Badminton Vancouver

Supervise, Supervise Supervise. If you don't supervise them closely you get a lot of players abusing drop ins. One other thing you might want to do is emphasize that it is drop in. If you want to play with your foursome and there are four open slots? Cool. If not then you fill those slots. That means if there are 2 spaces open, two of you take those spots. If you want to just play with the same foursome all night, go book a court.

 

Do a quick look at the shoes while playing to make sure they aren't dark soles and appropriate for badminton. At ClearOne Leslie, I seen dark soles and people playing with non-sport shoes. Now the mats have black scuff marks everywhere. Make them play barefoot if need be.

 

Well barefoot is a little harsh. A few old shoes that could be rented could also work. Just ask for donations of old badminton shoes. Im sure that eventually there be a small collection and a rental system could work.

 

Yeah...I donated my old pair to ClearOne. I think ClearOne charges $2 for rental shoes.


An idea for drop-ins but requires alot of effort to maintain order. Each person gets a number. On a big screen...display 4 people's number and the court they play on. If a person doesn't go (loses his spot...goes to the end of the line)...the next number goes. Everybody gets to play. Bad part is you probably won't end up playing with your friends. But isn't that what drop-in is about? Playing with different people?

Like thunder.tw says...if you want to play with just your friends...book a court.

 

What about if 2 players drop in and want to stay together?

 

Well I highly doubt anyone would look forward to it, but if they can't wear their own dark soled shoes then it is a better alternative then going barefoot or in socks. It'll also be alot safer to. No need to worry about slipping and less risk for getting injured. Well maintained badminton shoes might be a better option but where will you get these well maintained shoes? Brand new badminton shoes can get quite pricey it will probably be easier to just ask for a donation.

 

Ever go bowling? You rent those bowling shoes (unless you got your own pair). They keep it clean by spraying them (air freshner?). And a quick wipe down. Same concept as long as the shoes are in decent shape (like my donated pair).

 

That would make sense. I think the spray is probably some kind of antibacterial thing though... Well the problem would only arise if the donated pair was really really beat up though right?

 

Drop in

Recommendation: Sign up board / Electronic board with names

I actually disagree with the previous suggestions. Personally, I go to drop in with friends so we can play together, but that doesn't mean I will play within my own group all the time. I like meeting and playing with fresh faces as well and that's the benefit of drop in.

However, I don't think you should FORBID a group of 4 from playing together.
1) people play with friends because they're familiar with each other, nothing wrong with that.
2) what if a group of 4 (Random people) want a rematch? Are you telling them they can't?
3) Competition! I feel this is the biggest issue because you can't just put 4 random people together. Players like to play within their skill level hence I don't agree with giving people numbers and assigning them to a court like a lottery.

I don't think the partner wristband works as well because that means they're bound to each other the whole time? There's too much 'restrictions', why not just stick with a classic but altered approach?

I suggest a sign up board because you can write your names down and any individual can join in by writing their names beside yours. Names identify the person, so later on you can choose the correct skill level by signing up with people who you've played. Players who want a rematch or play with each other can simply sign up together on a brand new line but having to wait longer.

This is just my suggestion..cheers

 

Typically that doesn't create problems it is very rare for 3 names to be waiting in a court assignment. In fact, it is usually a pair that is waiting for two more players when a group of 4 will come along and instead of 'filling the box' skip over the pair and take up the next court. This is unfair to the pair and at Richmond pro it was made worse by the fact that the 'supervisor' would then skip over the pair and put the foursome on the next available court. I don't mean to pick on Richmond pro either. Yumo could be horrible as you'd have a group that would sign up 4 courts at a time staggered so that they'd never stop playing. They'd do this by signing "Fred +3" then two courts down "Jim + 3" and so on.

One other thing Badminton Vancouver might want to consider is a beginner only/friendly drop in session as well. Too many times I watched beginners show up at a drop in only to get completely avoided or destroyed in 5 min and then you never see them again. Such a session would encourage those new to the sport to stick with it.

 

My feet were starting to slide a bit in my old Forza shoes. So I decided it was time to get a new pair of shoes. It was still in decent shape when I donated it.

But to start off with...you might just have to bite the bullet and offer up some brand-new shoes for rental.

Or offer a limited time discount ($10-$20?) of trading old shoes (in decent shape...decided by staff) towards the purchase of new shoes at the pro shop. You won't be making a huge margin off the sales of the shoes but you instantly get old shoes that you can rent out.

At ClearOne...the rental shoes have big felt marked numbers on the back of the shoes to indicate the size of the shoes.

 

This would require someone to determine if they are beginner or not. And someone to kick them out if they are not beginners. If it's beginners...then maybe some free coaching lessons on the basics?

 

I don't quite see it that way. By declaring it beginner friendly you are putting any player attending on notice that the session will be filled with beginners. It is typically the advanced players that don't want to play with the beginners not the reverse. As an advanced player how eager are you going to be to attend a session where you could end up most of the night playing with 3 grannies who have only very basic skills? When I say beginner don't really mean just people who are in their first months of playing but, also players who are more casual in their approach to the game. Really it wouldn't be about restricting entry rather than just emphasizing a less competitive tone of play.

One measure that could be used by the supervisor is that if they identify 2 or more 'advanced' players they could prevent them from being part of the same foursome.

Really, there isn't much need to over manage. If you attract enough so called beginners, serious players who are looking for competitive matches will quickly learn what 'beginner' means and won't make a habit of showing up during beginner time slots. Or, if not enough beginners show up some courts will be available for the advanced players to have their own game.