Jazz: haha, I forgot to tell you guys, there's a sports center at KLN side called "Shek Kip Mei" That sports center are HUGE!!!!!! Apartfrom the standard facility I said before, they aslo have a little shop for people to shops their equipment there! Next time when I go there, I will definitly take some pics!
If you post up pictures of SKM, all the guys are going to be really jealous. Lam Tin?? Are you referring to the one near the top of the hill that overlooks the sea?? The floor in that one is really good. But does it have black walls?? Can't remember!
Cheung, my friend told me about that Lam Tin sports center, have you been there recently? Shek Kip Mei court, I only hate the lightning, it's a bit dark. Hey, where you use to play in Hong Kong? When you have time on SAT afternoon, you can come and play with us.
Hey Cheung, Wanna go one Sat? I played in Lam Tin twice....dunno if its the same one but the lighting was very poor but the floor was quite nice.
Wow. Real nice accomodation. Looks like an expensive hotel Butttt... the wooden floor. Apart from my personal disliking wooden floors (when doing excercises with the focus on speed, it feels like skating around), i don't recall seeing international matches on such a surface. Is this a common underground in Asia ? Playing league matches in Holland, a lot of players around talk about "have you already played against team X ? the wooden floor ... ouch"
yup, if I'm not mistake, all the gov sports hall are wooden floor, cause it's not only design for badminton. But the floor are not slippery at all. ^_^
Sorry Thanks for the invitation Jazz. Saturdays are difficult for me, though. Wooden floors...hmm sounds like another topic for discussion....
All right! I am drooling in front of the monitor it is embarassing. But I still would prefer green floor with white lines like the professionals use. I wish I am back in HK. Ben
Thanks Jazz for the nice pics. Our Club has more or less the same type of flooring and colour but it is of the 'sprung' or suspended type which is kinder on the knee joints. Unlike yours, which is multipurpose in nature, our Hall is strictly for badminton with only three courts. The advantage of this is that there are no interfering lines which can confuse the player. As you also have basketball in the same hall, probably the flooring is of the solid type. I find the row of florescent lights rather distracting and we have succeeded in solving this problem by installing spot lights that are tilted to shine at the ceiling instead of into the eyes so that we have indirect or deflected lighting. Even then, many players complain that the lights are too bright. We may need to change to a lower voltage the next time. I am also doubtful whether your ceiling is high enough for a good singles game. For doubles, the hall looks okay. Yes the colour of the walls is an important consideration. Despite the fact that we painted a darker green-beige colour, our walls still looks too bright and interfere with the flight of the shuttle. One side of our hall, which is made up of dark green sliding aluminium, louvered doors, is of the right colour because it is dark and provides a good contrast to the white feathered shuttle. Next time, we will try to change the other brighter coloured walls to a darker tone without creating too gloomy an effect in the hall. Size, including height and space between courts and the walls, flooring, colour and lighting are definitely important considerations, but this is not the end. Ventilation and wind are also important. Our ventilation is satisfactory as we have a high ceiling to trap the hot air which rises and there are extractor fans placed strategically in the celing to suck out the hot air. But we have a problem with the wind as we have huge louvered windows built high all round the hall and this cannot keep out the occasional strong winds that blow from outside. We are thinking of putting up curtains but have not decided on what type. We need to make sure that the hall is still properly ventilated and yet prevent the draughts from invading. So despite that fact that we have taken advanced steps to create an ideal badminton environment, there are still quite a lot of work to be done to achieve our goal. One difference we have is ours is a members' club and not a proprietary one. Therefore we own the club and have a hand in the decision-making process. Over the years, we can make improvement to our badminton hall when conditions are ideal. I wish I can reciprocate with pics, but I am just a beginner as far as IT and the internet are concerned.
Jazz.. I'm not too familiar with that area where Wai Tsuen Indoor Recreation Centre is located. How long would it take to walk from Tai Wo Hau MTR station to Wai Tsuen? Is there a bus I can take from the station to the recreation centre? Thanks in advance.
Takes about 5-10 minutes walk from Tai Wo Hau station. From Tai Po, a couple of ways: 1) Take 73x bus from Tai Po Market town (main street). Goes past Tai Wo Hau station 2) take train to Sha Tin station. Go underneath to the bus terminus and catch 49x. Can't remember exactly the destination on the bus. Please check because you don't want to go the opposite direction! 49x stops right outside the sports centre itself.
Thanks.... Cheung, thanks for the directions. I'll see when I have time to go to Wai Tsuen Indoor Recreation Centre for baddy.
49X bus stop are just located at a little park next to the center,it is the second bus stop right after the tunnel. Chu Pa, come and play with us or come and chat about badminton are always welcome. As my club are still fresh, I think I'll need advise from you guys The center are also very close to the MTR station, just get out via the "Lok Yeung Sun Tsuen" exit, go to the 2nd floor of shopping mall, you will see 7-eleven. There you are, go outside turn right and walk straight. (you will pass through a car park first ) Look forward to see you man This SAT we'll play 2-5pm
Thanks Jazz.. Jazz, thanks for the final instructions to the recreation centre. I'll see if I have any other plans. Have to get by the girlfirend in order to play baddy. Can I pay a visitor fee to you the first time or do I have to pay the recreation centre? Thanks again.
Huh? haha, you don't have to pay anything at all. The center are open for public. You just come in and look for our club will do. This week we'll play at court 8 for the first hr. But anyway, if you are not sure which court is my team, you can identify us by looking for a plastic container whcih I spray a "JAM" word on it
Thanks for clearing things up.. Jazz, thanks for clearing things up. Some places you have to pay before entering the gymnasium. Good, that Wai Tsuen does not. I'll look for the plastic container with JAM on it. I do have to pay for a visitor fee to you/JAM?
if you play with us, you only pay for what the club had spend on that day. if you don't wanna play and prefer to have a chat with us, hey hey, it free of charge
it depends on how many poeple turn up on that day and how many birds has been used. Normally we'll have at least 10 to 12 people turn up every week. on average, about $40+ each time
Thanks.. Jazz, sounds pretty reasonable considering that is for three hours of play. The fee should not be over $60 max per three hours?