Portland Open will be held at the Multnomah Athletic Club (MAC) on August 1st
and 2nd with total prize $5000. For more information, please check out
http://northwestbadminton.org

- Robert Chan

Portland badminton clinic information is up. Please check out
http://northwestbadminton.org/index.php.

- Robert Chan

Badminton Shot and Drill Practice at North Seatac
North Seatac Community Center,
13735 24th Ave. South, Seatac, WA 98168
Phone:  206 973-4680

  SKILL CLASS - DESIGNED FOR ADVANCED - BEGINNER  AND INTERMEDIATE PLAYERS
Objective  - Doubles positional play, footwork, skills and tactics.
Practice will focus on skill acquisition, proper form and balance for your body
mechanics with the integration of movement  for doubles play. Shuttles NOT
supplied.

Class will be limited to 12 players

When:   May 30, June 6, 13, 20,27.
Time:     5:30 – 6:45
Price:     Five session cost is $35.00
Please confirm your participation by email cartergig@... with the
following…
1. Any prearranged partner attending with you.
I will reply with the class registration procedure.
Any further questions please email or call Wendy Carter @ 253 278 9797 or
cartergig@...

Badminton Shot and Drill Practice at North Seatac
North Seatac Community Center,
13735 24th Ave. South, Seatac, WA 98168
Phone:  206 973-4680

DRILL AND SKILL CLASS - DESIGNED FOR INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED PLAYERS
Objective – an opportunity to improve shot accuracy and movement economy,
through repetition, movement patterning, and drills.
A   drill program will be outlined for player convenience.  If the drill program
does not suit your needs, players have the option to do their own practice.
Shuttles NOT supplied.
Due to court limitations, maximum attendance per class is a total of 16 people.
Please arrive early for your class to warm up.
When:   May 30, June 6, 13, 20,27.
Time:     4:15 – 5:45
Price:     Five session cost is $30.00
Please confirm your participation by email cartergig@... with the
following…
1. Any prearranged partner attending with you.
I will reply with the class registration procedure.
Any further questions please email or call Wendy Carter @ 253 278 9797 or
cartergig@...

The badminton tournament in the NWSG for 50+ players will be held Friday, June19
from 3-9 and Saturday, June 20, from 9-1 at the Northgate Community Center,
10510-5th Ave NE Seattle. Time requests will be accomodated, if possible. The
deadline is June 12. You can register online at www.northwestseniorgames.org or
Email ginny@... for an entry brochure to mail in a paper
form. Commissioner-Joyce Jones racquetsrus@...   425 743 1752

Badmintology Summer Fiesta Badminton Tournament will be held at
Richmond, BC, June 5-7th, entry deadline is May 30, 2009.

Entries can be faxed to 604.271.6286 or email to admin@...
Washington players can pay at the door, no surcharge for being late.

more information on the website:
http://www.badmintology.com/

For entry form:
http://northwestbadminton.org/2009/Badmintology%20Summer_Fiesta_Badminton_Tourna\
ment09.pdf

The 2009 Washington State Games Badminton will be held at Bellevue Badminton
Club, June 26-28th.

Entry form is available:

http://northwestbadminton.org/2009/wa/WAState_Games_2009_EntryForm.pdf

Result:
http://tournamentsoftware.com/sport/draws.aspx?id=565B13C7-3690-49F2-BFE5-517043\
0178A8

Photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clintonc111/sets/72157618420682384/


2009 Washington State Open Badminton Tournament Notes

The 2009 edition of Washington State Open Badminton Tournament went smoothly
over the weekend.  There are over 190 players participated in this year's
tournament at Bellevue Community College.

For the first time in many years, we do not have players from Alaska, Montana
and Spokane due to injury and being new parents.  Thanks to the continue support
of players from Vancouver/BC, there're even more of you coming to the
tournament, we may have to name the tournament Washington State/BC Open
Badminton Tournament.

Thanks to the stands and nets from Spokane, we were able to put in 2 extra
courts for
the tournament.  With a total of 12 courts, this makes the tournament more
manageable,
and the 2 courts were turned into the finals courts.

We have good turnout on Saturday dinner, most players were able to make it.
Villette was the emcee of the evening, thanks to Natalie for buying all the door
prizes,
the drawing was the highlight of the dinner.  Villette was too busy calling the
number
and didn't realize she won the last prize when the number was called and the
number
was re-drawed.

Congratulation to triple crown winners, Elisha Liu and Jonathan Vandervet both
took the
singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles.

The mixed doubles kicked off the first final match of the day, after the very
close first
game with score 23-21, the young pair of Elisha Liu and Jonathan Vandervet did
not give
any chance to Ying-Fang Lai and Paz Ben-Sira on the 2nd game and took the title
in 2 games.

No luck for Paz on the Men's Singles final against the same opponent Johathan,
just like
the mixed match with close 1st game.  Jonathan took the match in 2 games and 2nd
title.

Elisha got stronger as the match continue against the local junior Amy Jin,
especially
the second game and took the Women's Single title.

The young Jonathan and experienced Darrell Siu combination turned out to be too
strong
for the experienced pair of Mike Nguyen and Henry Quan in 2 games.

The last final match of the day between Elisha Liu/Bowie Tam and Rosalynn
Chong/Malisa Lieung turns out to be the best match for all finals.  The match
went into 3 games, the 3rd game was a see-saw with several long rallies,
eventually, Elisha and Bowie took the match and 3rd game with score of 23-21.

Many many thanks to all the volunteers (or being volunteered) who helped out
throughout the tournament, without your help, the tournament would not be
successful.  Special thanks to the husband and wife pair of Katherine and
Patrick for the helps before, during and after the tournament.

T-shirt Design - Tina Pham
Entry/Finance - Helen Roome
Door Prize - Natalie Sun
Net Setup - Steven Ip, Nino Gonzales, Sisavat Keobounmey
Emcee - Villette Cuthbert
Umpire - Ufilya Davis, Patrick Ip
Registration - Melissa Tang, Doris Ng
Announcer - Nino Gonzales, James Lau, Natalie Sun, Rochelle Ng
Tournament Software - Katherine Ip
Tournament Desk - Patrick Ip
Tournament Helpers - Wendy Carter, Linda Lang

See everyone next year.

Clinton

Hi Seattle Badminton Lovers,

Sorry for the delay.  But I really want to thank Doris and Nino for co-chairing
this year's junior tournament.  They are first timers as tournament directors,
but they act like Pros.  Nino ran the whole tournament from start to finish, he
even ate lunch at the desk. Medals had been my nightmare of junior tournaments
as we combined events but gave medals according to the age groups they signed up
for - it can be a real mess.  Oh, Nino smoothly distribute them all on the day
of the tournament and all kids went home happily with their reward of the day:)>
Doris got the hardest jobs of all - making the draw, finding partners for the
players and calming parents down.  Believe me or not, we changed the draw over a
dozen times.  We even changed it for Vicky and Kendrick the morning of the
tournament.  Good Jobs, both of you!  Hope to see you again next year.

- Katherine for WSBA


--- In SeattleBadminton@yahoogroups.com, "badsmashcc" <clintonc111@...> wrote:
>
> The results for 2009 Junior Championship and Daffodil badminton tournaments
are available:
>
> http://northwestbadminton.org
>
> The following is the note from Doris:
>
> 2009 WSBA Junior Championship
> Bellevue Badminton Club, April 25, 2009
>
> Note of Thanks
>
> This is the 3rd year of the Washington State Junior Championship, which took
place at the Bellevue Badminton Club on April 25th, 2009.
>
> Although the turnout was less than last year with 63 players mainly from the
greater Seattle area, 3 from Spokane and 2 from Campbell River,B.C., we had a
very competitive and fun tournament with all the matches finishing in just one
single day.
>
> We also had a wide range of age groups – ranging from our youngest player,
Thaddeus Ho, at just 8 years old, to the experienced player, Joshua Wong, who
competed in the U22 events.
>
> This is also the first time we offered the online entry option on
tournamentsoftware.com. It turned out to be a great option for the out of town
players. Results are posted on www.tournamentsoftware.com as well.
>
> The cute T-Shirt graphic this year was designed by Natalie Sun.  If you pay
close attention to the comic characters in the graphic, you may find a few
familiar faces!
>
> I'd also like to give thanks to Nino, my co-chair of this tournament, who ran
the tournament from start to finish. Of course, without the support of Raquel
Gonzales, we would not have seen the tournament end on time.
>
> In addition, thanks to Katherine Ip who gave me this opportunity in organizing
this tournament. I have learned a lot from her professionalism.
>
> Last but not least, many thanks to the coaches (Kenny, Raju & Paz), parents
and the volunteers for their support.
>
> They include:
> T-shirt design & printing – Natalie Sun, Ben Shamsuddin
> Draw Desk –  Katherine Ip, Natalie Sun
> Scorekeeping – Patrick Ip, Amy Jin, Soloman So, Renata Baker
> Medals – Linda Lang, Kevin Hermanto, Raquel Gonzales
> Food – Katy Wah
> Clean up- Kevin Hermanto
> Support – All parents.
>
> Hope to see you again next year!
>
> Regards,
> Doris Ng
> Nino Gonzales
>

The results for 2009 Junior Championship and Daffodil badminton tournaments are
available:

http://northwestbadminton.org

The following is the note from Doris:

2009 WSBA Junior Championship
Bellevue Badminton Club, April 25, 2009

Note of Thanks

This is the 3rd year of the Washington State Junior Championship, which took
place at the Bellevue Badminton Club on April 25th, 2009.

Although the turnout was less than last year with 63 players mainly from the
greater Seattle area, 3 from Spokane and 2 from Campbell River,B.C., we had a
very competitive and fun tournament with all the matches finishing in just one
single day.

We also had a wide range of age groups – ranging from our youngest player,
Thaddeus Ho, at just 8 years old, to the experienced player, Joshua Wong, who
competed in the U22 events.

This is also the first time we offered the online entry option on
tournamentsoftware.com. It turned out to be a great option for the out of town
players. Results are posted on www.tournamentsoftware.com as well.

The cute T-Shirt graphic this year was designed by Natalie Sun.  If you pay
close attention to the comic characters in the graphic, you may find a few
familiar faces!

I'd also like to give thanks to Nino, my co-chair of this tournament, who ran
the tournament from start to finish. Of course, without the support of Raquel
Gonzales, we would not have seen the tournament end on time.

In addition, thanks to Katherine Ip who gave me this opportunity in organizing
this tournament. I have learned a lot from her professionalism.

Last but not least, many thanks to the coaches (Kenny, Raju & Paz), parents and
the volunteers for their support.

They include:
T-shirt design & printing – Natalie Sun, Ben Shamsuddin
Draw Desk –  Katherine Ip, Natalie Sun
Scorekeeping – Patrick Ip, Amy Jin, Soloman So, Renata Baker
Medals – Linda Lang, Kevin Hermanto, Raquel Gonzales
Food – Katy Wah
Clean up- Kevin Hermanto
Support – All parents.

Hope to see you again next year!

Regards,
Doris Ng
Nino Gonzales

The entry deadline for the upcoming Washington State Open Badminton Tournament
is Saturday, May 2nd.

Online entry is available, you'll still need to send in the payment to Helen to
avoid the late fee:

http://tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=565B13C7-3690-49F2-BFE5-5\
170430178A8

or go to:

http://tournamentsoftware.com/

and "find tournament" with "2009 Washington state open"

The entry for Oregon Open is available:

http://northwestbadminton.org

The entry deadline for 2009 WSBA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP is extended to midnight
Thursday, April 16th, 2009.

Send in your entry ASAP to Doris Ng, you can enter the entry online
first:

http://tournamentsoftware.com/sport/selectonlineentry.aspx?id=8EB4FCDD-DC3F-4D2B\
-A8FD-85B29D2AF925

or go to:

http://tournamentsoftware.com/
and "find tournament" with "2009 WSBA JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP"

Entry information is available at:

http://northwestbadminton.org/index.php

Badminton Shot and Drill Practice at North Seatac

Where:    North Seatac Community Center,
13735 24th Ave. South, Seatac, WA 98168
Phone:  206 973-4680

Objective â€" an opportunity to improve shot accuracy and movement economy,
through repetition, movement patterning, and drills.
A   drill program will be outlined for player convenience.  If the drill program
does not suit your needs, players have the option to do their own practice.
Shuttles NOT supplied.
Due to court limitations, maximum attendance per class is a total of 16 people.
Please arrive early for your class to warm up.

When:   April 11, 18, 25, May 2, 9. (Washington Open is the 15th, 16th, and
17th)
Time:     Class A   4:15 â€" 5:30 Class B   5:30 â€" 6:45
Price:     Five session cost is $30.00

Please confirm your participation by email cartergig@... with the
following…
1. Any prearranged partner attending with you.
2. Class A or Class B or flexible (meaning you can attend either class, allowing
for optimal partner pairing)
I will reply with the class registration procedure.
Any further questions please email or call Wendy Carter @ 253 278 9797 or
cartergig@...

Yonex will be coming to your badminton club with new products to test. Please
come and check them out! On-hand will be sample rackets including the NANOSPEED
9900, shoes and shuttlecocks. The products will not be available for purchase at
the demo, but retail information will be. The demonstration schedule is:

Washington
Highline Badminton Club: April 7th at 7:30pm to 9:30pm
Bellevue Badminton Club: April 11th at 10:00am to 3:00pm
Shoreline Badminton Club (Spartan Gym): April 17th at 8:00pm to 10:00pm
Meadowbrook Community Center: April 24th at 7:45pm to 9:45pm
Tacoma Badminton Club: April 27th at 7:30pm to 9:30pm

Oregon
Portland Badminton Club: April 9th at 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Tualatin Hills Athletic Center: April 20th at 7:00pm to 9:00pm
City Bible College: schedule: May 2nd at 8:00am to 10:00am

If you have questions or want Yonex to come to your club please contact Toru at
206-992-5907.

Hi All,

You can now go online to register for 2009 Washington State Junior Championship
Open Tournament. Follow the link below.

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=8EB4FCDD-DC3F-4D2B-A8\
FD-85B29D2AF925

Please note that you are still required to send your check and waiver form to
Doris Ng at 12111 SE 47th Pl., Bellevue, WA 98006.

- Katherine

The entry form for this year's Washington State Open is available:

http://northwestbadminton.org

The entry form is available:

http://northwestbadminton.org

Don't miss the amazing speed of the first events sold out in Beijing when the
best in Table Tennis AND Badminton compete together in North America for the
first time.

Featured players include Badminton stars Peter Gade of Denmark (the #4 player in
the world), Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia (the #7 player in the world and Olympic
Gold Medalist), and Andre Tedjono of Indonesia (winner of 3 Grand Prix events in
2008) along with Table Tennis greats Chen Weixeng of Austria (European
Champion), Robert Gardos of Austria (semi-finalist in 2008 Olympics), Leung Chu
Yan of Hong Kong (a quarterfinalist at the 2004 Olympics).

Act before March 14th to take advantage of your exclusive priority window and
savings of 25% off the regular single session price when you purchase a series
package. Open the attachment for details or visit
www.ticketmaster.ca/racketrally and use priority code RALLY to purchase tickets.
For more information, please visit www.racketrally.net, and see announcement.

Hurry and sign up if you're interested, only the Class B 5:30-645 PM
session has room left.

Badminton Shot and Drill Practice at North Seatac

Where:    North Seatac Community Center,
13735 24th Ave. South, Seatac, WA 98168
Phone:  206 973-4680

Objective – an opportunity to improve shot accuracy and movement
economy, through repetition, movement patterning, and drills.
A   drill program will be outlined for player convenience.  If the
drill program does not suit your needs, players have the option to do
their own practice. Shuttles NOT supplied.
Due to court limitations, maximum attendance per class is a total of
16 people.
Please arrive early for your class to warm up.

When:    March 7, 14, 21, 28, and April 4th
Time:     Class A   4:15 – 5:30 Class B   5:30 – 6:45
Price:     Five session cost is $30.00

Please confirm your participation by email cartergig@... with
the following…
1. Any prearranged partner attending with you.
2. Class A or Class B or flexible (meaning you can attend either
class, allowing for optimal partner pairing)
I will reply with the class registration procedure.
Any further questions please email or call Wendy Carter @ 253 278 9797
or cartergig@...

Badminton Shot and Drill Practice at North Seatac

Where:    North Seatac Community Center,
13735 24th Ave. South, Seatac, WA 98168
Phone:  206 973-4680

Objective – an opportunity to improve shot accuracy and movement
economy, through repetition, movement patterning, and drills.
A   drill program will be outlined for player convenience.  If the
drill program does not suit your needs, players have the option to do
their own practice. Shuttles NOT supplied.
Due to court limitations, maximum attendance per class is a total of
16 people.
Please arrive early for your class to warm up.

When:    March 7, 14, 21, 28, and April 4th
Time:     Class A   4:15 – 5:30 Class B   5:30 – 6:45
Price:     Five session cost is $30.00

Please confirm your participation by email cartergig@... with
the following…
1. Any prearranged partner attending with you.
2. Class A or Class B or flexible (meaning you can attend either
class, allowing for optimal partner pairing)
I will reply with the class registration procedure.
Any further questions please email or call Wendy Carter @ 253 278 9797
or cartergig@...

Congratulation to Vicky Chen and Renata Baker who won the U15 Girls
Doubles at the 2009 USA Badminton Junior International Trials over the
weekend.  There are 4 local juniors participated the trials.

The 2009 JIT results will determine the junior athletes who will
represent the United States in the Pan American Junior Championship
(August 17- 23 , in San Juan-Puerto Rico) and BWF World Junior
Championship (TBD) for Team and Individual events.

Other results:

U13 GS
Vicky Chen - 5th place

U13 XD
Vicky Chen/Alex La - 5th place

U15 GS
Renata Baker - 3rd place

U15 XD
Kevin La/Renata Baker - 5th place

U15 BD
Alex La/Kevin La - 6th place

-------------- Original message from "badsmashcc" <clintonc111@...>: --------------

The result is available at: http://northwestbadminton.org

2009 Washington State Closed Badminton Tournament Note

This year's Washington State Closed Badminton Tournament was held
over the Valentine weekend and we have 110 participants celebrating
the weekend together.

This year's tournament shows the continuing improvement of the junior
players, as they
get better and stronger and took some titles even as the older
experienced players trying
their best to delay the inevitable.

We tried the new software from Tournament Software this year, the drop
rules is a little different than in the past.

Young Amy Jin won her first ever Women's singles against veteran
Ying-Fang Lai in 2 games.

Young Curtis Stensland took the Men's Singles crown in two games
against Tao Yuan and possibly more to come in the future.

Ying-Fang Lai and Sisavat Keobounmey won the mixed title 2 years in a
row, Masako Cochran with new partner Tim Moon had to settle for 2nd again.

The very experienced and healthy pair of Wendy Carter and Ufilya Davis
proved they still have the fire in them to take the Women's doubles
title against the younger Ying-Fang Lai and Masako Cochran.

The father/son pair of Geoff and Curtis Stendsland took the Men's
doubles title against Ronald Langingi and Greg Ung in tight 2 games.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out, without you the
tournament won't be successful.

t-shirt design - Michael Lau
food/drink - Jenny and Joahnes Jie
entry/financial - Helen Roome
Registration Desk - Joe Leung, Doris Ng, Melissa Tang
Match Announcing - Natalie Sun, Joyce Chung, Nino Gonzales, Justin
Suen, Christine Chen
Tournament Desk - Rochelle Ng, Clara Lam, James Lau, Bryan Lam
Clean up – Quincy and Herman Wu

Special thanks to Katherine and Patrick Ip, they helped throughout the
tournament.

Clinton

The result is available at: http://northwestbadminton.org

2009 Washington State Closed Badminton Tournament Note

This year's Washington State Closed  Badminton Tournament was held
over the Valentine weekend and we have 110 participants celebrating
the weekend together.

This year's tournament shows the continuing improvement of the junior
players, as they
get better and stronger and took some titles even as the older
experienced players trying
their best to delay the inevitable.

We tried the new software from Tournament Software this year, the drop
rules is a little different than in the past.

Young Amy Jin won her first ever Women's singles against veteran
Ying-Fang Lai in 2 games.

Young Curtis Stensland took the Men's Singles crown in two games
against Tao Yuan and possibly more to come in the future.

Ying-Fang Lai and Sisavat Keobounmey won the mixed title 2 years in a
row, Masako Cochran with new partner Tim Moon had to settle for 2nd again.

The very experienced and healthy pair of Wendy Carter and Ufilya Davis
proved they still have the fire in them to take the Women's doubles
title against the younger Ying-Fang Lai and Masako Cochran.

The father/son pair of Geoff and Curtis Stendsland took the Men's
doubles title against Ronald Langingi and Greg Ung in tight 2 games.

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped out, without you the
tournament won't be successful.

t-shirt design - Michael Lau
food/drink - Jenny and Joahnes Jie
entry/financial - Helen Roome
Registration Desk - Joe Leung, Doris Ng, Melissa Tang
Match Announcing - Natalie Sun, Joyce Chung, Nino Gonzales, Justin
Suen, Christine Chen
Tournament Desk - Rochelle Ng, Clara Lam, James Lau, Bryan Lam
Clean up – Quincy and Herman Wu

Special thanks to Katherine and Patrick Ip, they helped throughout the
tournament.

Clinton

Note the draw and schedule is subject to change:

Match Starting Time (Feb 13-15th): Friday 6 PM - Open Mixed Doubles
Saturday 9 AM - Open Men Singles Saturday 11:30 AM - Open Women
Singles Saturday 2 PM - Open Men Doubles Saturday 4 PM - Open Women
Doubles Sunday 10 AM - 35+ Doubles Sunday 11:30 AM - Open Finals

View the draw:

http://northwestbadminton.org

Washington State Junior Championship Open Tournament will be held on
April 25th to the 26th at the Bellevue Badminton Club. Entries must be
received by Friday April 10th, 2009. Please check the form for more
information, format, pricing and liability release. Email Doris Ng or
Nino Gonzales for more details. The entry form is available at:
http://northwestbadminton.org

Just to remind everyone that the upcoming WA closed entry deadline
is this Sunday, February 1.

Also the 35+ doubles is one unisex event, man/man, woman/woman and
man/woman pair can all enter.

_______________________________________________
Region4 mailing list
Region4@...
http://northwestbadminton.org/mailman/listinfo/region4_northwestbadminton.org

New beginning badminton class offered in Seattle 
The International District/Chinatown Community Center in Seattle is offering a new beginning badminton class. This class involves a lot of running, exercises and games to keep you fit, active and improve your game. Learn from an experienced instructor the skills you will need to enhance your on-court performance. Ages 13 and older. Starting Thursday, January 8. Cost $40. For more information call 206 233-0042 or visit www.seattle.gov/parks. Semi-private (2 students) badminton lessons with Coach Nino Gonzales. Thursdays 7:30-8:30 p.m. $30/hr. Call to schedule a lesson 206 233-0042.

WSBA Closed Badminton Tournament Form Posted 
Entry forms are now available for the Washington State Closed Badminton Tournament at the www.northwestbadminton.org site. Match play will be on February 13-15 at the Bellevue Badminton Club. Entries must be received by Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009. Please check the form for more information, format, pricing and liability release. Email Clinton Chen or Helen Roome for more details.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Tournament January 16-18, 2009 
Lake City High School and Peak Health are hosting their badminton tournament on Jan. 16-18. For more info email Tim Scott or download the entry form atwww.northwestbadminton.org. Peak Health is located at 940 Ironwood Dr, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (1/2-hour east of Spokane). Entry deadline: Jan. 10, 2009. Costs are $15 per Singles, $20 per Doubles with 2-event limit.

Brief Notes: Coach Wendy Carter clinic warmed up dedicated shuttle freaks in Spokane. The two-session clinic held court with a variety of player skills. Fundamentals of proper warm-up sequencing and practical workout drills were among the highlights of her visit. Kudos go to Eric Lee and the Spokane Valley Hub for facilitating the gathering on a blustery, below-zero Sunday.

++++

Upcoming Events:
Jan 16-18  LCHS/Peak Health Tournament
Feb 13-15  Washington State Closed Tournament
Apr 18-19  Tacoma Daffodils Tournament
Apr 25-26  Washington State Junior Championships
May 15-17  Washington State Open

Please send news items and tournament info or results to: webmaster@...

The result is available at:
http://northwestbadminton.org/2008/WaMasterDraw.htm

This year, we're lucky to have a dream team of young Rochelle Ng
and Bryan Lam running the tournament desk.  The following is from
Rochelle:

2008 Chris Gulin Masters Event



This year's Chris Gulin Masters Event was a memorable one with more
than 70 players from all across the northwest region. We were
fortunate to have a diverse group of players this year ranging from
Bellevue locals, to Montana, to Vancouver, BC. We also had great
diverse levels of play, ranging from recreational to experienced and
competitive. Nonetheless, the atmosphere of the event was very upbeat
and positive, filled with competitive spirit and enjoyment.



We would like to thank all of those that put so much time and effort
into making this tournament a successful one. We believe that Chris
would be proud to see the fruits of his labor prospering so well.



A special thanks goes out to everyone who worked at the desk to keep
the tournament running smoothly. Melissa Tang, who worked so hard at
the registration desk is very much appreciated. Registration was a
very pain-free process this year thanks to her! Patcrick Ip, Katherine
Ip, and Clinton Chen also did a great job at manning the desk and
teaching Bryan Lam and me how to run the software on Friday and to
help run the tournament on Saturday. Without their help, the
tournament could not have stayed so close to schedule. There would
have been major problems if it were not for their great experience in
running these tournaments. Also, thanks to all of the other juniors
that assisted me and Bryan at the desk by making announcements,
preparing scoreboards, running scoreboards to courts, giving players
new shuttles, collecting old shuttles, and posting up the draws.
Thanks to Christine Chen, Vicky Chen, Renata Baker, Erika Baker,
Herman Wu, and Quincy Wu!



I can't thank my dedicated partner enough, Bryan Lam, for helping me
so much with his calm head and logic at the desk. Together we pulled
off a decent tournament on Saturday, not bad for our first time! Also,
thanks to Steven Ip for helping us on Saturday so that we could eat
lunch halfway through our work! I now have a newfound appreciation for
those that juggle scoreboards, microphones, a tournament software, and
70+ players for other tournaments!



Thanks to those that went out of their way to prepare the food for the
players so that they could keep their energy levels up between play!
And a big thanks to Ufililya Davis and everyone else who made the
Saturday night dinner so great with a 50-50 raffle, tons of great door
prizes (ranging from teas and wines to gift cards to Yonex shirts,
bags, and rackets), and excellent Thai food catered to us by Thaiger
Room (courtesy of Duncan Lau). The food was delicious, and the dance
was lots of fun! Congratulations to all that won a door prize, and
Wayne Dalin as the winner of our 50-50 raffle. Part of the rest of
those donations goes to the junior program here at BBC! Thanks to all
that participated in the raffle!



Last, but not least, we couldn't have hosted this event without
players! Thanks to everyone that participated in this event, and
congratulations to all that won certain events! This year was a very
exciting year, with many heated and close games in many of the
semi-finals and finals. Here are some of the highlights from this
year's tournament:



To start things off with a bang, the 30+ Men's Singles Final was
played on Saturday and was very intense. Leslie Lau was matched up in
the final against Tao Yuan. Leslie took the first game from Tao 21-19,
but Tao came back and won the second game 21-18. Tao continued his
winning streak and won the final game 21-15. Both players did a great
job, and there were some extremely long rallies, but luckily for
enthusiastic spectators like me, both Tao and Leslie put up a great
fight. Almost immediately after the long game, Leslie had a bad case
of cramps, but did well to endure it throughout the day in his men's
doubles. Congratulations for winning, Tao!



Andre Chan and Lindy Liu put up a good fight, but in the end Greg Ung
and Ying-Fang Lai pulled off a victory for 30+ Mixed Doubles 21-16, 21-16.



Also, in the round robin draws, congratulations to the winners of the
40+ Mixed Doubles, Chris Hubbard and Esther Masuda, and to the winners
of the 50+ Mixed Doubles, Frank Price and Sanne Drybrough. Both pairs
had to play many games to win their events!



For Mens Singles, congratulations to Vincent Chong (40+ winner) and
Tony Knott (50+ winner). There were some very intense matches that I
saw playing in the round robin draws. By the end of the tournament, I
would be surprised if they weren't completely exhausted from playing
so many long games!



Even though Andre and Lindy were the runner ups for their Mixed
Doubles event, that didn't stop Lindy Liu from taking the 30+ Women
Singles crown home. Congratulations to her great victory (especially
since that was the only women's singles event!).



As usual, men's doubles was very intense among all age groups, and all
of the matches were exciting. Congratulations to Geoff Stensland and
Tony Knott (35+), Chris Hubbard and John Leung (40+), and Frank Price
and Raymond Wong (50+) who all won their men's doubles events!



On court 1, everyone was watching the 30+ Men's Doubles Final when
Greg Ung and Ronald Langingi pulled off a victory against Kevin Yu and
Tao Yuan in three long intense games. Greg and Ronald won 11-21,
21-11, 21-19. After the game, Greg commented that he must have smashed
more than 300 times in the last game. It was difficult with Tao and
Kevin's strong defense, but eventually, Greg and Ronald took the last
two points and won the match. Both teams did a great job!



Congratulations to Mike Britten and Wayne Dalin who beat Geoff
Stensland and Sing Lam in the 45+ men's doubles final! They make a
great team, even though they were competitors against each other in
the 45+ Mixed Doubles Finals and the 35+ Mixed Doubles Semi-Finals!
Wayne Dalin paired up with Susan Rogers to beat Mike and Karren
Britten both times. But both times, the matches went to three games,
and the scores were very close. Wayne and Susan won the 45+ Mixed
Doubles Finals against Mike Karren with a score of 22-24, 21-8, 28-26.
Great job to both mixed doubles pairs for putting up such a great fight!



Yukiko Kumakawa and Katherine Ip did a nice job in winning the 35+
Women's Doubles event! They didn't lose a single game in their event –
nicely done!



Ying-Fang Lai and Masako Cochran did a great job in their Women's
Doubles events. They won both the 30+ an 40+ titles! In the 40+ finals
against Siu-Imm Tay and Susan Rogers, the three games they played were
very close. But, at the very end, they were able to get 2 last points
and win with the score 21-9, 15-21, 21-19. Siu-Imm Tay and Susan
Rogers made a great team, but had to play each others in the intense
35+ mixed doubles final.



In the 35+ Mixed Doubles, Leslie Lau and Siu-Imm Tay eventually beat
Wayne Dalin and Susan Rogers in the final after 3 long games. Being
the last event played in the tournament, extra pressure was definitely
added as they were put on court 1 for everyone to watch. The silence
was so intense before each serve; you could hear a pin drop. But both
experienced pairs handled the pressure well and gave spectators a very
entertaining match to wrap up the tournament. Despite the pain that
Leslie still felt the next day from cramps the previous day, him and
his wife pulled off a narrow victory at the end, winning 21-17, 12-21,
21-17. Congratulations to both pairs for giving everyone such a great
game to watch to end the tournament!



It has been my pleasure to help out with this tournament and to watch
some incredible matches! Everyone – players and helpers – contributed
greatly to making this year's Chris Gulin Masters Event a memorable
one! We hope to see you all next year for an even better tournament!



~Rochelle Ng