Thursday, June 23, 2011

Sign up for the WA State Games 2011!

 image taken from: http://www.washingtongames.org/site232.php

All right, you procrastinators. You know you've been thinking about it, and after watching those matches on Youtube, it's time to secure your spot for the WA State Games 2011!  Sponsored by SUBWAY, and badminton is one of the many sports that will be played during the State Games!

This year the Games will be held at Seattle Badminton Club, run by your wonderful Washington Organizers, Katherine Ip and James Lau.  The tournament fee is really cheap, too, at $20 for the first event and $5 for every other. Affordable way to test your skills against international players! Planned participants are going to be coming from as far as California and Canada!

REMEMBER: Sign up now-- a few players who had planned to play in the WA Open 2011 relied on e-mailing the organizers late to sign up, but due to the large turn out, the organizers had to turn them down! Don't let that happen this time-- sign up online on tournamentsoftware to ensure your spot on the draw!

You can count on unlimited birds, Gatorade, bananas/nutella...Washington's got you covered! Plus a Subway Games T-shirt that you can....wear while you wash your car or clean your house. :P

SUBWAY WASHINGTON State Games IV
Where?: Seattle Badminton Club
When?: July 15-17, 2011
How much?: $20 for the first event, $5 for every other
DEADLINE: JULY 1st, 2011
Link: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=3A82E26F-E9F4-4F03-B322-9F20D8DCEEC0
Why?:  For a cheap fee starting at $20, you get unlimited birds, unlimited Gatorade and snacks, a free T-shirt, games with players from all over that you usually don't get to play with, and a whole weekend of badminton fun in the sun! (+ it's an awesome socializing event!)  Why NOT?

 Last year's State Games were especially fun--there's a rapidly growing number of participants every year, and everyone manages to get some great games in. It's even more fun when you bring a big group of friends and just call it a mini-vacation!

Plan your trips early, book your hotels soon, and get ready for a fantastic weekend with the rest of the badminton community! We all look forward to seeing you there!

Monday, June 20, 2011

SUMMER BREAK!

Summer break is here! That means that the rackets are out, planes are flying and the possibility of attending international badminton tournaments is FINALLY HERE!

For the next few posts I'll put some information on different places in the world where you might be vacationing this summer, and I'll hopefully find some places where you can cure your badminton addiction abroad.

I actually spent my summer in Taiwan last year and ended my long vacation with a BANG with VIP seats at the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2010. So. So worth it.  At the time, the VIP tickets for all 3 days were only 500NT (around $15 USD).

Here was the ticket-- lines at the actual gymnasium weren't too long at the time, and I went on the first day--so don't worry too much. Seating was bothersome, though--the VIP section is fairly large, so you'll still want to get there early to get a good seat.

You'll also get a goodie bag -- filled with lovely pamphlets of advertisements. Haha. That, and a bottle of water and inflatable clappers!!!


Overview of the courts. The first days weren't too exciting-- they were for me, since I was never able to see my favorite players in person--but the games weren't too important.  

THIS year, the Taipei Open is September 6, 2011- September 11, 2011. It'll be held at the same place: HsinChuang Stadium--on the outskirts of Taipei. 


No.66, Hesing St
Taipei County 242,Taiwan
Sinjhuang City
Chinese Taipei

There are MANY buses that can take you to the stadium, but you'll have to keep a close look out to make sure you're getting off at the right stop. Don't try to take the MRT/Subway-- it doesn't go this far. I actually got lost last year and had to duck into a 7-Eleven to call a taxi... and when I told him where I was going, he laughed and asked "How did you get so far away?!"......

TIPS FOR THOSE OF YOU GOING:
 - Get there early on the last two days to get good seats.
-  If you don't have a 'journalist' vip card, you don't have access to say hi to the players unless you wait in line when they're signing. 
- ^ Because of the above tip, try going around to the local small stores around the stadium. Rumor has it that many people have 'run into' the celebrity badminton players who ran out to get a drink and explore Taiwan a little. 
(** Side story--my favorite mixed player is Vita Marissa...she won mixed last year, and was high on adrenaline and decided to sign autographs, even though she hadn't planned to. I got really excited and waited in line for an hour...and was LITERALLY TWO PEOPLE AWAY when she stopped signing. Story...of my life. Anyone want to send me a Vita Marissa-autographed souvenir?)
- IF YOU WANT TO BUY A RACKET...DON'T be afraid to ask. I bought a Yonex Arbsaber 8DX, and they offered free stringing with BG65. After bargaining for a bit, they gave me BG80 (if I remember correctly) and they promised to finish it at a faster time. :) It's also strung by the Yonex 'International Stringing Team' member, who strings the professional players rackets. Great stuff!
- BRING A CAMERA WITH GOOD ZOOM! This should be pretty obvious...but also make sure you have a good amount of space if you want to get candid photos. I couldn't recognize a lot of the players when they were walking around the bleachers, so I just zoomed in and clicked away...
Lilyana Natsir when I didn't know that she was Lilyana Natsir....

ALSO-- EXPLORE the corners of the stadium!  I went to walk around the stadium and after walking for about 5 minutes in empty space, I found this: 

Testing Yonex rackets! The workers here were really bored --it's all about location, I'm not sure why they put this in such a hard-to-find corner! But you can test out the rackets on a mat and just have fun to cure your twitching fingers after watching the games.

If you're interested in attending, you can get more information here: http://bwf.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=26503535-E5EE-4868-9565-813F9F1EE73D

**** OH YES~ and Taiwan is very hot in the summer. As soon as you exit the main entrance of the stadium, go down the stairs--there's a bubble tea shop right across the street. I don't remember the name, but I remember that it had one of the greatest hole-in-the-wall milk tea that I've ever had. :)




All right. So after all that Taipei Open stuff, you'll probably want to test out the skills that you've observed on the court.



There's drop-in badminton at HuaJiang High School. It's about a 10 minute walk from the main subway station. My friend and I got lost on the first day...so make sure you ask for directions-- there are a lot of other schools nearby that might throw you off.



There are 6 courts on a wooden floor. At 250NT (~$9USD) it's a little pricey, but you play for 4 hours (which is more than enough in Taiwan temperature). The people there are ridiculously friendly, and range from beginner to a young school coach who used to be internationally ranked #2 in Juniors...something along those lines. Don't be too afraid about meeting people-- they'll pair you with people they think you'll have fun with, and mix it up. I made some pretty good friends during my stay there!

They have a water cooler in the back, but make sure you BRING YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLE.


I'm not really an obsessive hydrater, but because of the weather I went through about 3 of these bottles...

By the time you get done, you'll feel as if you jumped into a pool of water, so try not to convince yourself that you'll 'just take a shower and change when you get home'. Bring an extra set of clothing. Or maybe 4.

Public transportation in Taiwan is fairly easy, but bring a map. Or a translator, if you can't speak Chinese. :)


Have fun!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Rumor has it...

If the badminton community is so anxious about making the sport more 'aesthetically appealing', why don't they just fund Chanel Rackets for all of the girls? I'm sure everyone will be more than happy to comply to the new rule....

Frankly, I still think the skirt-only rule is absurd...and there's no way everyone is going to comply. Telling people what they should playing in is a little messed up...On a brighter note, there's still some sort of common sense left in the world... they've decided to postpone it until further notice...to take time to 'study' the effects of implementing such a rule (Article: http://www.badzine.net/news/bwf-skirt-rule-shelved-pending-further-study/14682/)

....This needs studying? Any ideas on how to create a 'better presentation' of the game?

(And if they're going to tell girls what to wear...shouldn't the guys have some rules too? No shirts! Wait.....I'm sure I'll regret that....)
___________________________________________________________________

So rumor has it that Nicholas Jinadasa (from the WA Open 'Results' entry below...) is the new head coach for the juniors at Bellevue Badminton Club! Currently #4 in the US-- looks like they hit jackpot!  Since Raju R. and Xu Huaiwen took off for careers in California and Germany respectively, BBC looked like it was struggling a bit...but have no fear! With Pan-Ams right around the corner, the timing couldn't be more perfect. Can't wait to watch the juniors work their way towards more and more medals. (and pester us to buy more lunches at local tournaments...hehe just kidding!)

If you're curious, his website is http://jinadasa.net/..... (side note: sick logo! Woah!)  Looks like he's working his way towards an Olympic medal in London 2012, so if you can, support him and his cause by donating on his website! These little steps will make USA Badminton a little more prominent in the international light....

_______________________________________________________________

Ah -- last but not least, June 5, 2011 marked the first annual Solibad Flashmob, that was held in 65 cities in 40 countries all over the world. Some were big, some were small (Vancouver had a courageous 3 people!), and many many people participated in an attempt to create the largest flashmob in the world! Vita Marisa was there, Pi Hongyan was there, Koon Kien Keat, Rexy Mainaky....

They created a youtube account dedicated to this year's flasmob, and you can see them here: (http://www.youtube.com/user/Flashmob2011?feature=mhee

Hopefully next years will be even bigger, and we'll have one up here in the NorthWest! Dance + Badminton....can't get much better than that.





Hope you all are getting ready for the WA State Games, coming up July 15-17!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

New post coming soon!

But, just for now, how many of you would be interested in video documentary interviews of some local players?

If you're more interested in videos than blog posts, give us a good idea as to who you'd like to see interviewed, and we'll get on that as soon as possible!

Thanks!