i think this is the appropriate place to express myself and look for some advice so here goes. i tried to book courts for Toa Payoh Central CC online and i checked the FAQ and understood that bookings for courts on 6th September 2009 will begin at 2200HRS on 22nd August 2009. so understanding the mad rush to get courts on weekend, i started checking the booking page from 2150HRS onwards (being kiasu of cos ). when the clock struck 2200HRS, the courts which earlier showed : "NOT AVAILABLE" which i understood as cannot book yet suddenly become "BOOKED". i was quite surprised. my frequent checks every few seconds was in vain? are people that much faster or is there a way to secure the courts even before online booking begins? please advise this newbie at booking courts
I also encounter numerous time as well when i did standby, when the clock reach 10pm, it just display "booked". Quite fed-up as well....
the above happenings could be due to the courts have been blocked/reserved by the community centre management for activities. Another scenario is of course, someone during your few seconds lapse, happens to book the courts.
The problem is between 21:59:45 - 22:00:00, i will tend to refresh and refresh during the 15sec period, and when it refresh exactly at 10pm, the court timing which i wanted to book already taken up especially court booking from 8pm - 10pm. Haiz....
u can call up the cc to confirm; eg, if the cc reserve the courts for their own use on wed bet 8-10pm, then u can forget abt hoping to get that slot for the next 1-2 months...
I actually do not wish to post here or make a comment. I m wondering, other than cc have badminton courts to book; there is a place call Sports Hall Thank you
the thing is that the online booking for community centres (10pm on the night before 2 weeks in advance) are open before the ones for sportshalls are (7am on the day itself 2 weeks in advance) . therefore it makes sense that i try for community centres first then turn to sportshalls. but thanks for stating the obvious alternative to courts at the community centres
See... badminton is the most popular sport here and it is not getting its recognition to show some games on TV. Where are the sponsors? Am sure viewers will support them if they can do the sponsoring. Niche market.
Dear smist89, Booking of cc's court to me is like trying our luck. Can't even get to see court availability and it is gone when we click at 10pm......... If easy, a regular fellow on this forum would not have given up to organise Fri regular group and pass the baton to me For your info, some cc's online booking actually start before 10pm. Even those who work at cc don't know booking starts earlier As for Sports Hall, we can still get to see the courts but depends on who manage to get it (depends on who click submit first). For cc, we can't see anything and court is booked
Not forgetting to mention Sports Hall's flooring is so much better that cc's And also, booking fees about the same but Sports Hall should be much easier to get than cc. Given a choice, i give up to book cc. Also in general, Sport Hall light are better than cc's in most cases Free cold water cooler to get water and can take a bath after game at Sports Hall
My friend did a try on booking at c.c last nite but in vain, same problems, once hit 10pm, 8th Sep, tues courts being booked....hahaha....and this morn, standby before 7am and hit it with a court for sportshall on 8th Sep, tues. Of cos u need to be fast if not, within 1 or 2 mins, the court will be booked as well. Good Luck.
Something about sportshall bookings ... I believe that if one is to access the sports council website to try booking for a court for 7 to 9pm weekday evenings, at 7am where the booking starts, you will also notice the courts are mostly taken up in your next refresh at probably 7:05! It essentially is not much that easier to book for a court at the sports halls
For CC, there are way too many functions over the weekend thus the slots have been "blocked" from public booking. As for weekdays, the slots are most likely reserved for CSC badminton session/training. I have yet to come across any discrepancies when it comes to CC courts booking. I hope they do not use any "under table" method by doing block booking for their friends and such.
We need more courts!!!! As someone above mentioned, badminton seems to be a very popular hobby in SG but this does not seem to translate to the number of badminton facilites being built. Sengkang SH (the lastest SH) is notoriously windy but even there courts are fully booked by the next day. Probably by those who couldn't get courts elsewhere. It the 'powers-to-be' do read this thread, let's hope they build many more multi-purpose SH to cater to this growing sport.
There are many outdoor badminton courts available in Singapore. The only problem is sometime it might be windy. Every time when I plan to play outdoor badminton from 8-10pm, I pray it rain in the afternoon. After the afternoon rain, the night will be cooling and calm(not windy) and much better than indoor sport hall. As for indoor sport hall booking, my advise is to go to the SH counter early(before 645am or be the first or second). The counter has a higher changes to get the court than pple trying to book online from home or office. Hope this help. No Pain No Gain.
