Hello Birdie: Family Fun at Badminton Vancouver
Badminton meets all the criteria of a great sport: it’s fun, it’s a killer workout (and you won’t even realize it), it can be played indoors and outdoors, as singles or a team, and it’s great for people of all ages. While Vancouverites love to string up an outdoor net in the summer, badminton rackets tend to go into hibernation during the winter months. However, with the new Badminton Vancouver facility, this sport can be enjoyed year round.
State-of-the-Art Facility at Badminton Vancouver
The state-of-the-art facility opened in September. It’s only the second facility of its kind in North America, boasting 12 courts, 33 foot ceilings and spa-inspired change rooms. When the VancouverMom.ca team visited recently we had the pleasure of having two-time Olympian and five-time National Champion Anna Rice as our instructor. Anna is mother to a toddler and knows all about the importance of trying to maintain her own fitness while juggling the busy schedule of a mom. As the program director of the Badminton Vancouver facility, she has high hopes of making it a family-friendly environment where moms can come for a game of badminton, small children in tow.
As a group we tossed about ideas for making Badminton Vancouver a child friendly place. Babies could always park in strollers on the sidelines, but maybe older children could colour and play in the Mezz Cafe and Lounge located right above the court. Anna also had creative ideas for how toddlers could get into the sport early on. She showed us mini-sized rackets (you can be sure her son had one straight from the womb!) and also suggested teaching small children to rally back and forth with a balloon to work on their hand eye coordination.
Getting in the Game
The VancouverMom.ca team was not expected to be passive observers on the sidelines. Anna took us through a full-warm up which had us sweating before the games began! After stretching and a quick lesson on different hitting techniques and what the lins on the court meant, we were left to rally, with Anna spying on us to make sure we put the right foot forward. The courts filled with laughter as the birdie ricocheted wildly across the net (or under the net), and we dashed back and forth trying to get a good swing in. Sure enough the following day, we were all reporting sore muscles from our badminton workout.
Badminton Vancouver offers lesson for ages five and up, as well as drop-in times and birthday party packages. If you are Vancouver mom looking for a family friendly sports activity, make sure to check out this state of the art facility!
Badminton Vancouver
www.badminton-vancouver.com | Twitter | Facebook
13100 Mitchell Road, Richmond (under the Knight Street bridge), 604-325-5128
Michelle Gadd is an urban dwelling, Vancouver housewife and mother of two rambunctious boys. She has a passion for discovering, and writing about, ways to engage kids in city culture. Michelle created www.elasticpantcity.com as an outlet to write about life, from parenting to city living, fashion to frugality, food to faith, no subject is off the table. Michelle invites readers to take a glimpse inside her life and be inspired by the beauty of art in the every day.