Edmonton, Alberta

Discussion in 'Canada West' started by John_Luu, Aug 8, 2003.

  1. John_Luu

    John_Luu Regular Member

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    Place to Play in Edmonton, AB

    With all the good EDBA clubs in Edmonton getting a little full, and all the real clubs too expensive, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a new place to play? I think I might have something lined up, but I want to know if there's enough interest for me to start up a club. It would be like an EDBA club where we would play once a week. We could do twice a week if there was a demand, but the most important thing is to get people to come in first. Also for people who want training sessions, we can arrange something for you. But that's pretty much just a thought right now. I want to know what you people think. If you could PM with with your thoughts or replys, that would be great.

    I want to know

    1) Location - And how far you would want to travel

    2) Price - There's going to be no profit on my part. So the higher the fee, less people, more hours. So let me know what would be a reasonable fee. If you want to pay $1..... then we're going to have to find a couple of thousand people to share the gym with. I know that there's no one that cheap, but I was just making an example.

    3) Time - What day and what time you want to play every week? Is once a week enough?

    4) Anyone interested in training?

    So with that being said, I'm excited about the opportunity, but I need about 20+ people to really make this fun and to make this work. Plus it would be a great meeting place to play with the other people on this forum. Anyways. I know this is kinda sketchy, but it's just an idea. If enough people are interested in this idea, I will put the effort to see this will work and hopefully be successful and fun for anyone. Please PM me if you have any questions or thoughts. Thanks for reading.

    -John
     
  2. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    Sounds like a good idea and I'm assuming this would start in the regular season (Sept.) if it were to go ahead? Anyways, I would be interested, depending on what day(s) this club would be held on as I usually join IBC every year.. and would definately depend on how much it would cost to join for the year or to drop in.

    Here are my answers to your questions.

    1) Location - to me, I would like it near my residence :D..however, knowing that that would not be convenient for other people that do not live near me..I would suggest the club be located in central edmonton...perhaps concordia college whenever it's not booked (or another place). Central because it's in the middle and it'd be more or less equal distance to travel for everyone.

    2) Price - It would depend on how many days a week the club would play. Most clubs usually have a similar joining fee for the year ($50-$80 single, usually 2-3 times a week)..so assuming the club played 2 times a week, i wouldn't mind the price being around $50-60 a year single and around$100 for family (up to 4 members). Of course the final say would be yours John..since you say it's not for profit, you have to account for the gym rental per month, etc.

    3) The time would obviously have to be in the evening if it was during the weekdays (starting at about 7 or 8ish and perhaps ending at around 10 if possible). However if the club were to be held on a one day a week basis, the afternoon (1 or 2 o clock start to 4-6 o clock if possible) would be reasonable. To me, for a club that's just starting out, I think one day is suficcient for now...just because i'd assume many people would still be going to their regular clubs.

    4) Training - I can't speak for anyone else...but I would most likely not be interested. Reason is that I already get my training at the Derrick club and I'd just be interested in playing some casual/semi competitive games for fun.

    You probably already realize this..but there's aren't that many people that come on this forum from edmonton (fair amount but not near 20 people)..umm..an idea to spread the idea of making a new club might be to go to the present summer clubs such as castledowns, chinese club, st.albert club, etc..and give them some info ..as I don't think the idea of the new club will pass on as quickly on here..just a thought..
     
  3. Oranjmaan

    Oranjmaan Regular Member

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    Hmm... i realli don't think there's demand enuf to warrant for another club. Tho the more baddy the better :D, i'm pretty sure breaking even on such a venture would be pretty hard to do, unless u have some amazing business plans in mind. But for sure, do ur research, a club placed in the rite area, with enuf advertisment/word of mouth could do well. I do not think i would attend such a club, as i am already a member of the RG, but i suppose if u must good courts would be better than location, a higher price for better quality, etc.
     
  4. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    i'd suspect it'd be held at a shool gym...considering it's a city club..that's where most of these sort of clubs are held. But oranjmaan, ur right..i too think that there isn't that much of a demand for another club..there are already tons of city clubs and people will most likely continue to go to the ones they already attend
     
  5. John_Luu

    John_Luu Regular Member

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    Home and Tired....

    Wow, go to Calgary for a weekend and this is the response I get ;)

    I didn’t really expect to get the detail response that I did, but this does certainly help out.
    Right now there is a bit of skepticism of me opening up a club. People are giving me mixed reactions, so based on this, I have rethought my plan. For now, I have enough people (who are serious) to just start up a decent club. The plan right now is just to just get a gym and just run it for a couple of months with a core group of people and see if it grows or not. Starting off big might have been too ambitious. For the location of this gym, I’ve narrowed it down to a couple. Right now it’s going to be in the Concordia area or the North Central area. I think I will find out in the next month or so. With the new plan, I guess the pricing would change dramatically. I would have to wait until I find out the final pricing of the changed schedule before I can get back to you on the pricing. But now I do know what costs people are expecting, so if I can’t meet that expectation, then it would be pointless to open up a club.

    Right now the most popular time requests are Wed and/or Thurs starting at 7 pm. For training, I talked to Lionel Chong, and he’s on board to train anyone who’s interested. If you know the Edmonton badminton scene, I’m sure you would have heard of him. Of course there would be a fee for his time.

    Right now because I’m juggling things around, this might seem like a huge mess, but I do have details in my head, but I don’t want to promise anything publicly unless I can confirm it 100%. All the things that I’ve said in this message makes things sound uncertain, but it’s because of the availability of an affordable gym. Once we get that out of the way, I think things are going to start rolling. Anyways, I don’t know if this all makes sense to you guys, but I’m trying. Let me know what you guys think and thanks for your replies.
     
  6. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Wow! Getting trained by Lionel Chong?!! I just might sign up for it:D
     
  7. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    The new club is a good idea if people are interested. But because it might be held on Wednesday, I can't say i'm 100% on board because I'm usually playing at IBC (more convenient for me). Thursday's a different story..however I can't say for sure that I'd be able to play on that day either because of lack of transportation for me. If anything, you might be able to count me in for occasional drop in for now since I'm not sure about the days I'm able to go.

    Anyways, about Lionel Chong coaching, that's a great idea..I've seen some great games played by him and Austin against some other high quality players. But like I mentioned before, I already get some training at the Derrick.

    Keep us posted, thanks
     
  8. coupii

    coupii Regular Member

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    I'm not too sure about whether or not I'd join a new club, simply because I don't have the time to play so much. I would really have to try it out before deciding. But determining factors for me would be time and location, cost, quality of play, and quality of personalities. I'm planning to play at IBC this season.

    As for training, it might be something I would consider, if it was affordable and if I could spare the time. Do you know whether Lionel would be willing to train somewhat older players (late 20's)? I'm not about to be making any big noises in the badminton scene, but I'd consider getting some help with my technique and mental game. I'm not expecting any big leaps in my play, but it could help later when I have kids. Also, getting some technical help now might be good for preventing injuries later.
     
  9. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Also, did anybody read about a new sport fitness facility being planned/built around Edmonton or Sherwood Park? Somebody told me that he read something about it in the Journal. Seems that 11/12 courts will be devoted to Badminton in the new facility. I tried to seek confirmation from my papers at home but that pertinent edition was thrown away after a few days.
     
  10. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    Although i never read about it..it does sound interesting..so 11/12 courts JUST for badminton?:confused: that'd be nice..
     
  11. Oranjmaan

    Oranjmaan Regular Member

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    Hmm.... after the construction of Sherwood Park's Millenium Place fitness and recreational facility, it looks like the Edmonton area has gotten into the trend of building new, expansive and very nice sports facilities. I've heard of a plan for a new one..... in south edmonton, or a town south of edmonton, but it hasn't been confirmed as of yet. I highly doubt tho, that so many courts would be available, much less dedicated to badminton. However, a facility such as this would be a great place to hold a badminton club.
     
  12. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    well, if it doesn't happen... we could always dream:D
     
  13. coupii

    coupii Regular Member

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    If true, I would guess it would be a large number of courts laid over top of something else. Hard to believe Edmonton could support that number of courts for only badminton.
     
  14. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Yeah... a sport center with 11/12 badminton courts does sound excessive. I think the most badminton courts available in a gym would be Education Gym at U of A (7 courts) and Concordia (7 courts). However if you have played there before, you would know the weakness of those gyms;).
     
  15. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    i don't really mind playing at either of those gyms...in fact, in my opinion, those two are probably the better gyms in edmonton for recreational play. Looking at all of these other school gyms..many are pretty similar in the fact that it's "hard to see" and what not. But I find Concordia to be an ideal place to play because there's so many courts.

    I guess if you're really into the perfect gym, there's always the private clubs..:D
     
  16. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Hmm... yeah, I had a look at Derrick Club's courts and the ceiling seems abit too low for my taste. You even get lots of lost birdie on top of the low hanging lights. How's the lighting there?
     
  17. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    Well..the lights are placed in between each court..so there shouldn't be an excuse if you hit it onto the lights because the shot would most likely have been a unforce error. However, i can agree that the ceiling is pretty low..i myself had to get used to it at first when i first played there..now i find that i haev an advantage whenever i play someone that hasn't had as much time to play at the club..just because i'm used to the ceiling, i know what shots/adjustments to make. My previous coach always told me that because the ceiling is low, the game will be much faster than if you play at a place with a higher ceiling (eg. concordia, roayl glen, etc)

    Anyways overall, i think that the ceiling at the Derrick isn't that much lower than the ceiling at nait...the ceiling is just low because they have the big support beams sticking out therefore it's unlucky if you hit the bird right at it doing a clear or something...about the lighting, i find that it's fine...it doesn't get in the way like it does at concordia (look up sometimes and the light gets in the way there)...it's placed like the RG..but just lower.

    RG is definately a better place to play though if you are looking for quality:D
     
  18. Oranjmaan

    Oranjmaan Regular Member

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    Lol, thx for referring my club over your's yonexfanatic. But for sure, the RG's courts are the best in edmonton, in fact, I'd prefer them to the Glencoe Club's courts in calgary, tho they have one more court. Everything is excellent there, lol besides temperature during the summer, and the ceiling is quite definitely higher than the Derrick Club's.
     
  19. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    you guys are so spoiled. i play regularly in a gym in which the ceiling is only 19 feet high! high clears are unheard of in that gym. but it does forces you to be constantly be aware of how high to hit the birdie. very hard to be a defensive player in that gym.
     
  20. yonexfanatic

    yonexfanatic Regular Member

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    Sry, I guess this reply isn't too on topic,

    Kwun, it's not that bad actually, playing in a gym with a low ceiling. I actually don't mind at all playing at places with low ceilings, as long as it's not insanely low. Reason is, it helps your game in which it forces you to play a more fast, aggressive game.

    If you do end up playing in a gym wiht quite a high ceiling, I would think you'd have some sort of advantage. You'd be making quicker shots (fast lower clears, etc)..and if you did get in trouble, you'd have the high ceiling to make the recovery shot now.
     

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