hi, we are a group of beginners/intermediate players who have been looking up and down for a good court to play during weekday nights but it seems that each and every good court in Penang is full! there's an average of 5, sometimes 7 of us, so if there's anyone out there who has any ideas or recommendations, please do let us know. currently we have been forced to play above the wet market and it stinks like dead fish! :crying: H E L P U S P L E A S E Thanks.
what? you're playing above chowrasta? there are plenty of places to play, some better than others, whereabouts would be most convenient for you? the places i find which are most often available for last minute bookings are: 1) the old sri inai school hall (lengkok burma) 2) ramakrisna 3) yesterday club i'd recommend the old sri inai school hall, i think it was just made available to the public around october last year, it's quite affordable (rm8 per hour), the lights/surface/parking is good and convenient plus it's in pulau tikus which is pretty central if everyone is coming from different parts of the island. not to mention it's a 10 minute walk for me! hope this helps.
if you're looking for more upmarket places, or any of your friends are members of sports clubs, i would recommend 1) bukit dumbar (though it's quite packed) 2) CRC (members can book and bring as many guests as they like) 3) penang sports club (members can book and need to pay to sign guests in, i think!)
hi there! thanks for the suggestions... location is not too much of a problem for us i think. as long as there's no fish, chicken n duck there some of us are from the mainland, so of cos if its anywhere nearer to the bridge, they'd love it even better. i think my friend went over to the new sri inai hall (newly renovated, but lights not so good, cement floor) and I called them, RM12/hour? i wonder if we are talking about the same place. do we have to indian to book at ramakrishna? its on scotland road right? is yesterday club the one at the corner before the buddhist temple? the one with the thai restaurant? i shall go over and have a look. hopefully the have space for us! thanks so much!
IF only we had membership ymca is the only place good we've had a chance to play at. lucky for us it doesnt need membership. thanks.
i don't think it's rm12, we always paid rm20 for 2.5 hours so it must be rm8. yeah, it's cement flooring, i think most halls in penang are cement, especially in schools. i remember that the lights were alright when i played there in december, why do you say they aren't good? yeah, ramakrishna is on scotland road, they have 2 courts there and ample parking, though it's cement flooring as well. you don't have to be indian to book, i play with my cousin and his friends there and we're all chinese. just got to the admin office on the far side of the school to enquire about bookings. yup, yesterday club is the one with the thai restaurant, only 2 courts there, it's a bit run down though, but that's why it's available most of the time. it's on macalister road in case there's any confusion. also, i've heard that the army reserve just opposite yesterday club have courts as well, though i haven't been there personally. ymca have nice courts as well, easy parking but it's quite popular as well, isn't it? i don't know about its availability though. closer to the bridge eh, hmmmm, i've played with some friends at the school behind the state mosque, that's a decent venue. also in the school on 'goh tiau loh', i don't remember the actual name of the road. both schools have 4 courts. bukit dumbar is probably your best bet if you want to be close to the bridge.
Hi lolabunny, Can you adopt me when you're playing?! I recently transferred to Penang from the Philippines where I was playing 2x/wk and I'm finding it really difficult to find badminton courts and some new badminton mates! I would really appreciate it if anybody can 'adopt' me hehe marz
hmm... then i guess it was a different place i called, cos i remember the fella saying RM12, that's why i felt it was too expensive and didnt go over... abt the lighting, i havent been there, so i dont really know, but that's wat my fren said. i will check it out myself in the next few days to be sure. thank u so much for the info. i have written everything down. u r such a sweetheart!!!
ah, i try to help where i can. do let me know if/when you find a suitable venue. maybe you can give me some pointers for when i'm next back in penang.
yo marz, yeah, i can appreciate how difficult it is to find people to play with in malaysia. hope you find a nice group!
haha, i'm in penang about a month a year to visit family and friends, not to mention play badminton. it's nice since i've got so much free time when i'm back home, all i do is eat, sleep and play badminton. well, only 3 times a week really, but that's a lot for me (getting too old and fat you see). so i've got quite a bit of experience of moving around town looking for courts as well.
THREE times a week ONLY??? i dont know how old u r, but we are a group of 25-32 yr olds, and we barely make TWICE a week alive! lol...
haha, i'm right smack in the middle of your age group. 3 times a week is alright, when you're just bumming around at home all day. if you're working, then it's a different story. besides, it's only 2 hours per session, but i tend to play with different groups so it's kinda like a bonding session as well.
Lola any luck with the dewan sri penang or the girl guide hall and the boy scout place opposite the state mosque are nice places too. I know for sure the girls guide hall has place for weekends after 5 (due to training) and there might be 1-2 courts available during the weekday (i remember i saw a spot on the board inside the aunties room last week can recall which day but am sure it was a weekday and 8-11pm seision) the courts in girl guide are good light is decent too. Good luck looking . I play there every tues and sat. Hmm i can call up and find out for u tomorrow need to book a court for sat anyway. So keep ur fingers crossed ^^
maybe we should compile a list of all the places to play in penang as reference for everyone. some details would also be useful like: Name of hall/school: Location: Number of courts available: Type/quality of lights: Surface material: Cost per hour: Available booking times: Name of contact: Contact number: Availability of pro shop/drinks/water cooler etc: Parking facilities: that sort of thing.
Ok i just called girl guides they have 1 court available every thursday 5-8. So after work meeting there at 5.30-6 shouldn't be a prob. it's rm21 per seision whether it's 2-3 hours it's the same charge. It's just on the left of the flyover on jalan masjid negri if you are comin from town. Lighting is decent by side lighting and backcourt lightning too. Courts are parquet. Parking is ample too. tel no:042282566. There a proshop there called champion sports which sell shuttles, racquets and sports drinks. The stringing there is decent if you want something done quickly and they are fairly reasonable and a friendly pack too . I sometimes get the protech championship there for rm45 if i run out of my RCL its not too bad. Try to find the place and walk into the office and have a monthly booking done asap ^^. The office is to the left of the hall when you come in the entrance. There's an aunty working there during working hours and she's still wearing her girl guide uniform. Any problem you can pm me here. I check it often
This is really a great idea! It would especially benefit folks like us who are finding it hard to get places to play at penang. Hope folks start replying on your thread!