Any word if any any of the Bintang locations will ever open their doors again? No answer at all when trying to call a couple of their clubs. On Tues, I stopped by the Castro location & didn't find any signs of life or any recent signs on the door. On Wed, I stopped at the Campbell location. The most recent sign on it was from mid-March. It indicated that they would close, temporarily, from the 15th through the 31st of March. No updates since then as far as I could see. Does anyone know how to contact Phu Khuu to get an update? Has he decided to close his clubs permanently?
no they are not closed forever. you can check out some updates in their facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/pg/Bintang-Badminton-48939564838/posts/?ref=page_internal but so far, it is not opened to the public yet as the county has not allowed indoor gyms to open to the public.
Thanks @kwun . Are you still in Santa Clara or some part of the SF Bay area? I moved out of Santa Clara a few years ago and am now in the Campbell part of San Jose. Not playing badminton very much in the past decade plus. A bit at WVC, Foothill College and Mission College and not at the clubs at all. But gym classes (& open gyms) at the schools are also on hiatus for an extended & unknown period of time. Had actually been playing a lot of table tennis in the past year cuz of limited mobility (hip replacement needed). I rarely access Facebook but I will check out the FB link you provided.
@kwun Do you know if Ben Lee or Howard Bach are still associated with any of the badminton clubs in the area? Any word on the other clubs in the SF Bay Area opening up?
@kwun Thanks for the FB info. Last update there was June 2. Encouraging. I decided to call ASBY Sports to see if Sanjay had any info on other clubs in the area. I was shocked when Andy Gouw picked up. Thought he retired long ago. We spoke for some 20+ minutes on the phone. I've known Andy for 40+ years. Back then, he had a sports shoe store, Solely Yours, on the El Camino in Santa Clara before he opened ASBY in SJ. I think he sold badminton shuttles and and other stuff in addition to the shoes. Anyway, Andy told me that he played badm with Ben Lee last night at one of Ben's clubs. Not open to the general public yet. Andy said that Ben would try to open one or both of his clubs in early or mid July. It depends, in large part, on the county regulations concerning the pandemic and social distancing.
Andy G indicated that he expected (Phu) to open some of the Bintang clubs, perhaps, in early July. Again, it depends on the regulations in the various counties where these clubs reside. Andy said that a lot of people have been buying shuttles at ASBY in the past 2+ months. When asked where they are using them, everyone replies that they are playing outdoors. And here I thought I was one of the few doing that. Hey @raymond RU still around?
The other clubs will have to follow the county regulations. Rumors are a couple of small ones might close down. No confirmation so not gonna name which ones. I am sure the ones that will open will open immediately after county clears. It must be tough financially for the owners to keep the gyms closed.
Got the word that Bintang San Carlos has been open since June 20th. They are limiting numbers and they close at 9 p.m. Do not believe that the Santa Clara (Sunnyvale) and Campbell locations are open yet except for small Junior camps. Waiting on word from Santa Clara County, I think. Ditto for East Bay?
Just saw this post and can make an update if anyone is interested. I play at the SSF Bintang (part of San Mateo County). They were closed from March-June 2020 when Covid first hit, then reopened for some time in June. Was definitely very exhausting to play again after a 3 month hiatus. They closed again around Oct/Nov 2020 until early 2021 (Feb/Mar) when it initially reopened at 10% capacity. Now in April 2021, per San Mateo County, gyms are opened to 25% capacity so I typically see 4-5 courts occupied. I would imagine the other Bintang gyms are operating at a capacity allowed by their local county tier status. As a side note. Each time I returned to playing badminton, the first 1 or 2 sessions sucked bad. Also, because strings had not been used for a while, tension has dropped, but I'm able to play along with it. Going 1 hour 40 minutes almost non stop (with short breaks between games to get our money's worth) with 3 other players at near full tilt is no joke. The silver lining is that it's like very intensive cardio to make up for lost time, but I'd still advise people to take it easy when first returning to play on a regular basis.
New update for July 2021. As of 15 June 2021, California has reopened. Mask wearing is now voluntary, but it's obviously still advised to be worn for your and other precautions since the pandemic and new strains (Delta variant) are still around and spreading. The gym in South San Francisco (and I would imagine the other Bintang facilities) are open 100% now. No more reservations are required (there is a paid option if a group desires to guarantee themselves a court). Now, it is drop in and rates are higher than before. I believe it's $15 for drop in, play as long as you want, with no in/out privileges. I'm a lifetime member so I simply just scan my card. All members will have their memberships unfrozen automatically now - check Bintang's website for exact details. So what does this mean? Essentially, it is just like before the pandemic. It's actually been busier than before (or seems that way), and every familiar face/regular player has returned with their groups. Every court is occupied. You will be hard pressed to sign up for courts on their computer if you come during peak hours on weeknights, so definitely come in (with your group) when the gym opens at 6pm, or later around 8.30/9pm when people start to leave. The gym closes at 10pm on weeknights. Weekends are similarly busy during the morning and day time. Again, check with the site, or call/email them for specific details on their hours. Anyone coming in to play wearing masks, I will just say, you're gonna end up taking it off anyways (it gets really humid/sweaty), or don't bother coming to the gym if you are still concerned for your own health. It's just not practical and if you are sick/unwell, you should obviously wear a mask if you need to go outside (e.g. grocery shopping) or stay at home to recover. Nobody at the gym will be wearing masks while playing badminton. It's a strenuous sport, even if you are playing doubles. Stay safe, stay healthy and happy shuttling!
