WSBA BCD+A Tournament 2011

 Posted so many times to Facebook...I can't accurately credit it. :(

It's not the fact that he's juggling birdies while they're being fed to him-- it's the awesome, triumphant look he has at the end.

BADMINTON RAINBOW~

\_____(* 0  *)_____/

How fast time flies! It's almost the one year anniversary of BadmintonSquare, and I'm happy to announce that it is, once again, time to sign up for Washington's BCD+A Open Tournament!

WSBA BCD+A Open Tournament
When?: November 11-13, 2011
Where?: Seattle Badminton Club
10858 117th Place NE, Kirkland, WA 98033
How much?: $25 for the first event, +$5 for every additional
Deadline: October 23, 2011 (MUST BE RECEIVED BY THAT DAY)
Link: Here!
Why?: Unlimited Yonex AS-50's, a free T-Shirt, great courts, and draw prizes! At such a good price, what's not to love?
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW: If you've played BCD+A before, and you've won BCD twice in the last two years, YOU CANNOT SIGN UP FOR THE BCD DIVISION. Come on, guys. Let other people have a chance at it. :) BCD and A divisions are separate in this particular tournament, and you can only sign up for one event--meaning if you signed up for Men's Doubles in A, you cannot sign up for Men's Doubles in B.

As quoted from the entry form: "For players in B, C and D skill levels. Within the last 3 years, you must not have reached “A” Semifinal (men) or “A” Final (women) in WSBA Closed, Semifinals in WSBA Open or have won a WSBA B-C-D tournament twice in last 2 years for the event in which you wish to participate, subject to tournament director’s discretion. A division is open to everyone. You are not allowed to sign up the same event for both BCD and A. Canadian players are welcome!"

 In addition, the badminton community in the NorthWest has been growing at an extremely rapid pace. Because of this, for you procrastinators, late entries might not get you in. There. I said it. The tournaments are filling up fast, and sometimes the courts can't accommodate to such a large draw, so if you don't turn in your entry on time, you might not be able to play.

And, for the record...

WSBA is famous for their amazing ability to execute such a large draw in an organized manner. Everyone always knows when they'll get there and when they'll be done, regardless of number of entries. Not exclusive to the BCD+A, it's nice to know that every tournament will always be the same schedule so I can organize ahead of time. Thanks, volunteers of WSBA. I don't know where our badminton community would be without you. :)


Start juggling those birds and we'll see you there! :)

Calendar!

Hey, badminton fans!

As a little gift, I added a snazzy new calendar to the left side of the page. It still needs to be modified a bit, but take a look!

For those of you who use Google Calendars, feel free to click the events and add them to your own calendar to keep up with tournament dates! Hopefully this will make it much easier for you busy players out there to keep up.

If you have any suggestions to add onto the calendar, feel free to leave a comment and I'll tend to them as soon as possible! (Will adding deadline dates to the calendar help?)

There will be tons of new updates on the blog soon, so keep checking back. Don't forget to subscribe with your e-mail to the right for more updates!


In the meantime, enjoy!

Husky Badminton Club: For students at the UW

Hey new/potential Huskies!

HUSKY BADMINTON CLUB WANTS YOU!

If you go to the University of Washington, the Husky Badminton Club can be found tabling in Red Square. 

I went to visit and help them out a bit today, and it's great to see how rapidly the badminton community is growing in the Northwest! They went through at least 7 pages of sign-up sheets! From beginners to competitive, it looks like this sport is well on it's way!

For you students that are interested:

Husky Badminton Club

Meets Mondays and Thursdays from 7:00-10:00PM and Saturdays 4:00-7:00pm

Located in the IMA in Gym B

If you're a UW student and you need a racket, no worries! The University of Washington will lend them out for free, as long as you have your UPass ID on you. :)  Go join, have fun and meet students of all majors and ages. 

BSquare Tip: As all older college students know, it's hard to make friends in such a big school! Clubs are the easiest ways to get to know people, and befriending people older than you will definitely make your college life a lot easier-- they provide great tips! 

If you don't go to the UW, don't fret! Ask around if there's a badminton club near you. If not, start one! Colleges are always open to students who want to create their own clubs, so get a group of friends and get it started! Before you know it, you'll have 7 pages of signatures LINING up to join you! 

Don't be afraid to e-mail or comment if you need tips and tricks on how to publicize your club! We'll be more than happy to help you out! :) 

MUSH!

It's getting colder, and the 2nd ANNUAL Husky Badminton Open 2011 is underway!

Congratulations to the Husky Badminton Club members for working so hard to put this together. It's incredibly hard to organize a tournament-- much harder than it looks-- and they did a FANTASTIC job last year! We're all looking forward to getting together at the Intramural Activities center and duking it out again!

Last year, the Husky Open had all the big players that we normally see all over Washington, and it was great! This year they're hoping to expand to Canada and Oregon, so make sure you spread the word and send them the link to BadmintonSquare! :)

 

Husky Badminton Open 2011

When?: October 22-23, 2011

Where?: IMA Center at the University of Washington

3924 Montlake Ave NE

Seattle, WA

How much?: $25 for the first event ($20 for early bird entry), + $10 for the second event, +$5 for the third.

DEADLINE: October 8, 2011 (EARLY BIRD: Sept 24, 2011-- get $5 off first event!) 

Link: http://students.washington.edu/bmtclub/wa.php

Why?: Get together with the younger generation of the badminton community! This event is held by the Husky Badminton Club of the University of Washington, and they're getting many new members this year! Not only that, but they supply birds (YONEX!) and refreshments, along with a collectable T-shirt and other additional prizes! For an entry fee that cheap, it's too good to be true!

Don't forget that it's only two days this year-- Saturday and Sunday, so you can rest up Friday night.

Additional note: Don't try to be too early. Early birdie doesn't get the worm this time around-- the IMA has strict opening times, and many people were left out in the cold last year waiting for the doors to open. And it rains.

ALSO don't forget that this is a university facility, not a professional badminton court. Warm up and get to know your surroundings before you get into the game.

[BadmintonSquare subscribers: Please don't forget to verify your subscription through the e-mail sent to your e-mail address! :) Updates soon to come, thanks!]

Portland Badminton Club - FUNDRAISER TOURNEY!

Ready to play for a good cause? Up for a road trip?

The Portland Badminton Club is running a fundraiser badminton tournament September 24, 2011 to raise money for CRY- Child Rights and You. Not only will you be playing badminton for a great cause, but you'll also be able to have fun and win prizes donated by Li-Ning and Cosmic Monkey!

The tournament is organized as an "Any Combination of Doubles", so keep in mind that there is no separation between Women's Doubles, Men's Doubles and Mixed.

Portland Badminton Club
When?: September 24, 2011
How much?: $30 the first event, +$10 every additional event (Under 17 is $15 for the first event, +$10 every additional)
Where?: Portland Badminton Club
7275 NW Evergreen Parkway
Bldg F#250
Hillsboro, OR
Deadline?: Monday September 19, 2011
Why?: You'll be playing for CRY, defending children's rights, and you'll be eligible to win prizes from both playing and from raffles from Li-Ning and Cosmic Monkey! It's a great way to end a long summer or start fall, and you don't have to worry much about trying to figure out who to play with for what event--there's only one event! Just focus on playing!

KEEP IN MIND, though, that you will have to supply your own birds if you want to play with feathered-- plastic will be provided by the club.

To register, entry forms should be posted on the Portland Badminton Club website soon.

While you're there, be sure to visit the sandy beaches of Oregon and do some surfing--I've heard great things about the view on the coast!

SUMMER BREAK: HAWAII!

Aloha!

My friend, who seems to have made numerous trips to Hawaii within the past year, was telling me how perfect Hawaii would be if it just had badminton.

Funny enough, there were none listed in NorthwestBadminton.org, either! :(

WELL...NOT TO FEAR!

After a little research (....or just searching Google), I found the e-mail to an incredibly nice man named Robert Kishi, who gave me a few tips on where to play on Oahu!

1) Aiea Recreational Center gymnasium (99-350 Aiea Heights Dr, Aiea; phone: 808-483-7859): Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursday from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Tuesday nights have instruction and/or drills. Sunday and Thursday nights are for members of the Hawaii Badminton Club, but visitors are welcome. For more information, contact Andy Tanabe at attatt63@gmail.com

2) McCully Recreation Center gymnasium (831 Pumehana St, Honolulu; phone: 973-7269): Mondays from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. This is the closest gym to Waikiki.

3) Kaneohe Recreational Center gymnasium (45-660 Keaahala Rd, Kaneohe phone: 808-233-7308) Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from 9:45 am to 12:45 pm. No badminton during Summer Fun. Contact Michiko Watanabe at mwhiusabadminton@gmail.com 

4) Kailua Recreational Center gymnasium (21 S Kainalu Dr, Kailua: phone: 808-266-7652): Fridays from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm; Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.  

5) Koko Head Recreational Center gymnasium (423 Kaumakani St, Hawaii Kai phone: 808-395-5189): Tuesdays & Fridays from 9:30 am to 11:30 am (private club play - limited membership) Contact Michiko Watanabe at mwhiusabadminton@gmail.com; Also, Thursdays from 5:00 pm to 6:45 pm, or 7:00 pm to 8:45 pm, call gym to confirm time.  

6) Honolulu Badminton Club (1336 Dillingham Blvd, Honolulu; phone: 808-354-0146 or e-mail: info@honolulubadminton.com): This new facility is the closest venue to Waikiki (about 3 miles) and is the only private badminton club on Oahu. Classes available. Non-members welcome. Check out their website at:  http://www.honolulubadminton.com

As usual, try and call or e-mail ahead of time to make sure that they're not closed/renovating.

:) Frolick in the sun and ENJOY! (and take some pictures...let me know how it goes!)

(And thank you, Robert Kishi!)

Lean, green badminton machine

I'm an avid recycler. I'm PEMCO northwest profile #17:




Unfortunately, for me, my brother is the opposite. Well, when it comes to badminton rackets, at least. That, and my brother is a big local stringer here in the Northwest...let me explain.

When it comes to rackets, my brother has broken one-too-many rackets throughout his badminton career. He never has the heart to throw them away, though, so we've stashed them Harry Potter-style in the closet under the stairs. Friends thought this was hilarious so, for some reason, they thought their trash was our treasure and proceeded to give us all of their broken rackets. Needless to say, we have...many. Any racket you can name-- we have them. Broken.

This is a little heart breaking to me because
#1) I clean the house. Or, attempt to. These rackets aren't helping me much.
#2) I hate to see this $100-$300 dollar rackets go to waste.

What to do? Well the good people at badmintoncentral (along with founder Kwun H.) compiled a great list of things to do when you want to recycle your old racket!

Here's what got me gawking with awe:

AMAZING?! My house is going to become an inky mess when I try my hand on making these!! What pen do you use? Oh, you know, I like them light so I have a Nanospeed 9900...easy on my hands, but sometimes I wish I had an Armortec so I could smash that final essay to oblivion. Feeeeeel the power.....

Any more ideas?

FIRST OF ALL, before you get overexcited and take your saw out (which, by the way, is very hazardous to one's health), make sure that your warranty is expired and you can no longer return it for a new one. SECOND, ask around your local badminton groups and see if anyone does repairs-- some mysterious character here does it for $30 dollars a racket. Not as good as new, but close enough!


1) Friends of mine have also taken old rackets and duck taped the head like crazy or covered the head with a racket cover and used them for wrist training. I wonder how much the amount of ducktape needed would cost, though...

2) I'm embarrassed to say that broken rackets can be used for funny [facebook profile] pictures, too-- breaking the racket on someone's head, putting it through their arm etc....(personal experience...sigh)

3) FLY SWATTERS! I thought this would be a little more obvious.

4) Outdoor BBQ/Picnic fun. (embarrassing personal experience #2). Friends and I got bored at an outdoor party and attempted recreate Fruit Ninja with a potato we dropped. We weren't as precise as we thought, though, so we ended up using a broken badminton racket and took turns swatting at the poor potato. Ended up raining fries all over the lawn....

5) Allow your child to be a badminton-prodigy by allowing him to dissect the racket. (This is a joke. Please don't.)

6) And don't forget, you can always take out the grommets and keep them for future rackets!

What about birdies? That's something I haven't really been able to figure out yet, but students at the local badminton clubs have cut off the remaining feathers and thread colored string through the holes on the bird and made cute little keychains. (In my honest opinion, the threaded-birdie-clad Christmas tree is hideous...but as keychains, they're quite creative!)

:) Get your toolbox out and be creative!