Oh dear....!

With the two biggest holidays circling the same week, I find myself slacking on posts! Argh!

I hope many of you are scheduling tournaments into your calendar books for 2011! The year hasn't even started, but the tournaments are already all lined up!

January 2011 is filled with plenty of opportunities to test your skill already!

January 14th is the Portland State University Winter Open. A group of my friends have already signed up, and I hear there are good prizes to be given out!

January 22nd is the start Holiday 'Turkey Bowl' at the Bellevue Badminton Club...?!?! It starts off with Division-C...? Check out this link for more information! It looks like a great, cheap team tournament for you to get some practice in!

January 28th gives you another excuse for a roadtrip down to Oregon for the Winter Oregon Open at Portland Badminton Club, followed up with

January 29th Holiday Turkey Bowl Division D at Bellevue Badminton Club!

All this information was gathered thanks to the help of NorthwestBadminton.org, so make sure you check out that site for more information!

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Frankly, I am preparing myself to hopefully play singles in the Washington State Closed in Seattle Badminton Club on February 25th! Unfortunately, I dove back into 'training' after a month off from badminton...I'm definitely out of shape! Not good! So no guarantees there, but I'll do my best! Which tournaments are you guys getting ready for? The entry form is already out, so go make your plans now!
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My parents were actually asking me why I haven't gone to the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue to play....I used to play there every Monday night when I first began....that was way back when our Washington badminton clubs hadn't existed yet!

They made fun of me and said I've gotten too high class-- I won't settle for anything less than a private club. That's quite the opposite!

For those of you beginners, there are plenty of other places to play other than BBC and SBC! The First Presbyterian Church is still popular with many people who just want to play for fun, and I've met many friends there that are still friends with me today! It's free to play, although they would like a small donation, if possible! They have 3 courts with a rotation system of every 15 minutes.

1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue WA 98004

Mondays from 6pm to 9pm!

Make sure you go check it out!

Anyways, leave a comment, subscribe and enjoy the rest of your vacation for the new year!

Happy Holidays!

Tired from work/school/doing nothing? It's about time for a few days of relaxation! I hope all of you are enjoying your few days off...!

SBC has been getting awfully busy lately-- it seems like popular evenings to play are Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays....but...I guess it's also safe to say that every evening is quite packed!

BBC (Bellevue Badminton Club) is having a "Holiday Turkey Bowl Tournament" on February 19th, 2011 for those of you who won't be attending Badmintology's Roller Coaster Open.

The Holiday Turkey Bowl is for those of you who don't obsess over the extremely advertiser-friendly Super Bowl, which takes place around that time. And for once it's a team tournament!!!

If you're a BBC member, then the entry is free, if you're not, the entry is $7.00. Team entry is $5.

Adult Divisions and Family Divisions are on different days (from the end of January to mid-February), so be sure to check out the rest of the information on the main website:

http://www.bellevuebadminton.com/bbc/torunaments/144-holiday-turkey-bowl-tournament

Speaking of team tourneys, make sure to look out for Badmintology's Roller Coaster Open, coming up the weekend of February 18-20th! Don't forget that to qualify for their end-of-the-season team tourney in May, you must have played in at least two of their tournaments and registered under a team name! I hear it's plenty of fun, so be sure to plan a roadtrip up! Again, it's a great tourney for playing against those in your same skill level! Friendly tournament for beginners to advanced!

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Thanks again to my many readers! I've gotten over 300+ views from more than 10 different countries!

Here's my Christmas gift to you-- Interpretive Dance from our favorite Mens Doubles team Fu/Cai!

This picture reminds me of all the times I've almost (or actually have) run into my partner on various occasions. Not good!

??!?!?!

Jokes aside, I think it's fantastic that a Men's Doubles team could be so in sync all the time...! They're fantastic, and I'm always watching their games on the big screen at work. Currently ranked 5th in the world...hopefully they'll start showing up in more tournaments!

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With all of that said, I do hope all of you enjoy your holiday. Stay warm, happy, and spread some holiday cheer.

End 2010 with a blast, and let's all get ready for 2011!

BCD+A letter + Tournaments in Oregon

Tournament Director Katherine Ip wrote a letter to sum up the fabulous BCD+A tournament that took place two weekends ago. Big thanks to her and all the volunteers that made it happen! Hope to see all of you (and more!) in 2011!

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I don't know when we started to have BCD tournament in the Seattle area. For sure, this is the first BCD+A tournament I experienced. To commemorate the inauguration of Seattle Badminton Club (SBC), WSBA not only postponed this tournament to December (usually this happens in November), but also decided to add an "A" or "Open" category to this year's BCD tournament. This is how we come up with BCD+A. It was an exciting weekend for 124 players and many, many spectators.

With 8 courts available for the tournament (SBC reserved 2 courts for their members), things really run fast and smooth. Especially on Friday, we only needed 3 hours to finish all the Mixed Doubles (except Finals). On Saturday, we are done with all the matches (except Finals) at 6pm, which is a record compared to the tournaments in the last few years. On Sunday, there were some challenges with traffic due to flooding. A lot of players were late due to the "Road Closure", we were all done at 2pm.

Apart from our usual Seattle supporters, we have lots of out of town guests this year. Barbara and Henry from Westbank, Lindy, Siu-Imm, Leslie and Johnny from VRC, Wendy and Dave from Kootenay, Eric and Kris from ShuttleFreaks Spokane, Chungfung and Shuichi from CWU, Robert and Adrian from Portland, Leslie, Calvin, Tomohiro, Huy, Noel and Phu from PSU. Hello, Welcome to Seattle!

With the A or Open events separate from the BCD events, all the A players are challenged from the very first game. There are no more easy first round matches. At the same time, BCD players had lots of fun playing tight matches with players of the same level. Hmm, this seems to work out pretty well. I will think about using the same format next year.

There are lots of good comments about our T-Shirt design this year. Natalie told me it is a Chinese "Yin Yang" idea added to two of the most sacred animals in ancient China – tiger and phoenix, chasing shuttlecocks. Great job, Natalie! We have around 20 T-shirts left if you want to purchase them for $10 each. Please contact me at katherine.sm.ip@gmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or katherine@seattlebadminton.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

As for the tournament results, Curtis Stensland and Victoria Chen are no surprise to all of us for taking the Mens and Womens Singles A Champions. Vicky, turned 13 in May, is fearless. At this rate of improvement, she may one day be representing US in one of the Olympic Games. No pressure, Vicky. Open Mixed Doubles was won by Curtis and Amy, defeating Leslie and Siu-Imm in three games. For some reason, Siu-Imm just couldn't get her "net" magic to work today. Hmm, must be distracted by her shopping on Saturday, hehe…. Open Women's Doubles is the battle between experience and youth. This was happening for the last few tournaments now. Hurray, experienced Wendy and Anette won Jenny and Vicky again this time by losing the first game and winning the next two. In this year's Open Mens Doubles finals, we have a new pairing of Kevin and Paco vs usual pairing of Long and Neat. One game each and then third game, led by Kevin and Paco 20-19, 20-20, 21-20, 21-21, 22-21, 22-22, 23-22, 23-23, 23-24, 23-25. Game! Long and Neat won. Thanks Patrick for umpiring and making a decisive "let" call.

Thanks to all of you for coming to the tournament and the unveil of Seattle Badminton Club. Many thanks to Seattle Badminton Club's management and staff and all the volunteers including Clinton Chen, Melissa Tang, Solomon So, Joyce Chung, Joe Leung, Tina Jiang, Nino Gonzales, Raquel Gonzales, Jason Lin, Fred Yu, Ying-Fang Lai, Toru Takayanagi, Patrick Ip…….. Oh, of course to Jasmine Lau for her beautiful voice as announcerJ See you again on February 25-27, 2011 at SBC for Washington Closed Badminton Tournament.

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As she noted, there are a few tournament Tshirts left for $10 dollars each. Sponsored by Yonex, the design were the same on the tshirts and the trophies. The only sizes available now (to my knowledge) are Larges, XL's and one XS...so get them soon!

Any ideas for future Tshirts? Share some ideas by posting comments, or send me an email at onattyso@gmail.com

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Both PSU (Portland State University) and tournament directors for the state of Oregon are having tournaments for the start of the new year!

Copied from NorthwestBadminton.org

"Winter Oregon Open 2011

Date: January 28/29, 2011

7275 NW Evergreen Parkway, Hillsboro OR 97124.

Li Ning sponsored Winter Oregon Open. Events: Open/Jr1/JR2. More than $2,000 worth of Li Ning equipment to be given away! If you are a Badminton player, you can not miss this new years tournament. Li Ning discount booth available to all.

www.portlandbadmintonclub.com"

Winter 2011 PSU Open Badminton Tournament

Date: January 14-15, 2011

Location: Academic & Student Rec Center at Portland State University

1800 SW 6th Ave. Portland, OR 97201.

Entry form at: https://orgsync.com/forms/show/25927

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Both tournaments sound like great opportunities for roadtrips...anyone up for it?

the last Husky Open had some students from Eugene, OR visit...so hopefully some of us can do the same for them! PSU has plenty of great players, and it's about time for us to help them build an even greater badminton community. Sign up soon!

Happy Holidays!

Seems like I've been slacking on posts lately!

I'd like to give a big thanks to all of you following my blog! 300+ views from more than 10 different countries...it's great to finally realize just how vast the badminton community really is! Hope to get to see you all on the courts some day! :)

On top of all of that, I'd love to have some of your feedback! Don't forget to leave comments or e-mail me about things you'd like to see on the site, from covers on various tournaments, upcoming tournaments, pictures, or interviews from specific people! I'll try my best!

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Congrats to SBC for making it up to 100+ members before their big promotion was over!

Sorry for those of you who haven't signed up yet-- the Yonex Promotion is over! But don't fret...if you still apply for a membership now until December 31st, you don't have to pay an initiation fee! :)

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Just wondering...besides badminton, what do badminton players do to work out?

I've been told frequently by friends to hit the treadmill--obviously, that'll build stamina and make you a little faster on the court...I speak from experience! But just running on the treadmill is...sort..of...boring!

I know a couple of my friends like to hit the nearest Bally's or 24 hr fitness and lift weights, bike...the works. I think I remember watching a video of Lin Dan and Fu HaiFeng running work outs in the sand...builds crazy strength in the legs! Looks tough!

I've also seen plenty of players carry jump rope in their gym bags and jump whenever they can. Don't take this as a joke---jump roping is very tiring! I find myself getting frustrated because I'm not very coordinated, and by the end of 1000 jumps, my ankles are all filled with red whip-marks from tripping over the jump rope :(

I guess a good tip to getting started is start with running and jump roping! At least, that's what plenty of people have told me to start out with. I'm not extremely athletic, so I gotta start out slow ;)

What do the rest of you do?

Long (left) with Men's Doubles Partner Neat
(picture courtesy of Facebook/Panu Sam-ang's Husky Open album)

How long have you been playing?

I've been playing since I was in high school like 17 years old

What racket do you use?

I am using Z-slash right now, and I love them.

Favorite event?
Washington Open (more competitive)

Where do you play?
I'm playing at SBC right now

How many tournaments have you played?

A lot actually. Lets see umm 40 to 50 events around there

How do you train? Who do you train with?

When I train, I always do three different section. Like one day I do a physical training( running, foot work, etc...), another day I do feeding birdies stuff, and finally I play some fun game with my friends.

Through your experience in badminton, what's the most important lesson you've learned?

Through my experience in badminton, I have learned so many good thing. But the most important lesson I have learned was that I give telling myself that training always make you better.

Any tips for your fans?

Well just practice more instead of playing. I meant doing drills with the shot that you think you should work on, and this way make you have better shots.


Long 'Sisavat' Keobunmy is a high leveled A- player in the Northwest. Originally from Laos, he moved to WA 4 years ago. Plays all 3 events - Mixed Doubles, Men's Doubles and Singles. He's regularly found in tournaments in Washington and Canada.

Two more days...!?

...until exams are over and I can put a proper post up for you all!

Sorry about the delay!

For now, I'll give you all a quick summary. I hear the BCD+A tournament at the Seattle Badminton Club had a fantastic turn out of both players and watchers! Plenty of photographers...you can check out the photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintonc111/sets/72157625573872576/

Curtis took the crowd yet again for Men's Singles over Sisavat Keobounmy, who was unfortunately unable to sleep the night before. Congrats to Pablo for winning A consolations-- he's been training for Singles since the beginning, and it shows!

Check out the winners and the scores here: http://tournamentsoftware.com/sport/winners.aspx?id=E5AEFE24-D5BE-4B10-8C17-77EE5251FD01

Minh won B division singles yet again this year--Looks like he'll have to play A next year! Watch out, A level!

I noticed a bunch of UW huskies playing at the tournament this year... on the weekend before finals! Lucky enough for them, the chemistry professor Xiaosong played at the tournament as well, and got himself 3/4 place in B Men's Singles! Professors are people of many talents!

Men's doubles was dominated by Sisavat&Neat. Top men's doubles A Division winners are quite well-known around the badminton community of Seattle, so it was definitely no surprise. MD's C division was won with a little home court advantage-- Fred&Jason know what they're doing! MD's C was followed up closely by Nino&Eric. I have faith that the both of them will grab themselves a trophy next year!

BCD women's singles trophies were snatched away by Canadians this year! I'm glad the tournaments have now become international! I hope Barbara&Wendy made some new friends on their trip down, and will be back in the future!

Open A was won by junior Vicky, along with Renata&Christine following close behind. C and D won by Rina and Isabelle respectively-- winners are getting younger!

Wendy easily brought the crown home with her win in WD A division with Annette. Wish I was there to watch the game! All 3 A consolations were Canadians as well!

Curtis&Amy took another A trophy home this tourney. They're always so focused while warming up-- it's no surprise they do so well! Congrats to Curtis for double crowning, as well! Consolations won by JK&Vicky!

Be sure to check out the rest of the winners on TournamentSoftware!

Good job too all the winners-- you all put up a great fight! Don't forget to start training for the Washington Closed tournament in February! See you all then!

BCD+A Draws

The WASHINGTON STATE BCD+A OPEN TOURNAMENT draws are OUT!!!!

Players, go to tournament software to check out who you'll be playing against!

The rest of you should check out the draws and make a guess as who you think will be taking home the trophies as champions this year!

Wonderfully enough, the results are hard to guess thanks to all of the new names! It's great to watch the badminton community continue to grow. Competition will be high, though, so get your game face on!

I hear long-time reigning champions Sisavat K. and Masako C. (who were defeated by Curtis S. and Amy J. during the Husky Open) won't be playing together this tourney. Word's gone around that Masako's ankle (?) isn't feeling too great. But don't let your guard down too soon--Ufiliya D. will be taking her place, and that's definitely no step lower.

4 girls from the junior team make up the round robin draw of Women's Single A...and they're all friends...and they all train together. It'll be fun to see how that one turns out.

Although there are no 'seeded' entries, you can pretty much tell (by the organization of the brackets) who would have been placed as a seeded player/pair had there been numbers.

Just a reminder: Be friendly to your opponents. Don't be afraid to smile and introduce yourself beforehand, even if you lose...you'll realize that once you get to know them, #1) you make more friends, and #2) they'll often give you pointers on how you can improve...(SO YOU CAN BEAT THEM NEXT TIME....!!!)

Be sure to get there EARLY just so you get a chance to warm up and you don't have to line up for registration.
Starting times:
Friday: 5:30 PM- Registration
6:00 PM – Mixed Doubles
Saturday
8:30 AM – Registration
9:00 AM -- Men’s Singles
11:00 AM -- Women’s Singles
1:00 PM -- Men’s Doubles
3:00 PM -- Women’s Doubles
Sunday
10:00 AM -- – Semi if necessary and finals

Again, it will be held at SEATTLE BADMINTON CLUB this year. Make sure you know how to get there. There's plenty of parking, so no need to worry. But if you can, do your best to carpool.

See you then!

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Next blogpost will be about badminton bags...if you want your unique bags posted, send me a picture at onattyso@gmail.com!