Free Open Gyms in San Francisco

After recovering from my shoulder injury, I have been trying to get back into badminton. These couple of weeks has been interesting for sure. After seeing a few threads regarding San Francisco, I just thought I share what is going on in San Francisco to the best of my knowledge.

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Tuesday nights at Glen Park, I would consider there to be a lot of people, and so waiting is really a pain. Back a year or two I was able to play every other turn, but now it is two turns or so. Like usual, people there (in average) are better than the typical San Franciscan gyms, and I have been getting my buttocks kicked there. No fees. 4 courts, all pretty good, but the best 2 are the 2 center courts. Goes from around 6:45pm until 9:45pm.

Glen Park:
O'Shaughnessy Blvd. and Bosworth Street, San Francisco, CA 94131

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Wednesday nights at Palega, also has a lot of people. I overheard a weird lady say that Richmond now opens on Wednesday nights instead of Thursdays, but it has been over a year since I even stepped into the Richmond gym. Regardless, Palega is still open on Wednesday nights. I heard rumors of it being open on Monday nights and Friday nights as well, but I do not have such information confirmed. No fees. 4 courts, 2 good center courts, 2 HORRIBLE courts on the side. Starts at around 6:30pm-6:45pm until about 9:30pm.

Palega:
500 Felton Street San Francisco, CA 94134-1400

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On Thursday mornings, there is a place next-to/in Japantown called Hamilton. That place is supposed to be opened from 9am-12pm, but first time I went there which was on 7/27/2006, it was not open until approximately 9:30am, and then people were only setting up nets. Even though it is should be opened for 3 hours, it is almost impossible to find a parking space beyond the 2 hour limit. I ended up having to park in an area with no 2 hour parking, but they had street cleaning at 12pm, which means I had to leave early to get a ticket. So basically parking is tough, the people there are horrible players, and the people who work there don't open the gym on time all the time (so I have heard) and my visit has proved it to be true. 4 courts, 2 good center courts, 2 bad courts on the side.

Hamilton Recreation Center:
1900 Geary Blvd San Francisco, CA 94115-3562

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Thursday nights - to the best of my knowledge, Sunset Recreation Center and Chinese Recreation Center in Chinatown are open on Thursday nights. These gyms open at approximately 6:30pm until 9:30pm. However due to my new partner, we are going out of San Francisco on Thursday nights. We would prefer South San Francisco, but I heard it will be closed for a few weeks, and I have yet to hear news of it opening. With South San Francisco closed for the time being, I went to GGBC on the night of 7/27/2006 and ended up getting my buttocks whooped, and let my friend down. That night in GGBC was quite harsh. First of all, for some reason two guys were able to cut in front of my friend and I on the challenge court, WITH MIKE YANG BEING AROUND! For some reason it was alright or something, and I was so shocked! But then, not wanting to disturb the peace, I just waited it out as irritating as it was. It was also the first time I had a chance to play against Mike Yang. It should be no surprised he did not go 100% against an opponent against such as myself, but it was a good experience for me to realize how much harder I have to work in order to become better. However, it was quite unfortunate Mike was paired with Sally. Yes, that Sally. Because really, Mike had to, for a lack of a better term, carry Sally. The gap between their skills was obviously too great. The amount of pressure I had to face when serving to Sally was nothing compared to when I had to serve to Mike. Before I had a chance to observe how Sally played, I thought she'd be an amazing player, especially with the players she had around her. I do not know whether she did not take us seriously or what, but I ended up hitting her in the face with the shuttlecock. I guess I am just not worth her time on the court, so she did not even care how badly she served which gave me the opportunity to hit her in the first place. But the worst part wasn't that I hit her, but it is that she said I did not apologize after I already did. I ended up doing it again. It's just annoying when you say something and people just don't listen. I hit her face, not her ear, so why didn't she hear it? Ridiculous. It's not like I am obligated to apologize, and I had to do it twice. There even had a sign saying "Play badminton at your own risk." She should try reading it sometime. GGBC, 8 courts, very cramped, prices vary.

Sunset Recreation Center:
2201 Lawton St San Francisco, CA 94122-3247

Chinese Recreation Center:
1199 Mason St San Francisco, CA 94108-1551

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Right now it is Saturday, and I'd like to go play, but I have to work. If I am to play, I would go to St. Mary's Recreation Center. It's supposed to be from 2pm-5pm on Saturday afternoons. However, there are only 3 courts, and most of the time people there are shady in the sense that they hog the center court to themselves because they think they are so good or something, but people at Glen Park are so much better. 3 courts, 1 good, 2 decent. 2 spaces with an area approximately the area of a singles court (maybe smaller) to practice.

St. Mary's Recreation Center:
95 Justin Drive, San Francisco, CA 94112

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I certainly hope this helps anyone who wishes to play more badminton. In summary, all courts in San Francisco are free, but it will depend on whether you are free to play at the times they are open.

 

Let's see. One could say that I discovered these locations by word of mouth, but I have also been there before, if that you what you are wondering. The location of South San Francisco High School is:

400 B Street South San Francisco, CA, 94080
(Got this from another thread, because it is just easier)

It costs 4 dollars to get in last time I checked, and it is open from around 6:30 to around 9:30. There are usually at least 8 courts open, and if the other portion is open as well, there is like 6 or 8 more courts, but I forgot since I usually do not play in the other portion. But for the 8 courts that I mentioned before, 4 is good, 4 is rather "crappy." If I remember correctly, at least one of the 4 good courts is usually reserved. When you get there, you would have to walk into the school beyond the parking lot that is provided.