and evening sessions? I was thinking of maybe dropping by today since I would be in the area looking at Kason racquets if I can get my brother or someone else to come since I'm a doubles player and I do not have the stamina to play singles. However, I might drop by by myself anyways to see how it is.

    Thanks a head of time for anyone who answers =).
     
  2. Ming Missed

    Ming Missed Regular Member

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    I love the # read to # reply ratio dont you?

    Hi,



    I'm pretty new to the area myself and honestly haven't been to BinTang for all that long. However I have been going consistently, mostly during the weeknights from Tuesdays to Fridays and occasionally, Sunday night as well from around 7:15pm-10pm. If you haven't visited BinTang just yet here's some details.



    There are 11 courts to play on. One of them is a singles court where higher level players compete, the rest are 90% of the time doubles games. You might think that with this many courts you will surely be able to get a lot of game time. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Here's the break down.



    There is a queuing system for the courts. On entry, the club owner will give you a clip. You write your name on this clip and use it as a tag to reserve any court you like. You then play a match and leave the court so the next 4 who used their tag to reserve can step in and the cycle continues. At least this is the way things are "supposed" to be. The way it really works from my experience is as follows:



    There are 5 front courts and 6 back courts. Of the 5 front courts, 1 is singles as I previously mentioned. 2 out of the 4 remaining courts are pretty much taken by higher level players during anytime that I've ever gone to BinTang. This leaves two other courts open for everyone else to play. The cycle time for these two courts are very good and if you have patience the most you'll have to wait is probably 20-30 minutes before you get a game.



    Now of course there are 6 courts in the back. Unfortunately, 70% of the time they are taken up by groups of 4+ players who pretty much play on the court the whole time if you dont try to kick them off. The problem is if you dont have a partner or a group of your own, its quite hard to walk up and say hey I had my clip tagged onto this court, you’ve been playing for more than 40 minutes please let me play but btw I dont have a partner so I'll just replace one of your friends. You get the idea.



    As for when this place is "dead". I have yet to find a single time that I've gone where not every single court was taken up. But there have been times where 1 or 2 of the courts had only two people on them so you can always politely ask them if you can join in and then go in search of a by stander and beg them to see if they would like to pair up with you. (I’ve always had to the asking since for some odd reason everyone else would rather wait then ask someone else to partner with)



    If you do go to BinTang I highly suggest going with a partner. Its just much easier that way. My experiences haven't been all that great I must say, always waiting for courts to open up and only to play a quick game with someone that you don’t really know how to partner with in a doubles game. However since BinTang is on my way back from work and I love the sport so much, I'm willing to put up with it. I have asked people on this forum to see if people were interested in partnering up but only got 1 reply from someone who doesn't really go.



    I really understand your situation as I myself am in sort of the same boat (stopped playing for 4 years). The above is merely based off of my own experiences and I hope it can help you in some way.



    Who knows, maybe I'll meet you at BinTang sometime.



    Ming



     
  3. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Hey Ming,

    Thanks for replying, not glad to hear that bintang is also a busy place but I would assume that it would be busy during the times you go to (after work and on the weekends). What I would like to know are the noon times from 11 to 2, if they are busy. I would have love to partner up with you, but I'm currently still looking for a job (that's why I can go during the noon hours =P)so I don't have the money to go consistently as I would want. Maybe when I find a job we can partner up since I would also need a partner because my brother and his friends doesn't really want to go to bintang.

    Tuyen
     
  4. Joseph

    Joseph Regular Member

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    Hey tyentr99,

    I'm pretty much a regular at Bintang. I go in the mornings and evenings. The morning sessions dont seem to be crowded at all. However, there are times when all the courts are taken and no one is waiting. So to avoid this, you will need to arrive there right when it opens and just hop on a court. Evening sessions aren't that bad, at least I don't think they are. When signing up for a court, make sure you let them know that you are waiting. If after 20 min they haven't started their game, go talk to the manager, Phu, and he'll probably kick them off and let you guys on. It's supposed to be 2 min warm up then you play a game. Mondays aren't crowded I think. Tuesdays tend to be crowded because of a weekly tournament they hold which takes up 3 courts. I'm not sure about the other days, but it tends to be random I guess. If you're ever at Bintang, make sure you say hi. I'm usually wearing a badminton shirt or a shirt that says 04 on the back. There are about 4 people which includes me, who wear the Badminton Central tshirt. If you happen to see one, just say hi. We're a pretty friendly bunch. And our levels vary, mine being the lowest. :(
     
  5. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Hey Joseph,

    Thanks for replying. It's good to hear that the morning sessions aren't crowded. I would love to go during the morning because it's also cheaper, but I don't have a partner. What are the chances of me going there in the morning and finding a partner? Are most ppl there in groups? I haven't played in 5 years so I'm really bad right now, my footwork is horrible. I went to Pleasanton today and did pretty bad, it didn't help that my partner for 3 matches was worse than I was. I also decided to start playing with feather, previously I've mainly played with plastic and it's taking a little while to get used to.

     
  6. Ming Missed

    Ming Missed Regular Member

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    wow lol its funny how Tyentr99 has almost the exact same experience as I do. I played for 2 years in HS but exclusively with plastic (the blue band white ones, not the yellow fast ones). Even though they are "supposed" to be very close to the real deal feather birds, I could not and still find it very hard to get used to the feather ones. My smashes are ridiculous and drops never go over the net. This transition from plastic to feather is taking me forever and frustrating to no end when you KNOW you can play better then that. The problem with feather also lies in the fact that they deteriorate during game play and so their flight speed, patterns keep changing slightly. Really hard to get used to. =/ Anyways, hope to see you both at BinTang. I'm the short chinese guy normally wearing a sleeveless T and grey shorts.

    Ming


     
  7. Joseph

    Joseph Regular Member

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    You can probably find some people in the morning to play. It's not likely you will though, so it's better to bring a partner for morning sessions. The evening sessions tend to have more people so you have a better chance of finding a partner. I played with both feather and plastic during h.s. so the transition to feather was less painless. Though, I still have trouble playing with it.
     
  8. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Heading to bintang right now, hope to see you guys there.

    Tuyen
     
  9. Joseph

    Joseph Regular Member

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    I was at Bintang that night. Not sure if I saw you or not. Where were you playing? Were you able to find a partner?
     
  10. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Sorry, about not getting back to you sooner Joseph. I got there around 7:30 and stayed to about 9:30. Ming apparently didn't get my message in time so he never showed. I didn't really get to play, I didn't know that Ming was not going to show up so I was kinda waiting for him. I was mainly sitting in front of the board where ppl put there clips. I had a blue towel around my neck carrying a yonex case, forgot what I was wearing. Before I left I decided to play a game of singles and got killed 15-0, singles is not my game but since it seemed everyone was there in groups it didn't look like I was going to be able to find a partner for doubles.

     
  11. prophet

    prophet Regular Member

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    Sounds like Bintang has gotten more unorganized since last I went (about two months ago).

    Well I'll probably be moving around the Mountain View area for a couple of months, so I'll play a little more at Bintang now. I use to play with a group on Tuesday nights, but since I lived in the city, the drive was a bit far for me.

    Ming, I'm still up to play some games. Maybe the first week of September? I'll IM when my move is finalized.

    tyentr99, maybe we could all hook up together. I got another friend, plus you and Ming would make our four. Let me know if you are willing to play nights.

    Also Joseph, still haven't gotten a chance to play you. We could get both our groups together, mix and match players, and hog a court. :D (J/K about the hogging part- ok maybe not :eek: ).

    Cheers all.
     
  12. Ming Missed

    Ming Missed Regular Member

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    Yeah I feel pretty bad about not showing up to play with Tuyen. Work had me in the office till 8 that night and I had to go back home to pick up my gear. Dont get discouraged with the 15:0 singles match tho. From what I've seen, the only people who really play singles at BinTang are those incredibly good players. I'd most probably get owned 15:0 just as well. :(

    Honestly, if you are single (and even if you had a partner) u have to be very aggressive to get to play a bintang now. People dont really take the clip system very seriously and the back courts get hogged like crazy.

    But yeah prophet it'll be awesome to play with you guys and if Tuyen and I could tag along that would be cool. Thanks for the invite.

    Joseph I'll keep an eye out for you tonight and see if i cant spot a guy wearing a Badminton Central tshirt.


     
  13. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    i went there the past saturday and the saturday two weeks ago at around 2pm. and both times it was relative less crowded. still quite crowded but to Bintang's standard, that is not too bad. i may drop by there again this saturday. having taken a break from badminton, i seriously need to start playing more again.
     
  14. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    I would love to join up with you guys when I find a job, I'm broke as f*** right now and I have to ask my parents for money every wednesday night just to go to Pleasanton which is kinda sad. But when I finally do we should form a group since it's a lot better that way at bintang.

    I have another question about bintang, the signs say you can play one game but do they mean one game as in 3 sets or one game as in 1 set?

    Tuyen
     
  15. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    one game = one set.
     
  16. Joseph

    Joseph Regular Member

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    I wont be going as much because of my class schedule. I'll be there Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Those are the days I'll probably be going if I don't have homework.
     
  17. Binky

    Binky New Member

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    OMG... I wish I was back in college, instead of getting stuck here in a 4x4 cubicle rotting away, wishing I have at least half your time to go play... :crying: :D

    Ah well....
     
  18. Pecheur

    Pecheur Regular Member

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    I'm hoping that's 4m by 4m, not 4 ft x 4 ft, not sure if I could work in something that small :p My cubicle is 3 m x 5.5 m which is barely big enough to fit all my crap.
     
  19. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Joseph, I think that will be fine since Ming can't got until around 7:30 anyways because of work. Btw, what school do you go to if you don't mind me asking.

    Tuyen
     
  20. tyentr99

    tyentr99 Regular Member

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    Oops, I got mixed up between Prophet and Joseph in my last post. The part about going nights was suppose to be for Prophet and the school thing was suppose to be asked to Joseph.

    Hey, Ming and Prophet do any of you guys have aim, maybe we can talk over aim and see if we can get together and go to bintang some time. Check my profile for my aim sn, I just changed it yesterday.

    Tuyen
     

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