I need to find a place to play badminton in Toronto! The club i'm at has too few hours, and I end up only playing 6 games even if I go to every session! It has to be accessible by TTC, preferably near downtown, cuz I'm car-less at the moment. If I don't find a place soon... i'll probably end up playing in the house and break my racquet Surely some of you TOers can help me out?
George Brown College is your best bet however beaware that the competition level is very high. If you drop by i'll be the one with the yellow volki bag. Don't hesitate to say hi . GBC badminton is on tuesdays 7-10, thursdays 7-10 and sundays 4-8. Guest fee is 7 dollars and 6 month membership is 100 dollars. Hope this helps. Cheers, Nick
Thanks for the offer nick Ohhh that's perfect. U of T BC is wednesdays, fridays, and sunday noon... so that's up to 5.5 sessions a week. So how high is the competition? Right now, i'd say that i'm at intermediate level, edging to advanced. Oh yea, doubles or singles? i've only played doubles so I'd get creamed in singles.
Just doubles and mixed however if your lucky the GBC badminton team will take you on one on one. The competition varies from intermediate-advanced to advanced and maybe expert. Hope this helps. Cheers, Nick
Hi Guys, send me a PM if you can. I have a very good friend who lives in toronto and is also looking for people and places to play our fave sport. He is now in Manila but will be flying back in a couple of weeks. Thanks!
Sounds perfect Nick. I guess i'll practice for a week or two before dropping by, and look for a yellow volki bag. One thing... which building/room is it in?
I thought it used to be $5 drop in there.... And I think george brown plays feather only (supply your own) .... rite?
GBC has more than one campus eh... we gotta figure out WHICH campus first... I wonder where Nick went...
Nick is around. The GBC downtown campus on Queen St East. The gym is on the 6th floor. You have to take the stairs from the 5th floor. I played there two summers ago when I was working out in Hogtown. Kim Ng, the head coach of GBC, runs the sessions on Tues/Thurs/Sun. Yes, you have to supply your own birdies and basically each member of the foursome put up a birdie. You will play two consective games before sitting out. If you are playing singles, then you get to play only one game. Level of play is around intermediate to advanced although when I was there, there were beginners. Oh...another location is a church by Bloor/Yonge. The only problem is the courts are almost right up to the walls and they play with nylons. Don't have the contact info on hand. Will have to look it up.
Not sure I'd really want to buy a tube of feathers, as I havent found any of the major sporting stores selling them (i get to choose between YY mavis 300 and 350 only.) If you can find the info for the bloor & young place, that'd be awsome. I'm 10 min away from there! Never played inside a church before... will have to find out
You don't have to bring a particular brand of feather and no you can not purchase feathers at george brown college. Feather's can get expensive. You don't have to get something top notch. Just get something playable however it should be new. Just bring a tube of birds. You should not go through more than 4 birds per session. Hope this helps bigredlemon. Cheers, Nick
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Forgotten about it. Anyhow, the Yonge/Bloor club is called St. Paul's Church Badminton Club located at 227 Bloor St E. Contact person is Victor Tsai at 416-533-4675 and I believed that they play M, W, F & Sat. I think you are allowed to drop-in only twice (before signing up for the season). Other places in T.O. includes the Toronto Badminton Club which is located on 25 St. Clair Ave West and contact person is John Gilbert at 416-512-6855 (never been there so don't know when they play and what kind of shuttles they use).
I play @ st. paul's its alright but the walls are way too close and its a bit annoying... it's alright i guess. 3 courts... they play plastic.... if anyone wants anymore info send me a PM ...... and i'll answer your questions... 25 st. clair is the badminton and racquet club... stephane is the guy to contact I think....... and its a private club so a bit expensive.. (at least for me.) Annual membership is 1000 last time i checked. There are many other places to play...
$1000 a year is alot to pay for badminton, especially for the casual players. The people who do sign up there are probably all elites anyway, so an intermediate wouldn't have much fun there. I'm just guessing of course, i'm sure someone here goes to Badm N Raq club and could fill us in. btw, YGPM!