October Membership Update

Oct 22, 2020

More Courts and Adjusted Hours

Our members and staff have been doing a great job of adhering to the health and safety guidelines, which gives us the confidence to make more courts available to members. The state guidelines indicate that we must have 300 square feet of space for every person in the facility. Currently we have been operating with above 500 sqft/person, and even after opening more courts the requirement of 300 sqft/person will still be exceeded by a healthy margin. Badminton is considered a low-risk activity given the distancing and non-contact nature of the sport. This is no reason to relax our health and safety protocol, but along with our great track record, gives us confidence to open more courts as many of our members have been asking for.

You will see more courts become available in Renton and Mukilteo throughout the new few weeks in the Ballbutton app, as well as an additional Friday morning time in Bellevue. The seating arrangements at Renton and Mukilteo will be modified slightly to encourage distancing. You may notice some of the start times have shifted slightly, so please double-check your start times.

A few housekeeping items: As we add courts we do want to remind members to exit the gym in a timely manner. Doing so allows full usage of the 75 minute timeslot for play instead of having to truncate the timeslot any further so our staff can properly disinfect all high-touch areas. Please also do not consume food in the court area as well. Food is not allowed on the courts and must be consumed of and any waste disposed of in the lobby. Please ONLY PLACE SHUTTLES in the bins next to the courts that are only intended for shuttles. Unfortunately, we discover such things daily as banana peels and string remnants tossed in those bins, so our staff would greatly appreciate your help in keeping our facilities clean.

Public Court Reservations and Points for Play

Beginning Friday the 23rd in Renton, Fridays will host Public Court Reservations (Drop-in play) in Renton. All courts in Renton during this time will be available to both members and the general public. If members wish to play on these courts during this time they may pay for a rental court. If you do not wish for drop-in play to count towards your 4 bookings per week, or 2 maximum outstanding bookings, you may create an alternate Ballbutton account to be used specifically for public court reservations. There are no limits on how many courts you can rent per night.

Public court reservations will use a points-based system in the Ballbutton app. Both members and the general public can purchase points passes that can be redeemed for court time through Ballbutton. Since this is a different way of booking a court, please review the Public Court Reservation FAQ here: http://www.bellevuebadminton.com/public-court-reservations/

Rules and Regulations

There have been several questions directed towards our staff asking to clarify the rules surrounding court reservations. If a request is made that is outside the rules, please understand that request will be declined. The rules for reserving a court are as follows, and are subject to change as the Bellevue Badminton Club sees fit:

-All reservations must be made through the Ballbutton mobile app. Your Bellevue Badminton Club membership must be active to make a reservation.

-When checking in, members must display their membership cards, and the name on the membership card must match the name on your Ballbutton account. Many of our members use nicknames, so please double-check that your name matches.

-Members may reserve (book) up to 4 timeslots per week and have no more than 2 outstanding reservations on the schedule at a time. Members may book up to 14 days in advance. If you play 2 timeslots in one day that will still count as 2 timeslots, not one.

-Members may NOT add players to an outstanding reservation. If you book for 2 players, 2 players is all that will be allowed. If you book for 3 players you will only be allowed to have 3 players on court. If you want to play doubles you must book with all 4 players you intend on playing with. This is also the least stressful way to make reservations, and strongly recommended as the preferred booking method. The only exception to this rule is if a new member joins in person, they may be added to an existing reservation that day.

-Members may NOT use another member’s name as a placeholder in order to hold a court for another member, only to cancel and re-book the court with all of the correct names. If this behavior is discovered by BBC staff, disciplinary action will be administered in the form of a temporary ban, reduced booking privileges, and/or a monetary penalty.

-Members may NOT play on any court other than the one they have reserved, or the one(s) they have been assigned for ladder. This behavior is directly in conflict with state health and safety guidelines and will result in a temporary ban, reduced booking privileges, and/or a monetary penalty.

-In case of emergency or injury, a member may be substituted onto a court so long as from the time the court in question was booked, the player substituting onto the court has had 1 or 0 bookings (including future bookings).

-If you do not show for your reservation or fail to cancel the reservation prior to 24 hours of your start time disciplinary action may be administered in the form of a temporary ban, reduced booking privileges, and/or a monetary penalty.

-If you try to book a court and it is declined because one or more members has exceeded their maximum allowed bookings per week, or already has 2 outstanding bookings, please find someone else to play with as this person cannot be added to the court. Exceptions cannot be made to these rules.

Ladder Update

A few software updates will go live soon on the Badminton America Rating site. The big update is now you will receive email confirmations of your reservations. There will also be a few bug fixes, for example those of you who have not been able to unregister from the Thursday fixed partner will now be able to.

Both Sunday Singles ladders will now start at 7:30 in Renton. Check in will cut off promptly at 7:40 and the capacity for each ladder has been reduced slightly. The 6pm timeslot will be available for reservations now.

New Adult Class!

If you want to improve your fundamental skills and fitness, or perhaps you want to move up to the next court in your favorite ladder, then the new Adult Ratings Class is exactly what you’ve been looking for. Our Olympic Level and National Champion coaches will teach you how to master the fundamentals, develop winning strategies, and learn a few fun tricks along the way.

The class will be organized by your ladder rating so students will be drilling and practicing with those of a similar level. If you have not played ladder before you may still attend the class. You may drop into the class if there is space, but priority will be given to those signing up for the full session, every Monday at 8pm in Renton from 10/19/20-12/14/20.

Racket Demo Program

The racket demo program is back. Single-use gloves will be provided by the front desk and must be worn when trying out any demo rackets. It is still $10 to try out all the rackets you would like (one at a time), and if you purchase any racket the same day then the $10 fee is waived. Ask the front desk for the racket you would like to try during your next court reservation!

It’s Getting Colder…

Place your order today for a customized BBC Hoodie! Customized long-sleeve and short-sleeve dry-fit shirts are also available at very affordable prices so you can look good and feel good while playing this fall season. The lettering on the back will be in ALL CAPS. You can put your name on the back of any shirt, or you and your friends can put your nicknames on the back—these also make great gifts for the holidays.

Complete the order form below by November 13th at 9pm to order. If you placed an order and want to make an adjustment to an existing order please email info@bellevuebadminton.com.

BBC Apparel Order Form

15 Years

December 2020 will mark the Bellevue Badminton Club’s 15th anniversary. It has been an incredible journey thus far from our humble beginnings and a handful of members to what has now become a strong and dedicated community of badminton players, coaches, and families. The recent trials and hardship caused from the pandemic has made it tough for our community since members aren’t able to mix and mingle with friends how we normally enjoy doing, but we are confident with your continued support the Bellevue Badminton Club will become an even stronger community because of it. The celebration this year may look different than in years past, but please stay tuned for updates. Until then…

See you on the courts,

The Management Team
Bellevue Badminton Club