It is indeed interesting that 1.25% BCers do not play badminton. On one hand, I thought "Wow! That is surprisingly high", but then how many of us are Rugby and American Football fans but don't play the sport Naturally, there are many fans don't or have stopped playing during injury or what have you. On the other hand, 1.25% is amazingly low %, maybe unique to Badminton. One can play leisurely as a backyard sport or competitively, both can be a lot of fun for the young and old. It is not quite the same for other sports like golf or even tennis.
The stat can be found at "What's Going On?" . Hi ctjcad, The stat can be found at "What's Going On?" which is at the bottom of this page here , titled "Badminton Central Discussion Forum". As I am checking it now, there are 320 Currently Active Users, consisting of 80 members and 240 nonmembers/guests. It is still 3 nonmembers/guests online for each member online. We hope that those nonmembers/guests will become members soon. To go back to the original thread subject: "How should we promote Badminton?", I am still suggesting that we need to introduce more people to our beloved sport. Let us not be too ambitious... If everyone of us can bring in a new person to Badminton each week, the population growth of Badminton players/enthusiasts will be doubled every week. Cheers... chris@ccc .
Thanks. Your right I should play at Public courts its much better than the alternative of having no courts at all. I never mentioned it because I thought it would be trivial, but I do. I know how these kids feel and offer to play with them whenever I can (even if they don't ask me). Your right it isn't easy to find a group of friends. I have tried looking online. I googled and found websites that have a long list of places to play. I also make sure to ask every person I meet at a gym to see if they play any other places that I don't know about. Unfortunately these places (I didn't mention in my first post) are around 25-35 miles away from my home. And it takes over an hour to get to these places. Also since I can't drive, my parents are unwilling to drive me to these gyms, which makes it even harder. I started a club at my school, but noone plays very seriously and since this is America, people don't even know what Badminton is.
That shows that you are really into the sport. I think that once you get into college, you'll find more serious players there. Also, one day when you have wheels, your choice of playing venues will greatly increase.
For beginners, the skill is not as important . Well slimejocke... If you could introduce new players to Badminton, then you have promoted Badminton in America. For beginners, the skill is not as important. Many of them still get the enjoyment out of it, even if they are doing the wrong thing. .
Alright, maybe I just ate gun powder as my snack, or I am the @$$hole in the forum, but seriously, I really want to issue some different point of view, asides from other nice ppl. 1. Why a lot of clubs are set to be adults only. Because the lawyers are too good, and the kids are too wild to control themsevles. A lot of us want to enjoy the game, not to worry about some juniors using this gym as a picnic place or party ball room. Many times, we have to dodge for the kids, and hold all the way back, not to hit them, when they walking like 5 feet inside the court. For the safty of everyone, banned the kids might be the simpliest solution, if the management having a hard time to control the situation. 2. I don't see why you listed all the local gyms as like it's worse than hell. True, there are mean ppl all over the place, just like everywhere else. Do you see all the basketball, baseball or football players using public parks all like gentlemen? Do they all let you take the court whenever you want, if you are clearly below their level of competition? It's down to yourself to pick the right group, and you are the determine factor. It will be great if some ppl are nice, and welcome you to the group. However, if that does not happen, you need to start the talk. Overall, it's you try to join a new place, but not them. 3. I really don't like ppl (espcially young ones) keep whinning about how much other kids can get a ride, can get $$ for the training, get a good coach, therefore, they are good, etc. If you trying to find excuses to defend why yourself is not as good as others, that will only prevent yourself to improve. Yes, they paid $$$, and they might live closer. However, not everyone around the corner is a decent player, right? Not any single one of them born to be Lin Dan, right? They were young before, and they were a total beginner somedays. Why they can fight their way out, but you can't? Yes, a good coach helps. A good racket helps. A close enough gym helps. However, all of such count maybe 1%. 99% is yourself, whether yourself want to be better or not. Simply throw the white towel, and trying to say they are better simply because they "live closer", well, I dont' feel too sorry for you. 4. I would like to ask you what's your goal to pick up the sports back then? Is that I need to win win and win? Or, is that you really like the sports, try to have fun, try to improve, and try to make some friends? If winning is the only concern, then I think you let it get into your mind a bit too much. If you joined the wrong level of tournament, why it's other players's fault to have the puzzled look on their face? Yes, it sound cruel, but if you are the one went into the wrong bar, why you blame others? Seriously, does it make you feel better, if they don't laugh, don't look at you, simply politely say, "sir, please go to other tourny" makes you feel better? Just let you know, in NY metro area, we need to pay as much as $25 per session, in a mult. purpose HS gym w/o lines. I've known some juniors, who work hard for part time, and gathering enough to pay for equipment and sessions. Some of them even have to take subway/bus for 2 hrs single trip to make it to the gym. Some of them are very decent players, and some of them are improving. Why they can do that? Because they believe in themselves and they really love the sport. More importnat, 99% of them are really nice ppl, and getting along with us old folks. Even if some of them are still below average competitive level, but none of us feel like they don't belong here. Ok, I think I am pouring oil over fire already. You can say I am an @$$, and say I am not as nice as others. However, I am simply trying to point that in the "real world", you should not blame others for your own failure. Yes, in the ideal world, everyone should be nice, friendly, polite, etc. Too bad, we are in the real world, which is far away from being perfect. Remember, your are not the center of the universe. Everyone and everything don't need to all going your way. You need to fit in the universe yourself. Road is tough, but you should try your best. Simply lying on the ground, crying and cursing everything around you, will not make your a better player. It will only make ppl stay even further away from you, because they think you are "me vs. the world".
In the east coast of the US, badminton is nonexistent. The only court near my house is at a local YMCA, with a low ceiling, incorrect lines, and a bunch of FOBs and overzealous, poor-technique Indians trying to have a jolly time smashing it their hardest. I can't imagine anybody wanting to pick up the sport around here - no available, indoor regulation courts, and a terrible demographic to deal with. I'm sure the situation is better on the West Coast, but the sport is still primarily played only by the Asian community, and probably will continue to do so with poor marketing and insufficient facilities.
East coast communities with a large Asian population certainly sound ripe for entrepreneurs, esp. those who love badminton, to step in and build courts. This could be a serious $$$$-making opportunity for those who recognize the recent demographic shifts and the markets it presents. While I am not sure how building new badminton courts directly promotes the sport, building them would certainly address a crying need that schools and neighborhood gyms just cannot sufficiently provide for. In the chicken and egg question of whether the market or marketing comes first, clearly in this case, the market is already here.
enthusiast is right. This is a great opportunity for East Coast entrepreneurs. The fact that Bay Area has grown from 0 to 9 badminton-only gyms in 3 years. That only mean that they are making money. Obviously, I don't own or part of any of the gyms. It appears to me that some gym owners here converted older warehouses (with high ceiling and no partition) into badminton gym. There is no reason it can't be replicated in the East Coast.
how can roller derby be on sportscenter So last night, I was watchng sportscenter on espn and they decide to do an inside look into....ROLLER DERBY! I couldn't keep it inside so I said out loud with anger "how can roller derby be on sportscenter and not badminton. This is ridiculous!!!!!!" I watched the segment and they had a player who worked for a newpaper. She has been writing about roller derby for awhile. My guess is that her influence help bring the sport up from underground. I'm so fustrated at the useless American sport channel. I even wrote an email to espn( that didn't work) telling them to live up to their name if they are the "worldwide leader in sports"..bs Ok so do we have anyone here that works for a newpaper that can help us put article/coverage out? Perhaps it is the best way to start making our sport "mainstream"!
Badminton is losing popularity is the fact that we have to face...even in Indonesia ppl see going to school as a way forward as to playing baddies
I'm trying to focus on how to make this sport popular in the US because somehow ROLLER DERBY did it....we can do it
Maybe if more of us wrote to ESPN stating that they would be more likely to subscribe to the premium station if they had more coverage of the lesser known, but emerging sports in this country, like football (soccer) and badminton. Sports stations are really missing out on a gold mine and they don't know it yet.
I dun think Baddy would be popular anywhere outside INA, CHN, MAS, KOR and DEN...well maybe England but u know in CHN Badminton is regarded as being a girl's sport while in INA ppl chose to study...like my cousin...very talented guy...PBSI ask him to join Pelatnas but parents not allowed n ask him to go school
On offense for other city / region, in order to promote badminton in US East, NY is the 1st one coming into mind. However, with the crazy real estate cost, it makes it almost a mission impossible for anyone to even try to build a badminton designated facility. It's simply too much risk. The bright side is there are many clubs (mostly renting school gyms) are opened now days, and players do have a few more choices here and there. However, the high memberhip / walk in cost, with high training and equipement cost, still make it relatively expensive for most new immigrants. How many ppl who are still struggling trying to feed the family, will spend as much as US$25 for a 3-4 hr badminton session?
Are you saying that in Indonesia badminton was EVER a career option for more than a few young people? I should hope today that most young people see preparation for another type of career is the way forward. That does not mean that they would necessarily give up playing badminton, one of the national pastimes, for recreation. These days, however, probably love of the cellphone precedes both studies and sports. It's been my observation here in the US that badminton and the demand for badminton facilities (at least here on the West Coast) is growing rapidly. especially in the past several years, mostly due to increasing numbers of relatively affluent badminton-playing immigants and businesspeople coming to this country. It is just that they have yet to be recognized as consumer force Maybe the 2008 Olympics will help change that.
You are right necessities come first and it is sad that even school facilities are out of reach for a lot of people. On the other hand, there are many badminton players who can and will pay to play at dedicated facilities. It may be non-egalitarian, but the demand is there. Surely there must be some warehouse space in Queens, Brooklyn or the Bronx that is comparable in cost to here on the West Coast. It doesn't take a lot to convert one to playing courts. At the private club here, it was $16K/court for five courts. Already, after only 2 years, its near-400 membership is at capacity and it is seeking to expand. Starting a facility is risky, but it has been proven successful when badminton-lovers and entrepreneurs get together..
Let me rephrase then...badminton of course will still be popular cos is fun to play but for carreer option??? Hmm never...apart from China because in China even a gay sport like shooting the atheletes would strive to win cos gov gives handsome reward
Roller Derby was quite popular in the US in the 70's and early 80's. It is NOT a sport. It is a theatric drama with violent like WWF. Back to the topic at hand, it is unlikely baddies will be popular in the US anytime soon. Reminding ESPN is a good idea. Another way is to visit, http://www.nbcolympics.com/badminton/index.html, often. Let's show some traffic so NBC would at least would put a few games on their schedule.
