having started to play badminton seriously this year, i'm a little confused when people in this forum said about their clubs. what is actually a club? i also heard that having a club, meaning that you get to play with your club members at a daily fixed time, is it true? if a badminton club is a must for a badminton enthusiasts, how can i start joining a club? p/s: i am living in batu pahat , johor , malaysia, is there any people who had a club here?
in Europe people join clubs to play badminton and there is always a long waiting list to join. Unlike Asia European clubs compete in leagues like football, and talented younsters from clubs are picked to play for country. In Malaysia esp in urban areas like Penang,Ipoh, KL or JB there are some badminton clubs , there are no leagues, what these clubs do are just getting people together for badminton practice, sometimes they organise friendlies. Probably people in Msia have too long working hours to play in leagues, they play badminto as a workout.Don't know anything about BP, didn't know that badminton existed there, several clubs in Malacca and JB.
In my clubs (4), mainly is just a group of badminton fans join together to rent gym and practice on a regular time basis. We do have annual internal tournament, and sometimes, outsider are welcome to participate, while club members hold the priority for signing up. If there's a local tournament being held, club members can form "car pool" and participate as a group, on a volunteer basis.
It depends on the type of club you join. The clubs i'm with are more casual, where people come to play have fun. At more serious clubs, they compete with our clubs in a league of sorts. Drop by a club and see how they play, then you'll know what type of club it is.
so, i would like to join a casual club (for workout and play on regular basis) but can we join a club without knowing the people in the club? how many participants does an average club have? what do you mean by: "Drop by a club and see how they play, then you'll know what type of club it is." if then , how can i start? by going to a local badminton court and ask them? must i pay anything to the club (fees, court rent)??
Hi Angelus There are official and unofficial clubs. The official ones are registered with the government authorities and have their own club constitution and set of rules governing their activites. Most clubs are unofficial like the ones described here where badminton players and friends just band together, rent a gym or badminton courts, pay their dues and enjoy the game and the company. In Singapore, the official clubs, which can take different names like ... Badminton Party, ... Association, ... Club, etc, can become affiliated to the Singapore Badminton Association (SBA), the (government) badminton controlling body and enjoy many benefits like participating in training courses (umpiring, coaching, etc), tournaments and badminton-related activities. They can also vote at annual general meetings to select the officials, approve various activities and discuss financial matters, although such affiliated members do not have any financial liability other than paying a small annual membership fee. The government is responsible for the finances. For example, I am a member of a social club which provides many sporting activities (e.g. swimming, bowling, tennis, squash, table-tennis, cue games, etc) including badminton. We have a hall solely used for badminton with 3 courts. Free use of the courts is available 2 times a week for 3 hours each time during club evenings. On other days, the courts can be rented at a reasonable fee. Members provide their own shuttles on club evenings. But we pay a monthly subscription fee as a club member and this entitles us to use most of the facilities free of charge, including the gym, which, unlike in the West, we refer here as a fitness centre for aerobic and weights training only, as the ceiling is not not high enough for badminton. Our club is affiliated to the SBA. We organize friendly matches to interact with the other affiliated members and sometimes with other non-SBA affiliated badminton clubs or parties. I'm sure you'll be able to find some badminton groups in Batu Pahat as the game is so popular all over Malaysia.
I think Loh described it very nicely, so there is no need for me to repeat what he said. Interesting enough, it's set up almost exactly the same here in Canada. And your questions: 1. Drop by the club and watch them play to see if it's a suitable club for you (i.e. is everyone much much better or worse than your at badminton? Or within your range? Do they it very seriously (gets angry if lose) or verycasually (no one keeps score). Go to a a couple of clubs and see if it suits you. 2. drop by any place people play badminton, and ask around. they surely must know where the clubs are. Even if they don't, i'm sure they know someone who knows. 3. you'll probably have to pay guest fees until you become a member.
In Singapore, you'll have to be a member of an official badminton club if you want to go for SBA trials. Being in the school team does not qualify you for SBA trials.... unless you've been winning tournaments to make the SBA officials sit up and take notice!
ok , but how can i know if it is a club or not? isn't it embarrased to ask the person for club but instead he is in no club?
As bidredlemon has suggested, go to a place where you or your friends know there are people who play badminton. Approach any player who is resting and ask him/her whatever questions you have in mind. You may wish to speak to someone of the same *** but do so in a friendly manner - smile if possible. I think most of such players play the game informally, i.e. they don't belong to a club or a badminton party. But please do ask to confirm. As I have mentioned before, I think Yang Yang has a badminton school in Batu Pahat. Is Bukit Binang in or near to Batu Pahat? I remembered going there with my club members to play badminton against the badminton team of the Golf Club. They were too good for us and we understood that some of their players were trained in the Yang Yang schools. Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask. Tell them you are also interested in playing badminton and needed help to get started. You will be surprised how happy they are to help you especially when they know you have something in common with them! You'll make more friends, enjoy a useful past-time and at the same time keep yourself in good shape.