This happended 2 years ago. I was with my family to this pretty secluded hotspring resort in Taiwan. It is a very nice little family resort where they even piped the natural hotspring water into a well constructed little private pool at the veranda of the family room so you can soak in it while enjoying the sunset/sunrise in the backdrop of a montainous area. What interest me was the brochure of this resort indicating they have comprehensive sports facilities that include tennis, basketball, table tennie, BADMINTON and squash. Obviously I was excited that I can played some badminton with my wife even when I am on vacation. So first thing after checking in, the whole family went off to check out the facility with the intention of reserving the court for a game before dinner. So we follow this complicated direction sign that need us to the back end of the main buliding. Then lo and behold, we found ourself standing in front of 2 squash court and one of the them have been converted into a badminton court! Imagine playing badminton in a squash court! It is just 3/4 size of a normal court with the side lines and back lines drawn just around the 4 walls! The shuttle will never be out because they will bounce back off the walls and back into court! Needless to say, I was utterly dissapointed and went off to play table tennis instead. Fortunately, the other facilities and the general surrounding and atmosphere of the resort were more than enough to compensate for that. My wife reminded me that we were there to enjoy the hotspring not to play badminton, I guess she was right! I wonder if anyone has ever come across a worse and more sub-standard badminton court than that!
maybe they were not expecting serious badminton player. maybe it was to cater for those who simply wants to play for fun like the way they play on an outdoor court. the worst court i have ever played on is the cement court in a hall that also caters for wedding dinners and other functions. it is bad enough that the court is cement (which means it is very hard on your knees), the floor is sometimes dirty from the leftover spilled food and drinks. think dusty, sticky, slippery and yucky (which means you can get injured by unintentional sliding). and when we mentioned it to the hall supervisor, he showed us where the mop is. we are paying for the court. go figure.
Well I play at this venue and the ceiling is pretty low. When you do a high serve the shuttlecock hits the ceiling! Tight net drop flick hits the ceiling as well! If you try to control the tight drop flicks it lands half court! But it's all good. It's just a social game nothing serious.
Worse court ever played??? Hi guys, In HCMC, Vietnam, on two occasions, I played with the locals where they played this game with some enclosed shelter. Something look like warehouse but kind of rough flooring with lines drawn for baddies. There were mosquitoes flying around u....waiting to suck yr blood So, before u play, mosquitoes sting first.:crying: Lee
Dear Linus, You are on vacation. Take it easy. If you want any serious game, contact other members in Taiwan and I believe they will give you some nice memory...
At least, Linus find an "indoor" court. When I went to a resort in PA, they also listed badminton facility available. Of course, I did not have too much expectation on that, as I know how mis-leading this sport could be to most of the americans. One morning, I just could not resist the feeling to ask for badminton. So, I was given 2 $5 rackets, 1 super beat up plastic red cork shuttles. When I was asking where the court is, the lady (don't get me wrong, they are very nice and friendly) points her finger through the window, and I was shown the front yard, which is at least 30' of a slope with grass...
Hi Linus, How is your trip so far? Any thing interesting beside the bad-minton court? Any pictures for your adventures?
i too witnessed a similarly distorted thing last week. i was with my friends on a beach and saw 4 guys from a family playing badminton there. the racket size was almost the double of regular size. i mean the whole frame... it was as if i was looking thru a lense... so funny... but the manufacturer tried to be smart and he scaled the birdie to the triple the size of normal birdie... i just couldn't resist laughing...
My worst court was a hall, seems like a multipurpose hall for meeting and so on. The building was white (floor, wall, ceiling). The floor itself was made from white ceramic. So can you guys imagine? White shuttle cock, white net, with all surrounding white. The worst is we couldn't see where the bird going.
ha ha, i don't know... those guys looked like humans, so i guess it wasn't the giant version unless they were practicing for it...
They were probably playing speedminton. Did the birdies look like this? http://www.speedminton.ca/Equipment.8.0.html
