Racquet Network staff are certified experts. Many are also certified coaches. Racquet Network Experts undergo extensive training and product knowledge testing in order to ensure that we have the most knowledgeable staff in the racquet sports industry.
Babolat ™ Championship tennis balls are available at wholesale price.Great news for instructors and small outdoor tennis clubs in the Calgary area.
Racquet Network has just negotiated a deal with Babolat Canada that allows tennis instructors and small outdoor tennis clubs in southern Alberta and eastern British Columbia to get their tennis balls at wholesale cost with no additional shipping costs.
Racquet Network warehouses bulk quantities of Babolat balls for children and adults in our southwest Calgary store. Established clubs and certified instructors are able to buy cases at wholesale cost and pick them up in-store.
Balls included in this program are as follows:
MODEL
SIZE
TYPE
AGE
Babolat Championship
Case of 24 tubes
Hard court
Adults
Babolat Academy
Bag of 72
Hard court
Adults
Babolat Green
Bag of 72
Hard court
11-13 years
Babolat Orange
Bag of 36
Hard court
10-11 years
All prices are wholesale for duly registered tennis clubs and certified tennis instructors. Instructors must be current members of the Tennis Professionals Association or the Professional Tennis registry. Schools and non-profit community associations are also eligible for this program.
This program applies only to orders that are picked up in-store. Racquet Network reserves the right to impose reasonable limits during peak season.
Place orders by email through orders@racquetnetwork.com. You will be notified when orders are ready for pickup. No walk-ins, please.
We do our best to recycle tennis, squash, badminton and racquetball string.Did you know that racquet string cannot be recycled? Most people don’t. They assume it can, but it can’t.
All synthetic string ends up in landfills. Tennis string, badminton string, squash string, racquetball string, speedminton string. Once we cut it out of your racquet, it’s garbage.
For that reason, we offer arts and crafty people an opportunity to use discarded string one more time before it moves on to the local dump.
All of the string we cut out of racquets is stored in a string-only bin. We hold onto those string pieces until the bin is full.
Anybody who wants it can have it — absolutely free!!
We never mix it with garbage. The only thing in the string bin is clean string. All colours. All gauges. All sports.
Use it for arts and crafts. Use it for whatever you like.
No charge. Just take it away. All we ask it that you put it to use in one way or another.
Please visit our southwest Calgary store in person for more information. No calls. No emails.
Touchtennis Tournament in AlbertaTouchtennis is a modified version of tennis played by adults on a compact court with foam balls and shorter (21 inch) rackets.
It is regularly featured on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and is growing in popularity and acceptance as an alternative form of the full size game of tennis.
The first ever Touchtennis tournament help on Canadian soil is being organized by David Rossolatos (david.rossolatos@tennisalberta.com) of Tennis Alberta. It will occur at the Ralph King Athletic Centre in Edmonton on Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018.
The draw will be capped at 24. It will be also the first event on Canadian soil with prize money and ranking points.
Registration includes lunch, which will be a burger/hot dog BBQ around lunch time.
The main event will feature singles while consolation event will feature doubles.
Where to play badminton in CalgaryThe information in this article is offered as a courtesy to our customers. We cannot guarantee that it is 100% accurate because these groups do not always update us when they make changes.
If you have questions about these groups and their activities, DO NOT call our store. Call or email the contact info for the groups below.
Our retail store staff will not be able to give you answers about any of these clubs or facilities. So please do not call the store.
SOUTHWEST BADMINTON GROUPS
FISH CREEK BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
Phone: 403-281-7024 (Frank)
Email: suneel@telus.net (Suneel)
Location: Woodlands Elementary School – 88 Woodgreen Drive SW
Summary: Adult group. Three courts. Tuesday and Thursday evenings September through April. There are 12-20 regulars at the intermediate level. Some of these players have been playing together for 30 years. Drop-ins are welcome but beginners typically don’t come more than once or twice. Racquet Network staff play here frequently.
FALL 2018 SCHEDULE
8:00-9:30 PM
Tuesdays, Sep 11, 18, 25 — Oct 2, 9, 16, 28 — Nov 6, 13, 20, 27 — Dec 4
Thursdays, Sep 27 — Oct 4, 11, 18, 28 — Nov 1, 8, 15, 29 — Dec 6
DIE HARDS BADMINTON (GROUP)
Phone: 403-281-6940 (Phil)
Email: phil-hum@shaw.ca (Phil)
Location: Southland Leisure Centre – 2000 Southland Drive SW
Summary: Adult group. June/July/August only. Four courts. Thursday evenings June through August. There are 25-30 regulars at the intermediate level. Racquet Network staff play here frequently.
HARSIDE BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
Email: hardside_badminton@shaw.ca
Location: Menno Simons Christian School – 7000 Elkton Dr SW
Summary: Adult group. Wednesday evenings. September to May. Racquet Network staff play here occasionally.
KINGSBORO BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
Locations:
Henry Wisewood High School – 910 75 Ave SW
Lord Beaverbrook High School – 9119 Fairmount Dr SE
Summary: Adult group. Wednesdays and Fridays. Season runs from September 2015 to end of May. Racquet Network staff play here occasionally.
NORTHWEST BADMINTON GROUPS
BEARSPAW BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
Phone: 403-239-1502
Location: Bearspaw School – 253210 Bearspaw Rd, Calgary, AB T3L 2S5
Summary: 6 courts.
Time: Monday and Wednesdays 7-10pm
Summary: Adult play. All Skill levels welcome. Players are primarily intermediate to Advanced level.
Nylon Shuttles provided but feathers are welcome.
They play during the school year, September to end of June.
Membership option or $7 drop-in fee.
BRIAR HILL / HOUNSFIELD HEIGHTS ADULT BADMINTON (GROUP)
Phone: 403-289-0921 (Lorne)
Location: HHBH Community Gym – 1922 14 Ave NW
Summary: Adult group. Morning group plays Tuesday through Friday. Three courts.
NORTHERN LIGHTS BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
NO LONGER ACTIVE
Phone:
Location: Beddington Heights Elementary School – 95 Bermuda Road NW
Summary: Adult group. Wednesday evenings. 6 Courts
SOUTHEAST BADMINTON GROUPS
BOT BADMINTON (GROUP)
Email: botfederball@gmail.com
Location: Prince of Wales School – 253 Parkland Way SE
Summary: Adult group. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings
FCR BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
Email: fcrnsa@hotmail.com
Location: MidSun Community Center – 50 Midpark Rise SE
Summary: Adult group. No summary available.
RIVERBEND BADMINTON (GROUP)
Phone: 403-816-1661
Email: RiverbendBadminton@groups.facebook.com
Location: Riverbend Elementary School – 65 Rivervalley Dr SE
Summary: Adult group. Wednesday evenings. September through April.
LAKE BONAVISTA BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
Phone: 403-248-8530 (Pat or Kelly)
Email: pat.eberle@shaw.ca
Location: Lake Bonavista Community Center – 1401 Acadia Dr SE
Summary: Adult group. 4 Courts. Drop in welcome
NORTHEAST BADMINTON GROUPS
FRIENDS OF BADMINTON (GROUP)
Phone: 403-710-8393 (Alfred)
Location: Georges P Vanier Jr High School – 509 – 32nd Ave NE
Summary: Adult group. 4 courts. All skill levels welcome. Friday evenings.
U of C BADMINTON CLUB (GROUP)
2500 University Drive NW
Email: ucbadminton@gmail.com
Summary: Adult group. No summary available.
BADMINTON FACILITIES
VILLAGE SQUASH LEISURE CENTRE (FACILITY)
Location: 2623 56th Street NE
Phone: 403-280-9714
Summary: No summary available.
WESTSIDE REC CENTRE (FACILITY)
Location: 2000 69 St SW
Phone: 403-531-5875 ext 0
Summary: No summary available.
TALISMAN SPORTS CENTRE (FACILITY)
Location: 2225 Macleod Tr S
Phone: 403-233-8393
Summary: No summary available.
SOUTHLAND LEISURE CENTRE (FACILITY)
Location: 2000 Southland Drive SW
Summary: Friday, Saturday, Sunday drop in. Open courts. First come first serve. No coordinator present. Racquet Network staff play here occasionally. Kids programs available.
HILLHURST/SUNNYSIDE BADMINTON (FACILITY)
Phone: 403-283-0554 Ext.232
Email: frontoffice@hillhurstsunnyside.org
Location: 1320 5 Ave NW
Summary: Monday and Thursday evenings. There are 4 courts with good lighting, rubber compounded floor, showers and lockers for post beginners to advance level.
EDISON BADMINTON CENTRE (FACILITY)
Phone: 403-306-0001 (Billy or Beth)
Location: 2km North of Okotoks on highway 2A
Summary: No summary available. Lessons and programs available for kids and adults.
SUNRIDGE BADMINTON CENTRE (FACILITY)
Location: 401 33 ST NE
Phone: 403-263 9222
Email: info@sunridgebadminton.com
Summary: Private club. 16 professional IBF/WBF approved courts with a 30ft high ceilings. Lessons and programs available for kids and adults.
CLEARONE BADMINTON CENTRE (FACILITY)
Phone: 403-265-3886
Email: calgary@clearonebadminton.com
Location: 1853 – 120th Ave NE Calgary AB T3K 0S5
Phone: 403-265-3886
Email: calgary@clearonebadminton.com
Summary: Full service badminton club. 14 sprung wood courts with specialized flooring system and 32′ ceilings. Lessons and programs available for kids and adults.
SAIT BADMINTON CLUB (FACILITY)
Summary: Sunday mornings.
Phone: 403-284-8734
Email: tj.babey@sait.ca
Summary: No summary available.
SMASH CITY (FACILITY)
Phone: 403-569-0328
Location: 4839 47 St SE, Calgary, AB T2B 3S5
Summary: No summary available. Lessons and programs available for kids and adults.
Look at the photo on this racquet. Is this racquet for adults or kids? The worst thing about shopping in the big self-serve sporting goods stores is that you don’t know what you are buying. And more often than not, the staff don’t know what you are buying either.
Take the racquet in this photo, for example. Is it an adult racquet? Is it a kid’s racquet? How can you tell?
Thousands upon thousands of these racquets were sold in major sporting goods stores in Canada and the US last year. The questions is, though, did the people who bought it know what they were buying?
Let’s look at the picture on the racquet’s face card. The badminton player is none other than Sho Sasaki, a Japanese badminton champion who competed in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Based on that — and with no other information to go on — a reasonable person would assume that this racquet is suitable for adults.
But it’s not. It’s a child’s racquet, barely suitable for a 10-year-old.
In fact, this racquet is too short (by more than a centimeter) to be an adult racquet and too heavy (by about 15 grams) and far too stiff to be a child’s racquet.
In our store, this racquet is classed as a toy. It looks like a badminton racquet. You can even use it to hit a badminton shuttle. But it’s not really a badminton racquet because a badminton player would not use a racquet like this to play badminton in any kind of formal or semi-formal setting.
If somebody brought this racquet to practice with a knowledgeable badminton coach, the coach would probably advise them to get a new racquet.
But chances are tens of thousands of people who didn’t know any better were tricked into buying this racquet last year because they were hanging on the walls of virtually every major sporting goods store in North America.
And that’s the problem with self-serve sporting goods stores. They buy what they know they can sell. They don’t care of it’s the real thing or a toy. They look at the packaging, the brand name, the colour, the price and the margin. That’s all they need to know if people will buy it.
For a full list of racquets in this category, please check out our ONLINE RACQUET SELECTOR. You can sort by sport, gender, brand, size, weight, balance and more.
Our Pro Shop has moved to Canyon Meadows Shopping Center. It is on the 2ND FLOOR of the NORTH WING. The unmarked glass doors leading to the second floor are immediately to the right of the Rexall Drug Store. Please note the new address: 2ND FLOOR - NORTH WING, UNIT 201, 11625 ELBOW DR SW. Dismiss
