I don't think they can really enforce the "No food or drink from outside" rule. If they were to look through everyone's bag at the door that would be extreme. They don't even do that at the movie theatres. I think they would end up loosing members while trying to make a few bucks on the drinks, not worth it in my opinion. I must admit that I didn't read their rule when I played there today. I brought my own water an Gatorade inside the bag. No one said anything to me when I was drinking them. It's a new gym and they are listening to suggestions so we all should recommend them to change the rule.
Not being allowed to bring your own water in is definitely over the top. It'd definitely keep me from being a customer if I lived in the area.
I'm glad they didn't enforce the rules to the book. Hehe... >_>; Sigh...I gotta admit, even though to the general public, $10 might be expensive...I still LOVE that place! The mats are really comfortable to play on, I stayed there for 6 hours straight today. X_x...my feet only hurt as much as compared to me playing in my school's gym with the wooden floors for 3 hours. Lights seem a little dim compared to most other lights I've played under...but that's probably because some of it escaped out the windows since the blinds aren't installed. It was much better late at night when the outside is all dark. The management is nice, and the players' skills vary in a wide range. Definitely a great place to be for any serious badminton player.
it is good idea to have the rule there. but only enforce as a last resort when there are some misbehaving members running around spilling coke all over the place. it is not usually desirable to enforce rules 100%. the good part is that at least one of the owners of UBC is a regular here in BC. so they are certainly reading your feedbacks.
it is true that $10 is a new level for drop-ins for the Bay Area. many whom i have mentioned also says that it is high. to be fair though, you get what you paid for. a nice playing environment, convenience, top quality floor. i am afraid but i am guessing that $10 may soon become the standard rate for the few newly established clubs here.
Kwun, the place wasn't crowded at all today. There were empty courts, and most didn't bother to use the queuing system because of that I think.
It was empty today because of several tournaments, a HS one and the BA open. Both of which should have had pretty big numbers. As for a $10 entrance fee, i think it is pretty stiff. But! i think the point of it is to get more members. I believe tennis clubs have even HIGHER drop in rates such as $25 or so ( my friend told me this). And many ppl pay this premium btw.
Thank you for the feedbacks! We will look into the suggestions/comments BFers made. As far as the FOOD/DRINKS go, those are some ground rules we need to have them documented for liability and other issues. (Hint: As Kwun put it...the rules are there so that no one will misbehave too extensively , otherwise we are cool.) In case you didnt notice, we did install drinking fountains beside the rest area, so that you rehydrate yourself with chilled and filtered water. You can of course bring your own water or empty bottle to fill up from the fountain. Here're some bird's eye view of the gym. (Actually, we took it from the scissors lift we rented to install the projector) When we're done finetuning the final details, we hope Kwun can stop by to take better pics for the forum. Office/Reception Room/Court 1&3 Court 3-9 Rest Area & Queuing System Terminal
when it is your turn on the court, how much court time do you get? 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 game, 2 games...?
All courts are challenge courts except for the 2 Elite courts for advanced players. On Challenge courts, winner will stay for 3 consecutive games, and 20 mins per game on a 15 pt system. On Elite courts, winner can stay till he/she decides to retire for the day. These settings, are of course, subjected to change if we receive too many complaints from the guests/members.
hey!! i just checked out this place.. its really cooL!! i like the lights and the floors... but i gotta cross the dumbarton bridge to get over.. The building looks really modern from the outside.. i like it!
I played at UBC on Saturday afternoon for a couple hours. I usually play a couple of times a week at Bintang. The floor took a bit of getting used to, but I think it was very good. Mixed feelings about lighting/visibility. Maybe the light colors on the walls was a bad idea? Maybe it'll be better at night or after the windows are covered, but am not very sure. Overall, it seems like a good facility. The Drop-in fee is definitely an issue, something the organizers need to pay serious attention to if they want to maximize the utility of the facility and get the most revenue at the same time. $10 drop-in fee would be a serious mistake. Bintang has $3/$5 peak/offpeak and it seems to do okay in providing enough of an incentive to make membership attractive, while augmenting that with a good number of drop-in players. UBC is definitely a better facility (presumably more expensive to build), so higher fees would be justified. However, every dollar over say $4/$6 would make drop-in significantly unattractive. If the aim is to survive only on memberships and make drop-ins excruciatingly expensive high drop-in fees will do just that. For a lot of people membership isn't feasible because they work/live in different cities, schedule doesn't permit playing at the same place thrice a week etc. The key is to make membership attractive, while getting most of the drop-in users' market as well to maximize revenue. A $10 drop in fee (plus $3 to $5 that it typically costs for shuttlecocks) would ensure that the drop-in guys stay away completely.
i am surprised to see that the major complain is the visibility. i talked to a couple of badminton players during a tournament on sunday and they too have the same concerns: visibility and price. visibility is certainly something that can be fixed after the owners figure out the reason. price however, will probably have to depend on operation cost and popularity. certainly not an easy job to run a badminton facilities, my hats off to those who take the risk to do so.
visibility a problem. like many basketball gyms. can be done easily when change to the long lights like bintang. $10 is expensive. some hs gyms are free and have good floors. reactivation fee is very high. if sick for one month, still have to pay monthly fees. what other gyms charge? will wait and hope they are cheaper because all opening soon.
$5/$7 United Badminton Club (UBC) (OPEN) The official drop-in prices are $5 (off-peak) and $7 (peak). An increase in these two prices will take place ONLY when (1) we reach our goal in membership or (2) due to inflation (as usual:crying. We are officially OPEN for play and welcome you all to visit. Thank you for your interest and support.
Wow....with all the reviews already posted, I guess I am a little too late in posting mine. But I agree with most of the content here with the reviews posted by other BC'ers. To emphasize I really like the floor. Can definitely feel the softness in it compared to hardwood floors in other gyms. I wish I lived closer to this place, so I could visit here more often. It is easy to spot the bird on high clears, or even net drops. The black ceiling is a good idea. I found it difficult to spot it for smashes or high drives, I think it is because of the lighter color on the two toned colors on the wall. The lighter color being on the above net level. It looks really neat, as it was the first day I played there, and hopefully the quality of the floors can be maintained with the same standard for(ever) I am not sure of the wear on tear on these mats, as to how thick they are, or how soon they wear out. Overall, very nice gym! I like the floor and ceiling height here to be better, and I like the color contrasts in Bintang to be better.
KrantiKT Let me know when you're going there again. I demand a rematch. I think the last couple of times you kicked my butt so I want a revenge.
Visiblity The visibility is an issue we are working on. Some people complaint about it, some didnt bother and said they're just fine. But we're adding large curtains (just in case) to divide the courts in the gym's center aisle and court 1&2. Please be patient . The curtains should be up in about 2 weeks.
