Letter to city manager and city council - a review of the city's inaugural indoor badminton program

[Badminton In Irvine]

Oliver Chi

City Manager of Irvine

1 Civic Center Plaza

Irvine, CA 92606 

cc:

Farrah Khan, Mayor of Irvine

Tammy Kim, Vice-Mayor of Irvine

Larry Agran, City Council Member

Mike Carrol, City Council Member

Kathleen Treseder, City Council Member

Chris Slama, Director of Community Services

City Clerk, City of Irvine

Kinngai Chan

46 Kingsbury

Irvine, CA 92620

August 30, 2023

RE: A 1-year review of the city's inaugural indoor badminton program

Dear Oliver:

The city's inaugural indoor badminton program at Irvine High School is a year old as of last night!

Residents' participation has been strong and growing stronger by the day.  I believe almost every session was fully subscribed.

The volunteer team and I want to personally thank you and your team from the Community Service Athletics Department for making this inaugural indoor badminton program possible.  

I also want to recognize the hard work and effort of Collum McLaughlin, and his team in getting this program on a more stable footing this past year.  His team faced numerous logistical challenges and had a steep learning curve, but Collum and his team stepped up and resolved most problems promptly.  There is still room for improvement, especially in residents' communication and session scheduling.  Hopefully, the city will make this happen in the coming year as the city has now hired a new Director of Community Service.

I also want to recognize the on-site program coordinator Josh Caballero for his professionalism and courteous etiquette in dealing with every resident.  his attitude should be an example for every city employee to follow.

For the record, this program started with only 5 courts and 1-hour sessions with a limit of 40 participants.  The program has since expanded to 10 courts, 60 maximum participants, and up to 3 hours of playtime.

Program improvement(s):      Day-1  Today  Changes from  Grade

                                           inception

Number of courts               5     10      +100%         A+

Max participants              40     60       +50%         A+

Participants per court         8      6       +20%         A+

Fee per session               $5     $7                    A

Max revenue per session     $200   $420      +110%         A+

Setup time (minutes)          30     15      +100%         A+

Play scheduling                                            C

All action items/issues from August, October, and December 2022 that were completed/resolved to date:

a) Improved residents' safety: The city invested in proper BWF(Badminton World Federation)-Approved equipment.  The new net posts are sturdy and have not toppled over once.

b) Reduced setup time and increased playtime - all achieved with a simpler setup requirement with the proper equipment.

c) Increased # of courts and increased # of participants per session.

d) The city also lowered the minimum age to 8 years old allowing many more Irvine youth to participate and families with younger siblings to join.

Unresolved complaint(s):

a) We need a consistent play schedule during the weekdays.  We understand this is not within the city's control.

b) The new play schedule is not posted on a timely basis and we cannot get any information on what is happening and when the play schedule will be finalized.

c) The program is always full and I cannot register.

Action item(s) still not addressed:

a) Youth coaching program.  We hope the city can find a way to secure more gym hours to be able to kick-start this program.

I believe this indoor badminton program has outperformed even the most optimistic estimates from the city in terms of community participation.  Armed with the prevailing data, I trust the city can be confident about the potential of badminton to not only fund itself but to be a profitable sport for the city.  I hope the city will build a double-story gym where we can dedicate an entire floor/or section of the gym to badminton courts.

As always, feel free to contact me if you have anything to discuss.

Faithfully,

KN Chan

Volunteer lead

P.S. We hope the city staff and the volunteer group can work with IUSD to get another large enough gym to supplement the current IHS indoor program.  Note: The city currently has a basketball program at 4 nights a week and at up to 8 high school gyms participating. https://www.cityofirvine.org/athletics-sports/basketball

The city of Irvine indoor badminton program - a 1-year pictorial look back:

8-22-23 Visit from Mayor Khan (10 courts/60 maximum participants)

8-19-22 Visit from then Vice-Mayor Kuo (8 courts/48 maximum participants)

8-29-22 The first day of the city's inaugural indoor badminton program (5 courts/40 maximum participants)

Day 1 (8-29-22): Only 5 courts were used due to the lack of proper net post equipment