Yes .. I've been searching the forum and browsing through threads. I believe a while back, there were people who were interested or calling for someone to organize a badminton club in Richmond for younger players. Well... I'm an entrepreneur.. I love managing.. and I LOVE THE SPORT. I've been playing for less than half a year.. but have improved lots since I began. All thanks to playing with experienced players at UBC. Anyways, if there is sufficient interest.. from badmintonforumers.. and also your friends.. I will definitely consider organizing it. I'm thinking of capping the age to U25 or something? I know there're already existing adult clubs.. like the RBC.. so no point trying to recreate something that already exists. My vision for the club is primarily to promote the sport among younger people, to provide some room for guests, but primarily for a group of young baddy players to improve their skills and grow as a club. Hey.. we could always do bubble tea or something after!! .. Now that's truly richmond style Hehhe... anyways.. yeah.. if there's interest.. I'll definitely get things started.. starting with a proper business plan! Haha Hope to hear from you guys soon! Calvin
Okay I've been speaking with my usual badminton buddies.. anyways.. there were a number of concerns or points that would have to be addressed to make play as enjoyable as possible. 1) At least 2 nights of play a week.. for at least 2-3 hours. 2) Not too many members. More means less court time, but a regular attendance enough to be able to change up partners and make it more exciting. 3) Singles restricted to when courts empty. This is a no brainer. We're definitely talking mostly doubles. 4) All members pitch in for birdies. Perhaps at a calculated set cost for the year.. so that the club can purchase and provide birdies for play. I'm thinking nylons. 5) Ability to bring guests.. but limited. Yes.. members take priority. 6) AFFORDABLE membership for young people. - Absolutely! Any money taken in should only just cover all operating costs. 7) Invitation to Highschool and university students. - Yep of course.. Like me! hehe 8) Proper court rotation - yep.. play should be limited so players get on and off fairly. Not had to deal with. 9) Set location to play - Yep.. been thinking about it. If the club has a good membership base then we can definitely arrange something. Cost is always a concern.. and suggestions definitely welcome. 10) Don't restrict i tto just RIchmond. Absolutely! I think it'd be possible to include anyone from the Greater Vancouver area to be able to come out to wherever we're playing. 11) League and tournament play? - I think this should come later in priority. Getting a good NUCLEUS of ppl is most important. 12) Clinics - Definitely a good idea.. with a group of people.. I'm sure we can arrange to have coaches come in to help us in a group.. or in smaller groups. - This will cost extra though.. but I'm sure still affordable. 13) Focus on the Social Aspect - Yep.. I agree with my friends who gave input. Badminton is not just about winning *duh* .. It's fun! They liked going out for a drink after. That's fine ^^ 14) Make it a non-profit organization that ppl can help out with.. and LOOK GOOD IN THEIR RESUME. - Okay this was my idea. Lol.. but it makes sense.. starting a club from scratch isn't easy.. and those who help out even a little can have bragging rights. Provided the club is successful of course Non-profit organization status also means we can set up tables at malls for FREE.. to show EVERYONE in the community that we're around. Now that would be awesome. 15) Any other comments or suggestions? Post here pls Sorry for long post.. even if you're not from around Vancouver.. or are too old to feel involved.. please give me some pointers. I'm still young and could definitely use advice. Especially if you're running a club.. or help one.. or coach. You have experiences that I lack! Thanks so much, Calvin
Gryp, sounds like a great plan and also well thought out. i am afraid that i am neither from the vancouver area and nor am i under 25. however, there are quite a lot of BF'er who are either or both. there are also coaches in your area who has training session designed for kid hanging out in the forum. i hope they will give you some pointers on how to organize your club. good luck!
I believe there is a youth badminton club in richmond already and i beleive it is also run by RBC, altho i might be wrong i also heard there is a club that is run by a church, but u hav to be a member of the church to join
Ohh i see.. okay.. but that still doesn't change anything for me. It seems those clubs are obviously a bit more exclusive.. or ELUSIVE.. hehe.. I do have at least 15 ppl interested already.. so I don't think there would be any harm starting a new club so there's even more exposure for the sport I'm currently speaking with the Richmond School District to arrange the possibility of using high school gyms during after hours. I have asked before.. like last yr, for another function.. and that was a possibility.
RBC has no such youth badminton club. All we got is an evening (Mondays) of court space (3 courts at an elementary school gym) to provide training to interested juniors (currently fully booked with a long wait list). Our regular club play is at Anderson Elementary and it is for adults (18+) and three evenings a week (Tues, Thurs, Sun) with selected juniors from our development program to come out on Thurs (4 spots only) to play with our regular members. I think the idea of forming a junior club is a great idea and if we (the senior folks on BF living in the GVRD) can help in any way, just ask. BTW, we (players in Richmond) are looking at convincing the local/provincial council to get us a facility (similar to VRC) but that's a long ways off.
Okay so it looks like I'm not stepping into other ppl's territory.. Well.. I've begun contacting the richmond school district to see what gyms are available for rent.. and at what rates. What I would like to know Winex, is if you'd be able to find out from the RBC what other costs I should consider or factor into membership? It seems everyone who will decide whether or not to join is concerned about affordability.. of course I want it to be cheap too.. hehe.. but I don't want to run the risk of collecting too LITTLE money and then having to collect more just because I realized I screwed up! >.< Btw.. if there's seriously seriously enough support from Richmond residents about a new badminton facility... I HONESTLY HAVE HOOKUPS IN TERMS OF FINDING THE RIGHT PPL TO INVEST. You WILL HAVE TO get me some kind of petition as proof though Thanks. Perhaps I could start a different thread for that.. I just completely forgot what my line of business is.. or what my Uncle does as an entrepreneur/consultant
damn rit..... wif the 2010 winter games coming up, wut r the chances of them supporting a sport like badminton since is extremely unpopular in north america. hey but i would like to see a junior club~~
Calvin, maybe you and I should get together to discuss this (badminton facility) further. With the youth club, if you put together a good proposal, you can approach Richmond City Council for a reduced rate gym (i.e. probably an elementary school gym). The only problem is that you have to be out by 10 pm (otherwise you will be paying extra $$ for the school janitor to stick around to clean up). As you guys will be paying with nylon shuttles, you can save some monies there. At the RBC, we play with feathers (Victor & Winex) but we have a rule of one new shuttle per game and there are "seconds" available ("seconds" are shuttles that have been used previously but are in good shape - i.e. no broken feathers, flies well, etc.) if you need extra shuttles to finish the game.
Hey Winex.. sounds great. Are only elementary schools a possibility? I'm a 2000 Grad from Cambie Secondary and I love their gyms. Perhaps we can try for that too.. I'm flying back to Vancouver tonite.. hehe.. been hanging out in Toronto for a month visiting my family. I can be reached on my cellphone at (604) 762-7553. Hope to hear from you soon! Calvin
