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SATURDAY MAY 19, 2012
The club is open today until 6 pm. Court reservations are required.
Organized Play
An important change in policy is now in effect:
Because members are more involved in outdoor activities, and participation is lower than during the winter months, it is no longer necessary to register in advance by email for ladder nights. Ladder draws are now made at 7 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Register by telephone, email or in person up until 7 pm. Guests are welcome.
Ladder rankings of RWBC members are posted under home (see below). Lineups for the next ladder night are posted under schedule.
2012 Summer Camp Registration
RWBC will be offering a series of junior camps this summer July 3 through August 23.
Thursday Round-robin
Thursdays 7 to 9 pm: Organized doubles round-robin. Everyone plays with several different partners. This is not a ladder and results are not recorded. Advance registration is helpful so that courts can be reserved. 8 participants on May 10, and also on May 17. How about 16 on May 24?
Club Hours
Monday 9 am to 10 pm
Tuesday 4 pm to 10 pm
Wednesday 9 am to 10 pm
Thursday 4 pm to 10 pm
Friday 9 am to 9 pm
Saturday 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday 1 pm to 6 pm
Phone - 780-460-2441
Address - 80 Boudreau Rd. St. Albert T8N 5N4
Directions - east on Bellrose Ave. from St. Albert Trail (Hwy 2) to Boudreau Road; turn right at RCMP; club is next door to firehall.
email -
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RWBC Ladders
RWBC conducts three ladder nights each week. We do not have any "leagues" which would require a pre-determined schedule. Advance registration, while not required, is encouraged. Current ladder rankings are:
MONDAY SINGLES
- Ray Smith
- Dean Perry
- Egan McNamara
- Bill Woods
- Garry Marler
- Mike Rasmussen
- Roger Luard
- Tom Ellis
- Lindsay Ross
- Julianne Cumming
- Brett Cornelius
- Kent Kammermayer
- Eleze Munro
- Ken Fitz
- John Biggs
- Sarah Chan
WEDNESDAY DOUBLES
- Mike Rasmussen & Dean Perry
- Ray & Sheila Smith
- Ted & Barb Biggs
- Garry Marler & Egan McNamara
- Shelley Williams & Donna Kerr
- Brett Cornelius & Kent Kammermayer
- Norm Carruthers & Akiko Ogata
FRIDAY JUNIOR SINGLES
-
Egan McNamara
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Ziyou Zou
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Arjan Singh
- Eleze Munro
- Jonah Tobinski
- Jolie Hamel
- Jonathan Tobinski
- Aaron Felstad
- Josh Kelly
- Marko Ross
- Nicolas Mailhot
- Evan Felstad
- Braeden Kelly
- Ethan Pichlyk
- Roche Doucette
- Vincent Lew
- Ryan Gnenz
- Cole Dubois
- Eric Jodoin
- Cassidy Purshega
- Amanda Gnenz
- Bryce Dubois
- Ange Doucette
- Bailey Dubois
Fun & Fitness
Our Fun & Fitness program is conducted twice weekly: Mondays & Wednesdays 9:30 to noon. Beginners are welcome. There is no charge for club members, and the regular guest fee is charged for non-members.
Junior Instruction
Group instruction for junior members and guests is provided free of charge every Friday 6 to 7 pm. Registration is not required.
Shuttle Repairs
You can substantially increase the life of a shuttle if you replace the first broken feather. A shuttle may appear to fly normally with one (or even two) broken feathers, but the adjacent feathers will soon break due to lost support in that area, and the shuttle is then beyond repair. Even when a shuttle can’t be repaired, several of the 16 feathers can usually be salvaged to repair other shuttles. All that is needed is long-nosed pliers and an awl, and we will show you how to replace the broken feathers. It’s quite simple to do. If you can’t be bothered repairing your shuttles, or if they are beyond repair, please leave them in the basket provided in the club lounge so that other members can use the feathers to repair their shuttles.
As a free-of-charge service to club members we will replace broken feathers in shuttles purchased at our Pro Shop--but only if you bring your shuttle to the counter when it has one or two broken feathers (not 10).
How to improve your game...
Grip Nothing is more important than the way you hold the racket. VOS – it means that you must form a V with your thumb and index finger and make certain the V points at your Opposite Shoulder when the racket is in the ready position (pointing at the net.) Beginners find the VOS grip very uncomfortable and believe they can hit better shots if they hold the racket like it was a fly swatter. It is impossible to improve at badminton until you learn to play with the VOS grip.
Basic stroking Forget about hitting hard when you are learning. Hold the racket loosely and hit only soft shots (drops & clears but no smashes.) For underhand shots played near the net there is almost no backswing or follow-through. For overhead shots try to be standing directly under the shuttle and stroke with a relaxed arm so the head of the racket will twist at the point of contact (it's called pronation). Keep the backswing and follow-through reasonably short.
Serving Beginners should first learn the short backhand serve, holding the shuttle below the waist, then taking a short stroke with the racket shaft pointing down, and weight on the racket leg. Later, you can learn the long serve for singles--the only badminton shot that requires a full-arm stroke. Stand sideways to the net, point your racket at the floor behind you, hold the shuttle as far in front as you can, drop the shuttle, transfer your weight from racket to non-racket leg while taking a full stroke with contact point at knee height, then follow through until your racket is as high as your shoulder. With practise you will learn to hit the shuttle very high and right to the back of the court--which becomes important when you learn singles strategy (see below.)
Footwork All strokes should be hit with your weight on the racket leg (right leg for right-handed players; left leg for left-handers) Learn to transfer your weight from racket to non-racket leg at the point of contact. Try to do this on all shots and you will find that you have better balance and can move on the court with much less effort.
Basic singles strategy The way to improve is by doing drills--repeating the same strokes over and over with a regular partner. But drills can become monotonous, so if you play the occasional game of singles, except for the high serve to the back of the court, think only about trying to make your opponent run more than you do. Aiming your drops and clears to the four corners is quite important and you should avoid hitting any shots near the center of the court. Avoid hitting smashes altogether until you have mastered the other strokes. The way to win singles games is by making your opponent run more than you do, and by making the fewest errors. The way to reduce errors is not by playing games, but by doing drills.
Basic doubles strategy Doubles games may be more fun than singles, but the strategy can be quite complicated. Try to work it out with your partner who is going to cover which shots. Better still: play singles until you learn the basic strokes. Even better still: Do drills!
You need a lot of patience to learn to play well, and it may take a while!
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