FAQ’s

Our courts are only available for use by Abbeydale Park Badminton Club members and cannot be booked by non-members. However once the membership fee has been paid there is no additional cost for court usage. Members can turn up and play (when the courts are not in use – as shown on the Court Availability page) without additional cost and without the need to book.

Simply visit our membership page and review the information. We use GoCardless to process online payments, and manage repeat subscriptions, so when you are ready, click on the appropriate button to fill in your details and register.

After joining you will be issued a coloured tag bearing your name to hang on the playing board for club nights. The tag will take a couple of weeks to arrive after joining.

Visitors are welcome to come down any Friday evening from 7:30, most members arrive by 8:00. This is a relaxed night for social players with a wide range of playing standards. Committee members should be able to advise you on what club nights are suitable based on your standard of play. A committee member is generally present on all nights.
You can visit up to 3 times before we ask you to decide whether or not you would like to become a member. Each visit is subject to a visitors fee of £5, and we will ask you to fill in a paper form with your details, and issue you a temporary paper tag.

Members of the correct playing standard attend the appropriate feathers or plastics club nights. Members generally turn up between 7:30 and 8:15 and play until around 10.00pm. When players arrive they add their Membership Tag to the board in the centre of the hall (see the question below regarding the Tag System). Members and visitors will play a variety of level doubles, mixed and funny 4’s (e.g 1 women with 3 men) with the aim of making a fair game. Once picked, 1 game to 21 is played.

Members are all provided with a plastic coloured tag with their name on in it. All visitors have a paper tag with their name on it.

When attending a club night the tags are placed on the board at the centre of the hall. They are hung up and when a new tag is added it is placed to the back of the line of tags (to the right). The first members tag on the board gets to pick themselves and 3 other tags to play a game. They can pick any tag (from the first 8). Once picked, the tags are moved to the appropriate court section at the top of the board, with the remaining tags moved to the left. The member whose tag is now first in line, now has an opportunity to pick, as long as there is a court free. Generally, the person who picked the game picks both the teams, and provides the shuttle (we use white, Yonex Mavis 300 shuttles for plastics club nights). When a game ends, the 4 members take the 4 tags from the gaming area and add it to the back of the line of tags, with the winning pair getting added before the losing pair.

This system allows members to play different opponents throughout the evening, and also makes sure that no one is sat off without getting picked.

Members can only attend club nights of the appropriate standard. Please ask a committee member to advise on certain nights. If a member is of the correct standard and has paid membership fees for senior, student, student county, country, honorary, junior, or is part of the junior coaching program then they are able to play on the club nights.

Playing in the teams and tournaments is optional. All senior, students and juniors members have the opportunity at the end of the season to put their name forward to play in the club teams for next year, which play in the local & Yorkshire leagues. There are lots of teams which cater for different playing standards. You may also put your name forward to the club captains for the current year, and may be called up to play as a reserve. The teams are decided by the captains, and the committee.

Membership does not include any formal coaching. The adult members generally improve their playing ability by attending club nights with other members of a similar standard, and by playing with a variety of different people, while many junior members are enrolled in the specific junior coaching sessions (please contact for more information on junior coaching).

However, coaching can currently be arranged, for members, on an individual basis with the professional coaches of the Junior Club. As of 2021/22, the price is £25/hour for 1-on-1, or group coaching. This is currently only available for paid members of the club, please contact us if you are interested.

Our season runs from the 1st August to 31st July.

Members must bring their own equipment, the club is not generally able to lend shuttles, rackets, or any other equipment.

Members provide their own plastic shuttles, if you require shuttles these can be purchased from a committee member at the hall. On Club nights which use feathers the club provides the feathers and a small fee is played by each player on the night to cover the cost.

In order to keep the badminton floor in top condition, it is essential that you bring a change of shoes from those you arrive in, these must be suitable unmarking court shoes.

As a Day member, you would be welcome to play before 4:30 on any day except when the courts are already booked, which will be displayed on the court availability page. If you are an appropriate standard then you can join in with our other day members who play on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10am.