READY TO PLAY?

The venue is confirmed and booked!

Venue:

Sports Hub @Treviglas

Dates:

Friday 24th May
Friday 7th June
Friday 21st June
Friday 5th July
Friday 19th July

Cost:

£22 per player

This covers all 5 nights, but does not include shuttles - please refer to the rules.

What happens next?  If you wish to enter, please contact James with your email address, mobile number, and Badminton England registration number, and he will send a PayPal invoice to you.

Shuttles

One of the main variables for running a badminton event, is the shuttle cost.  How to predict the number that will be used, and controlling the supply is very difficult.  As a player, you want a new shuttle as soon as a feather gets ruffled.  As an organiser, you want the players to play with that shuttle until it's lost at least 16 feathers!

On a visit to France to play at Badmin'Tours, I discovered a new way.  

Players supply the shuttles.

This means the players are acutely aware of the cost of each shuttle used, and are more reluctant to change the shuttle.  This means the overall cost of the event to the player is up to them!  

In a tournament, this has the additional benefit that if you get to a final, you use more shuttles than a first round loser, and therefore the cost is fair to all players.

Using this approach means the Kernow Super League entry fees can be kept down, and players can control their individual shuttle cost.

From rules 14, 15, 16, 17:

• Players must provide their own feather shuttles. If players disagree on the make or model of shuttle being used, then Yonex AS40's must be used.
• Players must mark their shuttles with an identifying mark (a permanent marker will be available at the desk).
• Players must take turns supplying shuttles. After spinning for serve, then spin to see which player will supply first shuttle.
• If players disagree on whether to change a shuttle, the organiser will decide. Players must abide by that decision.

Venues

I have looked at a few venues, and unfortunately, with Cornwall Council pricing in place, courts are very expensive, with little or no discount available.  This means my aim of an affordable entry fee was looking very difficult.

However, a contact at St Austell Bay has led me to look at Sports Hub @Treviglas, and after visiting, this looks like the perfect venue!  A brand new hall, with four courts, and a sprung wooden floor. The manager is able to look at a special rate for the league, and it looks hopeful for meeting my target price.

Developing a new league

I have been considering running some kind of singles based event for a couple of years.  This year, while at the All England, discussion around the idea with other people has led to the Kernow Super League.

My aim is to create something different to the current leagues, and to motivate people to play during the summer.  I also had in mind something that was social and entertaining, as well as competitive and reasonably priced.

The Summer 2013 league will be a trial, to see how the format works, and whether enough people will commit to playing.  If it is successful, I hope to be writing about a second division next season!