So, I just moved to CA, and was wondering how do people play badminton here? what i mean is do we come with our own partner/group and play. or do we rotate amongst the player and jump in when there's an empty court? THank you
Welcome to GGBC and Bay Area!! Hello Handy.. A Big Welcome to you all the way over from the COOOOLLLDDD side of the Nation.. h ahaa.. Well it's very easy.. Go to any club.. and if you like to come to GGBC, everyone will welcome you.. from the staff to the members, to our guest Patrons. You will find very friendly people-a-plenty ready to introduce you to players of your level. Our GGBC system works like this. We have a digital timer and magnet board behind each court on our GG walls. You get a magnet at the desk (which you put a deposit down for and will get it returned when you return the magnet to us).. You use the magnet to queue, if necessary... but of course you can either pick the people you want to play with forehand or you can put your magnet on our magnet boards behind the court you want to line up on and wait for partners to join you when they see you are only 1 player. When your line is up.. you go on the court with your partners and press the start button on the timer which will countdown for 20 minutes.. that's how much time you got on the court so theres no dispute. When 2 minutes is left.. the timer will start blinking which alerts the next in line to get ready. Then you start queuing again on courts of your choice. In G2, Emeryville, is a computer system which also has a timer.. G1 in Menlo Park is the above. Hope I didn't confuse you.. ) Hope to see you soon! Regards, GG Sally
Are there any specific night(s) during the week reserved for different level of players? I'm an intermediate level player so when would be best to show up? I'm looking to play at the Menlo Park location. Thanks for the reply.
@GGsally thank you for the explanation @iso300 I am still looking for partners/people to play with, if you are interested maybe we could arrange a meeting.
Time to play Hello guys or gals.. Well.. good time is around 5pm when some of the afternoon players come. You can always stay till night and wait for the higher level players..or you can go out to eat and wait till it starts filling up around after 7pm or so.. Actually around 5 to 10 is surely good to find partner. You need not worry. Just ask any of the GG Staff who are MOST friendly and helpful to all patrons and they will be more than happy to intro you to some very nice friends to play with.. Pls come on over now!! Hurry! GG Sally
Presentation vs. Reality I'm sorry to say it, but this has not been my experience, at least at G2. Neither the staff not the patrons will offer to introduce you to anyone. They pretty much keep to themselves. The vast majority of the time, the computer system is not used. If you arrive as a single player looking to pick up a game or two, you will be doing a lot of sitting around and very little playing. Moreover, during after work hours, it is almost impossible to play singles. Even the challenge court is essentially "doubles only". If you don't have a partner, you will be told to go find one before you can play, even if you name was on the board. The staff is friendly, but they don't tell you the way things really work until you get there and ask. In reality, things are quite different from they way they are presented to you before you arrive. To any GBBC employees: How often (i.e., how many hours on an average day) is the timing system actually utilized? During what hours is one allowed to play singles (either on a challenge court or with a preselected opponent without having to share half court)? Who at GBBC goes around and says to other patrons, "This is (insert new patron's name). He/she is at playing level (insert playing level). Let me introduce you to (insert other patron's name). He/She is a (insert playing level) player also. Why don't the two of you play a match?" I do not regard this as false advertising, but I do think that the truth is being stretched to a significant degree.
