Hi there Hagane, Yeah, Fend, Loh and I are staying at Urban Central but Maz is staying at somewhere else but can easily come to Urban Central. It would be good if you can pick us up. So Kim, just waiting for your confirmation all is go and I'll tell the others.
Hagane, I'm at the Stamford Plaza on Little Collins Street. As Adelina says, her, FEND, Loh, and myself will be able to make it if you can give us all a lift I probably won't be checking the forum again for the rest of the week, so if you can, please contact Adelina or FEND to confirm things. TKS!
I'd also love to play if you can get it at 12-2:30. I could also go in and pick people up too. I probably won't be able to get onto the forum tomorrow, so could adelina/fend/maz please txt me the details and where/when you need to be picked up?
Guys, I have booked a court for Saturday from 12.00 - 2.00pm. If more people turned up, I could have more courts. The stadium is at 52 Henderson Road, Keysborough, melways: P89 B6. Kim.
Is this the place where the english team trained at?If so I've been there only once which is to watch them train lol...btw if i wanna go do i have to let anyone know in advance?because i might not know till tommorow morning and i dnt think i'll come on here, can i just turn up at the court at 12?
Yes, it's the same place. Just drop by as I believe we have the whole stadium, just like the english team
oops - where is it - does anyone need a lift? Won't be checking till tomorrow morning, so if you need a lift, pm me & I can pick up from the city.
Hi All, Just a quick note to say thank you to all efforts made to meet up. I enjoyed every moment of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, except for yesterday (Sunday) :crying: , where I went home after the Mixed Doubles final, as I was fighting off a very high temperature and a flu that's just hit me all of a sudden Back in Sydney now. Apologies to tze yang, we didn't manage to catch up with you, but I did ask for you when I went to Kilsyth with Lenny for one of your Sunday training sessions...but you weren't there Maz
BC Melbourne Fun Games Yes, indeed we missed the company of Twodogs and Tze yang, particularly the former, as we had hoped he would turn up at our second session on Saturday 25th from 12 - 2 pm, at Southern Star Badminton Center at Keysborough, a converted warehouse with 4 rubber floor courts, owned and run by ex-Indonesian, Irvan Lay, who also sparred with us. Adelina, Maz, FEND, kong-19, Hagane, Kim and I much enjoyed our session there. We had a very close match, with each side taking a game based on the new 21-point scoring system. Kim partnered Maz and Adelina had to cover me! Hagane was rather handy in giving us a lift back to Urban Central after the fun games so that we could even take a shower before we rushed off to MEC (Melbourne Exhibition Centre) in time for the semi finals which commenced at around 4 pm. He also fetched our two ladies, Maz and Adelina, to Southern Star in his trusty car at about 11 in the morning. FEND and I started off an hour earlier to take the 40-min train ride to Glen Waverley Station to meet up with Kim and Kong. As our game was near lunch hour, Kim suggested we take an early meal of delcious Vietnamese beef noodle soup at Spring Vale at about 11 am. Two days earlier, on Thursday 23rd, Kim brought us to the more modern Springster, which has dark wooden floors with more courts and facilities than Southern Star. The five of us, Kim, Kong, FEND, BadFever and I played from 8-10 pm, followed by supper of Chinese noodles and fried rice. Both Adelina and Maz were on duty at MEC. It was late into the night before we departed from the restaurant, which is located in an area mainly populated by Asians, particularly Malaysian Chinese and Indians. Kim gave an interesting account of the history and social fabric of this area as we enjoyed our meal. We then took a ride in Kim's car to savour the lights and sights of Westgate and the Docklands. But poor FEND tried hard to keep his eyes open with little avail! He was not used to late nights and had to officiate the next morning. BadFever drove home on his own. In place of Twodogs and Tze yang, we were lucky to be joined by BadFever and Hagane. So altogether, there were eight BFers representing Melbourne (3), Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, New Zealand and Singapore. With a relatively smaller group, that meant more games and more muscle aches! :crying: I trust Maz has fully recovered by now. Already, some of us are thinking of making it together again at Beijing Olympics 2008! How many of you care to join us. Make plans and save up for the occasion! See you in Beijing? Here are some pics of the group:
I am so p'd off that I couldn't get there in the end. My youngest son didn't turn up till just after 12, and by the time I could've got there, I would've had to turn round and come back. On a good note though, it looks like I have a new girlfriend so I'm glad I didn't cancel my 4pm date that day! It was really great to meet Fend, Adelina & Maz - I wish I could've met with the rest of you though.
Some Comments on the above Pictures Pic 1 - At the Yarra (L-R) Adelina (NZL), Maz (Sydney), FEND (Perth) and Loh (Singapore) This is a tourist attraction with modern developments, mainly shopping and restaurants, along this part of the Yarra River. The MEC (Melbourne Exhibition Centre) where the badminton, boxing and weightlifting events were held, is located just across the road. At the very start of this tourist stretch situates the famous and extensive Crown establishment housing mainly entertainment, restaurant and shopping facilities. The Crown Casino is located inside and the food courts are very popular. In the background, across the Yarra, is the busy Commercial Business District. Pic 2 - Close-Up View of Pic 1 This pic was taken by an elderly lady who mouthed us a smattering of Malay. The four of us have never met before until this MCG. FEND (Edmund) met both Adelina and Maz (Marianne) earlier as all three were involved as 'spotter' (identify nice-looking chicks and alert when the GAME is about to be OVER), IBF journalist and umpire respectively. Earlier, I joined the three of them at the Crown Food Court where they were having a bite. Pic 3 - At Springster Badminton Center (L-R) kong-19 (Brisbane), Kim (Melbourne), FEND, Loh & BadFever (Melbourne) Quite a modern regular sports setup with facilities for shower, restaurant and refreshments. The courts have dark brown wooden flooring that make the place look dimmer. But unlike many other courts which have overhead lights, here the flourescent lights are located along the aisles in between the courts. This is Kim's regular badminton haunt, although of late he hasn't been playing much, it seems. Just like myself and Maz, Kim's knees are not as strong as they used to be! Pic 4 - Close-up View of Pic 3 (L-R) BadFever, Kim, kong-19, FEND & Loh With five players occupying one court, at least one of us can take turns to relax. However, fair-looking BadFever took more than his share to recover as he had not been playing for about a year. But when he returned to the court, he was very deadly with his smash. Obviously his early training in Malaysia before his family migrated to Melbourne when he was still in his teens, must have done him a lot of good. Pic 5 - Southern Star Badminton Centre Well-known for its "Olympic carpet" flooring, the 4 courts with other limited facilites, have been well utilized by famous players and officials from the Indonesian foreign service. Converted from a warehouse, the dark red brickwall keeps the shuttle in sight although the ceiling is a bit low for singles play. Pic 6 - BC Melbourne 7 Group Photo (L-R) Adelina, Loh, kong-19, FEND, Kim, Hagane (Elton from Melbourne) & Maz Absent: BadFever (work commitment), Twodogs (had a lovely date elsewhere) and tze yang (missing in action). Pic 7 - Ladies in Action Our two ladies can be more than a match for our guys. Both are accomplished players and the leggy Adelina can certainly move about and cover the court easily. Maz possesses a rather deceptive backhand flick that changes the flight of the bird quite unexpectedly. Pic 8 - Satisfaction All seemed rather satisfied with the noon workout and were ready to leave Southern Star for another venue - the MEC, where the individual Bronze Medal events were scheduled from 4 pm onwards. Unfortunately, Hagane (seen on the extreme right) would not be joining us as he had a work assignment to complete. Pic 9 - Happy Are We! (L-R) Kim (ex-KL boy and the tallest among us), Hagane (Elton who is the stongest and heaviest at about 90kg is ex-Indonesian. Actually has reduced from over 100 kg cause mom and dad agreed to play badminton with him), Maz (Marianne whose parents hailed from Singapore and maybe be related to me? ), Adelina (has to be ex-Malaysian with all those skilful moves and strokes!) and me (rooted to Singapore for life :crying: ). Pic 10 & 11 - Crown Food Court In the evening, after the completion of the individual Bronze Medal events, kong-19 suggested this venue where his favourite Duck Noodles in soup was available. He should know better as he frequented this place after his successful forays in the Crown casino nearby. Kong was in generous mood and decided to part with some of his winnings to give us a treat. As such, the duck noodles tasted even better coupled with generous servings of duck meat and pork! Maz and Adelina, who both ate 'char kway teow', just could not resist the immense satisfaction shown on our faces and decided to share a bowl. They never regretted. The sad part was that this was like a farewell dinner for most of us as we went our separate ways thereafter and just dreaming when we'll be able to meet again. Beijing Olympics 2008 is waiting for us! Can we turn our dreams into reality?
Oh you should've joined us. Here are the details: Southern Star Badminton 52 Henderson Road Keysborough Vicotoria 3173 Director: Irvan Lay Home: (03) 9504 3065 Stadium: (03) 9701 58598 Mobile: 0425 743 725 - 0411 087 636
You misheard me Whilst I would have liked my parents to join me, they couldn't for health reasons. During the past year, I managed to coax a couple of people to play for an extra session (mostly singles) Whilst that doesn't translate to myself having skills like Adelina and Maz, I have fun nonetheless (and lose weight! ) It was a pleasure meeting everyone. Unfortunately, I can't set anything in concrete for Beijing 2008. I'm hoping that I would be able to, but there are too many things currently set in my timeline :/