Welcome to the Arizona Badminton Center (AZBC)!
We've been open 5 years and counting! After years of dreaming and searching we established the first fully dedicated badminton-specific facility in Arizona history officially opened February 2012 (Courts opened Feb 14, 2012 - Valentine's Day and Arizona's 100-year statehood anniversary! AZBC Memberships began on Feb 20, 2012).
Now, more than 5 years later we continue to celebrate having great badminton play day after day, 7 days a week! We are consistently working to improve our club so that everyone who plays, whether a member or a visitor, has the best possible badminton experience. Along with lots of hours of Open Play 7 days a week and a fully operational Pro Shop with stringing services and a wide array of rackets and accessories, we also offer Kids Classes, Intro Adult Classes, small group and private lessons, tournaments of all types for all ability levels, and the AZBC HL Arizona Badminton Academy. See the Events and Coaching pages for more details about our current training schedule and up-coming tournaments. For more than 25 years we searched for the right building and location for our home. It was no easy thing to find the right combination of building design, dimensions and ceiling height. It has been worth the wait! Everything has been done with the badminton playing experience in mind-- lighting, special padded wood flooring and floor paint, ceiling and wall background colors, court side benches, a comfortable lobby, Pro Shop and more. We will continue to add features as we grow. So many have contributed to make this dream possible and it is a thrill to serve all the Arizona badminton community with the very best for friends, family, fitness and training! Please review the various pages on this website for details concerning the vision and philosophy, membership rates, coaching approach, events and directions to the AZBC. I look forward to seeing you on the court! The courts of Hank Anderssohn Hall...
With a lot of hard work we transformed an empty warehouse into a beautiful badminton-specific hall with 4 courts, custom lighting, backdrops, padded wood flooring, net standards, court side benches, lobby, Pro Shop and more. The overall result is one of the best places to play badminton in the USA. Come and join in the fun, friendship, family atmosphere, fitness and training! A Panoramic View
Courtesy of member Raymond Kwan
Short video of play at the AZBC...
Here is a 9 minute clip of a pick-up match between Naren Koka and Imre Bereknyei vs. Hong Hu and Guy Chadwick (courtesy of Hong Hu).
Members of the Perry HS Badminton Team recently visited the AZBC!
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CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE PRO SHOP!!!
Warren Mee is a part of the AZBC Pro Shop team adding Yonex, Li-Ning, Victor, Carlton, and Trident product lines to go with the high value HL line. Warren brings decades of badminton sales experience and stringing expertise, including his high tech Li Ning stringing machine.
The AZBC is by far the most complete badminton supply headquarters in Arizona. Now you have an even greater convenience in finding any badminton product you need at the best possible price while supporting the club at the same time! Kids Badminton Class every Monday & Wednesday, 6pm-7pm, with Instruction & Play!
This is one of our classes of AZBC Badminton Kids, coaches and helpers! Our Kids Badminton Class is always active and always fun! 5-13 year olds receive an introduction to badminton with instructors every Mon & Wed, 6pm-7pm. Special 10-class discount cards are available and parents are FREE anytime they want to join in!
Intro Adult Badminton Class, Thursdays, 6-7pm!
An Intro Adult Badminton Class is every Thursday, 6pm - 7pm... come join us on any of these Thursdays for basic instruction and fundamentals for $10/person each session. No advanced registration is required.
Naren Koka - 2012 Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award Recipient and 2014 Award Recipients Coach Lois Emshoff and Coach Nancy Funari...
Prominently displayed in the AZBC lobby is the Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award which honors extraordinary sportsmanship, service and dedication to the sport of badminton in Arizona.
2012 recipient Naren Koka (pictured to the left) an exceptional tournament player and supporter of badminton since the mid-90s in Arizona and is more active than ever with the opening of the AZBC. His daughter, Vaishnavi, was a high school state doubles champion in 2012. You can see them both on the court multiple times every week demonstrating the very best in gracious competition. Coach Lois Emshoff and Coach Nancy Funari (see photo on the events page covering the 2014 Smash Bash tournament) were both awarded the Hank Anderssohn Memorial Eagle Award in 2014 for decades of serving the Arizona badminton community by coaching their respective high school teams since 1965! Lois continues to coach badminton at Chandler High School for her 50th year of coaching! Nancy retired in 2001 after 37 years of coaching at Carl Hayden High School! WOW! Congratulations to all these special award winners and we extend our deep appreciation for making badminton fantastic in Arizona. THANK YOU! Member Profile: Willie Lim...
Original AZBC member Willie Lim was born in Penang, Malaysia on April 2, 1946 and moved to the US in 1989. He began playing badminton at 7 years old.
Typical outdoor courts in Malaysia were roped lines on a dirt surface. He also played soccer and swam for his school team. Willie began to play competitive badminton around age 17. Indoor courts in Malaysia usually have concrete floors, even to this day. He graduated from a junior to senior player at age 22 and played for the Penang State team which included many of the top players in Malaysia who competed in international competition. However, badminton did not provide a living so Willie focused most of his training in the Martial Arts since age 14. He is an 8th degree black belt and teaches Tae Kwon Do locally and around the world where he is invited because he still teaches the old way which is largely lost. Upon moving to the Phoenix area in the early 1990s he was out of badminton for about 10 years when he heard about a badminton coaching need at Horizon High School in Scottsdale and was then introduced to Hank Anderssohn. Since then Willie has been a avid part of the badminton scene and now plays multiple times a week at the AZBC. "Since joining the AZBC I have lost more than 20 lbs and my blood pressure and sugar levels are down to normal for the first time in years. My doctors had been really concerned and now they are amazed at the results. Even a recent MRI of my heart shows I am much healthier than I was. My goal is to continue to get a good sweat every time I play at least 4 times per week." Not only does Willie get a good sweat, but he is a great player and consummate sportsman! Member Profile: Say & Amy Diep family...
Meet Say & Amy Diep and their two children, Samantha ("Squiggly") and Allison ("Gator").
The Diep family is one of the original members of the AZBC who participate and play multiple times each week. Say won the Men's Doubles at the first Arizona Badminton Championships in April 2012 and the kids are a highly energetic and active part of the Kid's Badminton Class with Amy often helping. "AZBC has been a great place for our entire family to exercise, mingle with old friends and make new friendships. The coaching staff has helped our girls improve dramatically while keeping it fun too. We always feel safe and welcomed at AZBC. Keep up the good work! |
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