SW/Central London

Hi D-ark

you still doing this? if so I would be willing to help. I am also gona be working close to Tower Hill soon.
 
aaronuk said:
Hi D-ark

you still doing this? if so I would be willing to help. I am also gona be working close to Tower Hill soon.
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Sorry guys and gals. I've decided to fork out the money and join Wimbledon Racquet & Fitness.
 
I'm well up for this... Does anyone want to play a game or let me come along to a club you know about. I've got a car so can share lifts and stuff. I used to play at County level - oooh, ten years ago so I'm a bit rusty now.

I live on the Battersea side of Clapham Junction, there's a leisure centre on Latchmere road with courts. I've just spent hours trying to find clubs and can't find any in Clapham area. There's Wimbledon, some further out in Epsom, Dulwich and some in the Middlesex leagues up by Acton, Hammersmith, etc.

If someone can give me a hand with choosing a few clubs to try out that'll be great!

Nice one... Cheers, Nick.
 
Warwick Park Badminton Club

Went to Warwick Park badminton club for the first time last night.

There are good and bad points about the club.

+ 1) Have lots of courts free, never have to wait, 5 or if necessary 6 courts free, don't know on average how many people attend but last night there was 16 to 20 people.

2) The club organiser is very nice and does look after new visitors, eg help set me up games with people my standard who I don't know, very friendly.

- 1) I play at a top county standard, not everyone there was strong, the worst thing I found was that the stronger players always stuck with each other, very cliquey, gave me an impression that they didn't welcome people new to the club albeit I was of a similar standard to them, namely the Chinese players even though I'm Chinese myself.

I heard that there were two excellent Nigerian players at the club although they weren't there last night.

There were a few other non Chinese players that were of a good standard to be fair.

But apart from a few players the club is quite good. However, if you're looking to play a high standard, although they do have good players I personally wouldn't recommend it since a lot of the stronger players are very cliquey, not just towards me but to others too since the same particular group stick together in another club I go to.

Just to update people, WP club plays on Sundays 6:30 to 9:30 only and the visitors' fee is £7.50 now, they play with feathers.

I don't think I'll go to WP club again, been very put off. Can anyone recommend any other club of a good standard near Covent Garden/Central (where I live)?

Thanks

Wai
 
i play at a club near euston which is generally quite friendly, but i doubt we're anywhere near county standard. maybe county 3, perhaps ... but most of the people there are just there for some fun. let me know if you're interested and i'll pm you some details.
 
I am new to London and is looking for a place to play, can you provide me with more details. Thanks.
 
I lived in Canada water. Somewhere closed to the tube station and not too far from my place. I currently played at Bacon's college.
 
waiwai8 said:
Went to Warwick Park badminton club for the first time last night.

There are good and bad points about the club.

+ 1) Have lots of courts free, never have to wait, 5 or if necessary 6 courts free, don't know on average how many people attend but last night there was 16 to 20 people.

2) The club organiser is very nice and does look after new visitors, eg help set me up games with people my standard who I don't know, very friendly.

- 1) I play at a top county standard, not everyone there was strong, the worst thing I found was that the stronger players always stuck with each other, very cliquey, gave me an impression that they didn't welcome people new to the club albeit I was of a similar standard to them, namely the Chinese players even though I'm Chinese myself.

I heard that there were two excellent Nigerian players at the club although they weren't there last night.

There were a few other non Chinese players that were of a good standard to be fair.

But apart from a few players the club is quite good. However, if you're looking to play a high standard, although they do have good players I personally wouldn't recommend it since a lot of the stronger players are very cliquey, not just towards me but to others too since the same particular group stick together in another club I go to.

Just to update people, WP club plays on Sundays 6:30 to 9:30 only and the visitors' fee is £7.50 now, they play with feathers.

I don't think I'll go to WP club again, been very put off. Can anyone recommend any other club of a good standard near Covent Garden/Central (where I live)?

Thanks

Wai
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I really don't blame you.. your first and last time there.. and you've got it all right. I too go to Warwick Park.. I only go because its convenient for me as I only live about 5 minutes drive away. I too don't really recommend it.. but I have to go.. as I was a muppet and paid for the whole season. Anyways.. I tend to also play on Sunday morning in Britannia.. everyones of the same level there (Average per say) but I love going because most of the people are cheerful.. As everyone knows playing with people who you feel is a wee bit arrogant is not a nice feeling.. especially when your from abroad and are looking to make new friends. Britannia all the way! :D
 
Warwick Park

Hi all,

I go to Warwick Park too and i have to say that i felt most welcomed at the club...the organiser is very nice and really makes everyone feel welcomed. There are many courts there and sometimes not enough players to fill it so i guess sometimes after you're done with one game you just stay on with the ppl you're playing with and have a return game hence the perception of "cliqueyness" from other ppl??:confused:

I met some other players who are quite advanced that play at another club ( bacons i think) who are real friendly and helpful. I did make the effort to talk to everyone and i guess once you try and socialize and get to know ppl everyone is most welcoming. Just my point of view...
 
Moved to London (Clapham Junction) from the USA. I used to play quite a bit when I lived in Scotland but 13 years in the USA caused me to focus on other racquet sports (Racquetball and Tennis). I would dearly love to get back into badminton but feel that I will likely be an advanced beginner level while I get my game back and remember how to play.

Can someone recommend a club for my level with the zone1/zone2 London area?
 
Badminton near to Clapham... Wimbledon

mcsherrya,

It's taken me ages to get back into Badminton but I've recently started going down to Wimbledon Racquet club. I was put off by the costs of it but having been a member of fitness first for nearly 2 years at £40/month (and hardly using it) I've decided it's cheaper to join Wimbledon Racquet club.

First port of call, is go to the open session on Sundays from 5pm - 7pm. It's a £10 a pop for non-members and you get about 5-6 games at mixed levels so pretty good. Speak to Jason, club manager or someone behind the desk when you get there.

I live near Clapham Common tube, bike to Clapham Junction, train to Wimbledon and bike 2 mins the other end... or bike all the way = 30 mins?


If anyone is thinking of sparking up a Badminton club in Clapham let me know cause I'll get involved...


Other than that - If you're up for a few games one evening give me a shout: 0774 035 5424.


peace!
 
Howdy. In the same scenario and just came across this page after a speedy google. I'm moving to Clapham North - and if anyone knows a nice casual club to get back on form at, that'd be great!

Thanks :)
 
nmiddleweek said:
I live on the Battersea side of Clapham Junction, there's a leisure centre on Latchmere road with courts.
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Lo and behold, if you haven't discovered, there's a club that runs at the latchmere road place on Sundays - 12.30 til 2.30, though often the times are pushed more like 12 - 3pm. Fair old trek to the sports hall if you go in the main entrance, was hard for me to find it first time. They have swimming pools and other stuff too. £7 per time last I went there (unsure about membership or if casual is only option/if have yearly rates), intermediates upwards (beginners not very welcome), play with feathers, 5 courts I think (at least 4, maybe only 5 sometimes depending how much else is booked privately or maybe Im just assuming too much from what I guessed from my couple of times there).

I was a bit out of practice, am intermediate-ish usually, when I went and they gave me a fair few games but one of the organisers suggested I have some more training before coming along more. So I think many club-level players, probably a few county-ish (just a guess..). But they did suggest where to get some coaching!

Btw, I haven't been in a loooong time but hope and expect its still going strong. Not as easy to get to on public transport as many other clubs Ive been to.

Currently go to several meetup.com badminton clubs around South-West or central london, fave social-wise being elephant and castle one at south bank uni "london social badminton meetup" on every sat. at present, usu. 3-5 but can vary. That group only play with plastic though, a completely mixed group from beginners to higher level intermediates; much less cliquey than any other groups I've been to, you are expected to mix in a bit so sometimes you'll play with less experienced folk though its very casually organised and you can pick the games you want. Sometimes the better players are a bit cliquey but mostly very friendly and not so, the good players will give you a game if you're inexperienced and team up with someone ok.

They also do coached sessions very occasionally, mostly for absolute beginners to help with basic shot techniques.

Other meetup.com groups vary, some are similar, others use feathers. Check out gumtree sports section too, advertise for games or look for other regular ones. Theres one I went to a couple of times that only had one, maybe 2 courts at most, but played decently and with feathers and cost wasn't that bad - they had about 4-6 people per court.

Most/all the meetup.com groups expect you to play doubles the majority of the time; I don't mind..

Looking for guaranteed singles games from the above mentioned ones? Tough choice.. No Strings badminton (with various groups, and more to come in September apparently) I think is possible sometimes, or near the end when folk are tired/some have left from the meetup.com groups, there is a fair chance if there's enough courts at the time and not too many people.

Hope that's all useful! I checked out about 4 or 5 groups I found online when I moved up to London and fancied starting playing again, and only went once to most of them til I found meetup.com as they were too picky/not that friendly.

I think I know where the comment about 1 court with very low beams/ceiling (that they play a let for mostly) was from, played there once (a school's court, wandsworth-ish?). Also very very stuck in their clique, and the low ceilings were just too much pain. They also expected me to be very good without indicating any skill requirements when I spoke to them on the phone beforehand, and were miffed when I didn't match up to (uncommunicated) expectations.
 
PS: some of the meetup groups (partic. that Elephant and Castle one) fill up really quick after they're announced; you have to watch for the email and jump on to rsvp for it as there's only 24-ish folk allowed, 4 courts, (quite cheap at £5.5 for 2hrs) or you'll miss out.. Means signing up to the meetup.com site, but there's also tonnes of other social/other meetup groups on any topic under the sun if you're a very sociable/looking to make friends kinda guy/gal.
 
d-arke said:
Hi there,

I've just moved to London and I am looking to find a badminton club over here so that I can meet up and make some new friends. :) I'm 23, Scottish, though I grew up in Dublin and have been playing badminton for the past 5ish years.

I'm not sure what standard I would be at over here as the league is run differently. :confused: In Dublin I could play in Division 3 (out of six) so would look to find somewhere similar. I've checkout a couple of clubs over here and have found that,
  • they're too expensive (Wimbledon Racket and Fitness):mad:
  • or, use plastic shuttles:eek:
  • or, haven't sufficient membership:(
  • or, only have one court with low structural beams that restrict play.:mad:
I would like to find somewhere that has a least 3/4 courts and has a decent membership (with some youngish members that I could maybe go for a few drinks with etc) and enter teams into a competitive league/competitions of sort.

I live close to Clapham Junction and rely on public transport so somewhere within a resonable distance travel would be great.

Any comments greatly appreciated.

Thanks
D
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You could try going to Battersea Sports Centre on Wednesday between 6:30-8pm
shouldn't be far from you
during the time you play games and its really social
 
drew tze en said:
You could try going to Battersea Sports Centre on Wednesday between 6:30-8pm
shouldn't be far from you
during the time you play games and its really social
Click to expand...

Hey, trying to track down a club in Clapham area for preferably midweek practice. I am lower-intermediate I would say, having just started playing again. Any advice would be great, what club plays at Battersea Sports centre on Wednesdays?
 
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