Looking for advanced players in Kelowna

[ecksdee]

Hello,

I recently moved to Vernon from Markham. Peak of my badminton was a low-mid level varsity player at University of Waterloo in the late 2000's era. Was inactive for a decade, and now I'm playing regularly again.

I'm finding the general level of play at the Kelowna badminton club too low for my enjoyment. The existing groups are also closed off / unwelcoming to newcomers, so it's hard for me to find players at a decent level.

Wondering if any advanced players want to join me for singles/doubles. Let me know, thx.

 

[inDesigner]

Hello,

I recently moved to Vernon from Markham. Peak of my badminton was a low-mid level varsity player at University of Waterloo in the late 2000's era. Was inactive for a decade, and now I'm playing regularly again.

I'm finding the general level of play at the Kelowna badminton club too low for my enjoyment. The existing groups are also closed off / unwelcoming to newcomers, so it's hard for me to find players at a decent level.

Wondering if any advanced players want to join me for singles/doubles. Let me know, thx.

Frustrating post to read but all too familiar in British Columbia. It must be tough moving from what was arguably a Canadian badminton mecca in Markham and now struggling for a worthwhile court. I wish our clubs would do more to engage new players and build up the skill base but with the scarcity of court time available groups do tend to close ranks. I play in Victoria twice a week and the bookings fill within 3 seconds of going live. It gives the impression of a large player base but in reality it's likely the same 30 folks scrambling for the 25 open spots each time. Hope you are able to connect up with folks at your level there. Is there no Vernon badminton FB page? That's how things pull together typically in Victoria.

 

[ecksdee]

Frustrating post to read but all too familiar in British Columbia. It must be tough moving from what was arguably a Canadian badminton mecca in Markham and now struggling for a worthwhile court. I wish our clubs would do more to engage new players and build up the skill base but with the scarcity of court time available groups do tend to close ranks. I play in Victoria twice a week and the bookings fill within 3 seconds of going live. It gives the impression of a large player base but in reality it's likely the same 30 folks scrambling for the 25 open spots each time. Hope you are able to connect up with folks at your level there. Is there no Kelowna badminton FB page? That's how things pull together typically in Victoria.

Appreciate your understanding. Frustrating is a good way to describe the situation. I did post on Facebook and found a group I can get some rallies in, but not at the level where the games are challenging. I'm going to go off on a little rant here.

The Kelowna Badminton Club is actually a decent facility that serves 24/7 badminton for an annual fee of $310. It's cheap because the lease is subsidized by local government and the board is ran by elected volunteers. The issue is that the board became an insider's club that acts as gatekeepers for what actually happens in the club. For example, we had a U17 highly ranked Taiwanese player that wanted to spin up his own training program, but was shot down by the current president. That makes no sense to me, and hurts the skillbase of badminton players in the area

The guy in charge can reserve booking ahead of other members, and the prime times are taken. He claims exclusive use for "high performance" members, which happens to be his friends circle, but most of the guys are barely recreational/competitive by Ontario standards. I don't care if it's privately owned, do whatever you want, but if it's a public facility, you can't claim King's Court and not accept any outside challengers. If you're going to do it, be accurate and call it "ego-jerks hogging courts," don't call it high performance badminton because it's a mockery to the sport.

It's not a good look for the sport of badminton.

 

[benjarvus]

Hey I totally get your frustration, I'm a member at KBC past few years, I mainly just play in the MWF all-levels group (booked through WeChat) as the two other scheduled groups are really just this weird "friends group" that block out a pretty premium time (and very frequently!). We do have some good to very good players come to our group due to those who don't want to play in the "Competitive/High Performance" group. I'd consider myself a high-intermediate player (but I'm getting older every day haha, so time is not on my side).

Another option is signing up for Tuesday ladder? I did it a couple times, it's a little annoying because you don't get many games in.

Feel free to shoot me a message, hopefully you can find something to keep the badminton passion alive after your move out here!

 

[ecksdee]

Hey I totally get your frustration, I'm a member at KBC past few years, I mainly just play in the MWF all-levels group (booked through WeChat) as the two other scheduled groups are really just this weird "friends group" that block out a pretty premium time (and very frequently!). We do have some good to very good players come to our group due to those who don't want to play in the "Competitive/High Performance" group. I'd consider myself a high-intermediate player (but I'm getting older every day haha, so time is not on my side).

Another option is signing up for Tuesday ladder? I did it a couple times, it's a little annoying because you don't get many games in.

Feel free to shoot me a message, hopefully you can find something to keep the badminton passion alive after your move out here!

Appreciate your thoughts - I do like that the other groups are more welcoming. That's the badminton culture I'm used to - players during drop-in, unless they're training seriously or prepping for tournaments tend to embrace whoever wants to play (within reasonable +/- level). I miss those days at Mandarin/Lee's where players at the level of Jason Ho-Shue or Michelle Li would entertain lower level players with games/rallies, or would incorporate you in their training.

I'm in a situation where I'd prefer to play 1x/week because of travel time from North Okanagan. I finished at the top of last season's ladder, and now play with a smaller group. Doesn't draw out the best in me, and I'm still working through my rustiness, but my primary option is elevating the level of players around me. I spoke my thoughts to the current president - only got empty political responses. I'm a black sheep in his eyes . I'd prefer to just play badminton and not engage in politics.

I had a Sri Lankan ex-national player DM me through my Facebook post last week with similar concerns about the organization. His concerns were that the skill level wasn't high enough to be worth the trip, and the unearned ego of some players just pisses him off.

It's sad for the sport that a bunch of politicians want to be gatekeepers, but it is what it is. Maybe I'll transition to pickleball

 

[benjarvus]

Yeah not sure what else to say, there seems to be lots of open times on weekends, I’m sure you could book a time and put another post up on the Facebook group and see what comes of it? If you get even a small regular group going at a certain time on weekends that might be best you can do to start?

 

[ecksdee]

Just journaling for whoever encounters this issue in the future. Be patient, there will be individuals who eventually recognize your skill and reach out or accept challenges. Built some mutual respect and friendship with some solid individuals here.

Let the blind be blind - the club is big enough to find a corner you can enjoy.