I was there to cheer . It was great! Towards the end, the matches were quite evenly balanced which resulted in some exciting badminton. I heard one of the semi or quarter final matches went 1hour and 15min of smashing and defending. I think the matches were so challenging that most of the competitors left right after the tournament due to exhaustion. Only some didn't quite get enough sweating in so they stuck around to play some extra games during the free time at the end. From a spectators perspective, it was quite an entertaining tournament to watch. Constant action and smooth transistions between matches. Congrats to BMS and all the competitors!
Break-My-Strings, what a tourney! It was so much better than last year. Had tons of fun and I must congrat you on a tournament well run. Didn't expect any prizes, so was surprised with the AS-50. Here is to next year. Cheers! Hah! you were not there to see the 1st round. Very ugly. Yeah....maybe we can get a game one of these Sundays. Good job on winning the B flight. cappy75...am interested to hear what battle of attrition! It must be quite a tale.
Well as cappy75 said, we had a shaky start as we went down in 2 sets in the first two matches. Then we had a lucky break for our third with a weak opponent that we disposed of quickly. Then in our D flight final, we started strong and took the first game very fast. We were able to catch the other side on a couple of loose midcourt shots, and with some strong drives right off the serve. Then in the second game our opponents adapted and started keeping shots very flat to neutralize our clear smashing power advantage. We started strong with a 3-0 lead right off the bat. Then they changed their tatics, and suddenly there were no more flick serves like in the first game, and they started to channel their attack to pin cappy in his backhand corner. We lost the second set 15-12 I think. Before the third set we got some coaching from timeless (.... just like in the videos, the coach huddled with his two players ), and he said that we were pushing a lot of shots to the back court where our opponents were standing, even though the forecourt was relatively empty. A light tap and a drop would have done the job, or forced a bad lift to mid court. But this time around, our opponents were able to run us around with some very accurate shots back and forth along the alley. We just weren't able to convert the neutral and defensive plays into an attacking position for us. At least not more than our opponents had. :crying: It was a good learning experience. There were a lot of shots that my regular weekly opponents weren't able to get, but were getting killed yesterday. It went to show me that I needed more accurate shots and a tighter trajectory to the net. Cappy75 and I had a blast, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.
Interesting tale indeed, but forgive me, I don't see how "attrition" factors in, here! -dave (I love drama)
Well Woodchuck, while you were playing in your own final, Cappy and 604badder were playing their hearts out in a three game battle. Among other factors, I think any close three game match is also a battle of attrition. As fatigue sets in, and the scores remain close, intensity and pressure increases, and it makes it harder to maintain focus. You could tell on their faces that they were both concentrating hard on trying to find the proper groove that would lead to victory. A great effort from a first time pairing. Personally, at the break before the third game, I would have headed directly to the food table to refuel, and put myself into a happy place hahaha~ j/k . WoodChuck, since you love drama so much, perhaps you'll provide us with a dramatic summary of your final against the formidable pair of BMS, and his partner! Tell us how you were able to defeat the tournament host himself!
It was a dark and stormy night (Winter in Vancouver, it get's dark at 4:30!) ... B-M-S takes a last puff on his nicotine free, organic, grown-in-Canada cigarette, throws it down and grinds it out. Loo-Woh, the Collingwood janitor yelps in panic to find a dustpan. B-M-S turns around and walks purposefully toward the dark plastic curtains over the entrance to the Collingwood gym. His face is grim, his determination resolute. Wood_22_chuck has refused to purchase his son's last remaining raffle ticket, a PROFOUND insult, to the Collingwood community. In order to divert eons of blood feud, it must end today. One match to the end, best-of-3. Badminton. (Thunder cracks overhead). It is ... the only way. (BOOM!) Lemme call my publisher! This is GOLD! -dave
Did you guys realize that all the fiights of A, B, C, & D were won by Collingwood regular players Yeah..goooooo Collingwood. We can continue our battle(s) at next Sunday session. BMS and partner will demand a replay for "C"
Things fell into place in the finals for wwcbro and myself ... plus they made the mistake of moving us into our comfort zone on the court, wwcbro at midcourt/frontcourt, and me midcourt/rearcourt. SEEE?!! Things are more interesting if I embellish -dave
Heh! Dude, you're in the wrong line of work. You should be a creative writer instead! This is so funny!
Comparing to the rest of our matches, the "D" final match tested our mettle. Throughout our games, we're either blown away in two games or demolish in 2, no rubber set to settle down. The way we approached the rubber set spoke volume about our inexperience and lack of adaptability to our opponents' plan. We just weren't calmed down enough to make the right shots. Personally, I have never been in such a potboiler situation with only two "fun" tournies under my belt. When pressure time comes, only the experienced prevail. Major credits must go to our opponents who weathered withering smashes and blunt attacks from our side to take the match. I was very surprised that 604Badder could hit really hard when he connects. Maybe I should wear a helmet the next time I play up front!
aHAahaha...bighook's your coach? no wonder you play so much like him....its true both of you got very powerful shots
Heheh... but sometimes it goes over the top because I'm too focused. It's a funny story. The night before the tourney, Cappy, timeless and I were practicing at VRC. Timeless's partner lifted a dangerously low midcourt shot, and at the time, I didn't see that it was a double touch on their side. All three of them were "disarming", but I proceeded to jump smash/kill the shot into timeless's leg with as much force as I could muster. Naturally I was confused when everyone was laughing after the shuttle was pounded into timeless's leg and then smacked the ground.
I was wondering about that too. It's so obvious to me at the back that both players contacted the shuttle in that exchange. However, you still went ahead and smash the shuttle down. Sometimes overkill is not a good thing.
*LOL* OMG that was such a FUNNY incident!! Here's the frame-by-frame: - my partner makes a very weak mid court lift - Cappy makes a strong smash to my partner who probably looks like a deer caught in someone's headlights - my partner swings for his life and actually manages to clank a piece of it off his frame - I had moved to cover behind him, so I gently lob the shuttle back over the net to 604Badder who's taken his offensive position at the front - both my partner and I yell "double hit!" - then it goes all slow motion like in the matrix movies... it dawns on us that 604badder is TOTALLY IN THE ZONE... - 604badder's eyes are HUGE, RED, and his eyebrows totally in a "V" ... like -> !!! And he's starts to let out his primal scream as he winds up for the biggest net kill of badminton history!!! - now my partner and I look like this -> and we're both screaming "STOP!! STOP!!! STAAAAAWWWWWWWWWP!!!!" - but to no avail... 604badder is so far gone into THE ZONE that there was no coming back... - he let's rip that huge swing (and unfortunately times it correctly too ) and blasts the hardest net kill into my shin ~!!! - 604badder is spewing bile from his mouth like a rabid pitbull as he storms around the court doing his victory dance! - ... it took 5 minutes for 604badder to come back to earth... 10 minutes for us to stop laughing... 15 minutes for us to explain to him that the play was already over before his most awesome net kill, and 3 days (and counting) for my shin to stop hurting!! Fiction? Hehehe I can show you the bruise on my shin to this day to prove it. The day 604badder connects like that with ALL his hits will be the day I play badminton with hockey equipment on .
