our club has a lot of ppl coming and go, now that its winter the dust problem is getting worse. A few times it was so bad that i brought in running shoes because court shoes just WON'T grip. other than wet towel and wiping with your hand after every single rally is there any other top tips anyone would like to share?
Ask the gym maintenance people to clean the floor as it is not safe enough to play. Playing on a dusty floor is just asking for an ankle sprain or worse to happen as badminton involves sudden changes in directions. Yes, you could use a wet towel by the sides to wipe your shoes after every rally but it messes up the court after a while. It is the responsibility of the gym to provide a safe environment to play so do not hesitate to ask for better service. It is your responsibility to take care of yourself and notify the gym about the situation so that it helps you and others.
I had a similar problem with the gym floors at my previous badminton club, but we just fixed it by cleaning the floors in the traditional Japanese way, which is actually quite fun ^_^.
I don't normally have this problem as the courts I play on are those soft rubber ones. But when I was in China in December, the wooden gym floor was so bad, I would never get proper grip and left the gym only after about 20 minutes.
1. Ask the cleaning staff to mop the floor before playing or 2. Borrow a big mop from the facility and mop the floor yourself. and 3. Get some slightly wet towel / paper towel to wipe your shoes in between games.
i'd recommend either getting the maintanence staff to buff the floor a couple times again during every cleaning, or if it's just for you, i recommend buying your own swiffer sweeper, and put it in your racket bag, and just bring it to you wherever you play. they attract dust rather well, and you can change the cloths when it gets dirty xD
Wipe/mop the floor with a semi wet mop,but it'll take more energy n time before the water completely dry.To save time,I'll just pour some water to the ground,n use my shoes to wipe it.Not too wet though.Somehow,i felt more grip that way.Good to apply if u're playing on the dusty rubber mat floor.
We're having the same thing at our club played in a college gym. It has become an issue b/c the maintenance staff no longer are responsible to clean the gym floors (isn't that crazy?) which has resulted in a very slippery floor since we share the gym with the college. We currently using the giant 5 foot wide dust mops to get rid of the dust. Occasionally we moisten this mop but it can take a while for the gym floor to drive creating a further hazard. -we thought about getting damp cloth towels to put on top of the mop for the ideal cleaning job but it would be too much hassle to wash the towel (since we play 3 times a week) -Swiffers are too small and would take forever to clean -I think the best thing to do would be to take a spray bottle filled with water and use it to lightly mist the floor or moisten the mop before sweeping the floor. That probably would be the most effective method.
in your club is it a badminton specific court/area? because if it is then that shouldnt be happening at all if it is you shoudl get them to clean the floors. Else if you are in a multi sport gym or a gym where anything can happen in there then yes the floors will not be the best and you will have to resort to cleaning your shoes after each rally or getting a mop/broom and cleaning the floor yourself if the gym staff wont.
ya thats the problem, its the university's main gym, our club books about 3 hours twice a week, we clean it every time before we setup the nets but i guess because of its open nature people often bring non-court shoes or even play with outdoor shoes. I guess wiping with hand is still the best solution right now. I was hoping someone would know something as easy as doing something to the bottom of the shoes and be worry free for the whole session
multisport gyms thats the hard part i know i have played in some before and i dont mind them i dont find them to bad either but yes in winter it can get worse if people wear outdoor shoes on them and all that usually for me whipping with my hand is good enough. I dont constantly think about it when im playing though like i make sure i dont slip but the condition of the flor isnt on my mind so that it will affect my game. From what i know theres nothing really you can do to the bottom of your shoe that will make it worry ree for the whole season with the dust.
do you sweat a lot? This technique might be helpful. Rub your sweat with hand and than the shoe's sole.
lol yeah that works but then you will get all the dust from you shoes onto your sweaty hand and then back onto your face and all that, could be pretty messy since it will stick to the sweat more. But yeah it works.
One of the places we play at always has a dusty floor. What we do is have a towel which is slightly wet and rub our feet on the towel before playing. helps with grip. Or between rallys licking your hand and rubbing it on the sole. I know not hygenic but it does make your shoe grip. (You will see NBL/NBA players do this to grip up there shoes)
