Welcome to Village Square Leisure Centre and the charming northeast neighbourhood of Pineridge. New to Village Square? So are we!

We are fortunate to have found this venue, and we have consistent booking timeslot on Wednesdays until the end of May. This is a different type of venue we are used to so it’s worth taking note a few things before your first arrival at the venue:

• Check in with Customer Service at (or shortly before) 6:30pm that you are attending the Apollo Badminton group booking for access to the gym. Use the line to the left of Customer Service for express entry.  Village Square staff will not collect drop-in fee or punch your Apollo Badminton pre-paid pass. You do not need to pay General Admission unless you are here really early to use the other facilities at the venue.
• Head downstairs to the Gymnasium. We are at the back in the North Gym behind the gym partition.
• Please make use of the lockers in our rental area for your bags and coats. We are instructed to keep the benches clear except for water bottles (and phones). These lockers are exclusive to our use during our booking time and in view of all our participants, so no need to bring locks unless you really want to.
• Apollo Badminton participants have exclusive use of the four courts in the North Gym between 6:30-8:30 pm. The nets should already be set up and we do not need to tear down when we are done.
• Unfortunately since we are sharing the gym space with the general public, we won’t be able to play music during our time slot. 😦
• Spectators are welcomed but they only have access to our booking area.
• Please observe our booking time ending at 8:30pm and make your way to the exit. Our contract does not include access to the rest of the facility (including overstaying). The exemption is if you have also paid for General Admission that evening that would cover your admission till the facility closes at 9pm. The North Gym returns to public access after our timeslot.

If the responses are good and there is demand to keep this venue over the summer until the end of August. We’ll look into extending our booking as well as the odd times we don’t get our usual school booking.

Happy smashing!

Apollo Badminton

Surprise! Badminton is BACK this spring!

We’ve finally come across a consistently available timeslot. Although it’s a little out of the way and in a completely different timeslot, this venue offers 4 courts of play and a high ceiling. We’ll take what we can and make up for lost time!

Wednesdays @ 18:30-20:30 from March 16

Village Square Leisure Centre 
2623 56 Street NE
Calgary, AB 

A special note about this venue is that you are allowed free access into the Leisure Centre at (or shortly before) 6:30pm. You will need to check in with Customer Service that you are attending the Apollo Badminton group booking (mention Permit ending with 1499 if you have to). You will then be directed to use the line to the left of Customer Service for express entry. You are also required to leave the facility after 8:30pm as our booking does not include access to the other amenities at the Leisure Centre which closes at 9pm anyway. You are, however, welcomed to arrive early and enjoy the facility any time before 6:30pm at your own cost. 

As you are aware, Alberta has entered Step 2 of phasing out public health measures as of March 1, which applies to this venue.

We have bookings to the end of May with the possibility to extend into the summer depending on the demand. March calendar will be posted separately. We will make all pre-pay packages available again, which will be valid until the end of 2022 as we anticipate the return of badminton this fall. 

We can’t wait to see everyone again!

 

See you Wednesday,

Apollo Badminton

You are invited!

Back for one night only in this unusual season! Join us for a Christmas social and get into the holiday mood. Plus-one, spouse, exes, one-night-stands, FWBs, etc are welcomed.

WHEN
Tuesday, 21 December 2021
8:00pm to 11:00pm

WHERE
Hounsfield Heights – Briar Hill Community Association (community room and gym)
1928 14 Ave NW
Calgary, AB

WHAT
– Appetizers and mains will be provided
– Non-Alcoholic beverages will be provided
– Bring a snack or dessert item to share
– Food served at 8:00pm
– Gym opens between 9:00-11:00pm for badminton (regular drop-in fee applies or use your passes)
– *NEW THIS YEAR* Bring a wrapped gift of about $10 in value for gift exchange game (optional)
– Bring a board game / party game
– GOOD TIMES

Minors are welcomed at the discretion of the parent/guardian due to proximity to adult theme and language.

The venue is operating under the provincial Restrictions Exemption Program. You must provide proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test to attend.

RSVP on facebook or comment on this post for food order planning.

In light of the public health measures announced by the Government of Alberta on 15 September 2021, our facility partner has indicated they will implement the Restrictions Exemption Program. Apollo Badminton must also follow the same approach in order to deliver indoor recreational sport activities as usual — at any venue — under the current state of public health emergency.

Beginning our session on Tuesday, 21 September, club officials, participants, and spectators must provide either one of the following in order to enter the facility:

• proof of vaccination
  • single dose accepted between September 20 and October 25 if received 2 weeks before time of service
  • double doses required after October 25
• documentation of a medical exemption
• proof of a privately-paid negative PCR or rapid test within 72 hours of service (tests from AHS or Alberta Precision Laboratories not allowed)

For the interest of efficiency, please take some time to print out a physical card-size vaccination record ahead of time for quick inspection. It is expected there will be long online queue simply to access the record on a mobile phone.

We will set up the registration table at the front door in order to work with our facility partner to complete the check-in as you enter. Those who have completed the check-in for the first time will have their name entered on a list that will be shared with our facility partner for future check-in at that particular facility. The list will only contain the name of the individual who has already been screened at that location.

Please be patient as you may be asked to show the documentation again more than once as we iron out a systematic approach with our facility partner.

While we have always welcomed spectators and spectators do not engage in sport activities per se, we cannot guarantee spectators will be admitted into the facility without the above documents.

If for whatever reason you would rather receive a refund for the unused portion of your pre-paid pass, please contact James and refund will be issued by etransfer only. Complimentary passes are not redeemable for cash. All passes purchased for the 2019-2020 season up to and including this year are valid until May 2022.

Thank you for your patience and understanding,

Apollo Badminton

As pandemic uncertainties drag on, it wasn’t a surprise to us that the Calgary school districts have again postponed public rentals. The school districts will reconvene later this year to discuss the potential of relaunching public rentals in 2022.

Since no school venue is available this fall, we are scrambling for venues like all other groups and leagues. For now we have four dates in September booked. If there’s one thing we’ve collectively learned this last one and half year is that the only thing to expect is unpredictability, and not to take things for granted. We take these four September sessions as a “soft reopening”, and if there is enough interest and financially viable, we will post more dates as venues become available.

The September Calendar will be posted in a separate post.

We appreciate and cherish any opportunity to play at all this fall, and we do our small parts to limit disease transmission by practicing good hygiene. While there is currently no municipal mask mandate at this time, With the current provincial and municipal mandates, mask is recommended required in public areas of the venue. Hand sanitizer continues to be available as we had made it so in the early months of 2020. 

Please hang on to your passes as all passes will be extended to the end of May 2022, if we are able to have a full season at all. If you would rather receive a refund for the unused portion of the pass please contact James and refund will be issued by etransfer only. Complimentary passes are not redeemable for cash.

See you in September,

Apollo Badminton

On 20 October 2020, we have received notification that all three school boards serving the city will extend cancellation of all public rental to the end of the school year (31 August 2021) due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As such, we will not have a 2020-2021 season. Fall bookings are usually released in June so we will wait and see as the situation develops.

We are currently exploring other viable venue options but most community centres are still closed at this time. Even if a viable venue is found, the playing format will be very different under special badminton house rules in response to the pandemic.

All issued passes will be extended to the end of December 2021. However, if at this time you would rather receive refund for the unused portion of your pass, please contact James to process your request. Complimentary passes are not redeemable for cash (these are the ones with “C” punched out on the pass).

We will update everyone once we have news about September 2021. In the meantime, stay safe and may we meet again,

Apollo Badminton

Despite the current provincial relaunch and back-to-school plans, City of Calgary Recreation has announced today that due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, all three school boards serving the city will be cancelling public rental for the remainder of 2020. The decision will be reviewed later this fall if rentals can become available again in the new year. As such, our return to a badminton season will not be until January 2021 at the very earliest.

We are currently exploring other viable venue options but most community centres are still closed at this time. Even if a viable venue is found, the playing format will be very different under special badminton house rules in response to the pandemic.

All issued passes will be extended to the end of May 2021. However, if at this time you would rather receive refund for the unused portion of your pass, please contact James to process your request. Complimentary passes are not redeemable for cash (these are the ones with “C” punched out on the pass).

We will update everyone once we have news about January 2021. In the meantime, stay safe and may we meet again,

Apollo Badminton

On 15 March 2020 the City of Calgary has declared a State of Local Emergency due to the outbreak of Covid-19. We’ve also confirmed the school board has cancelled all facility rental bookings. As such, Apollo Badminton sessions will be cancelled indefinitely including 17 March 2020. We are working with the City to confirm the duration of our cancellation. We will follow closely for any update as the situation develops.

While this may be disappointing news for many of our participants, we support the City and its decision to cancel rental bookings to limit the spread of the disease and limit exposure. We recognize this cancellation may take away one of the few remaining social outlets and sense of routine for our participants, but it is important that we all do our small part to practice social distancing for the sake of public health. The physical health and mental well-being of our participants and their loved ones are of our highest priorities. We encourage you to reach out and support your friends and loved ones, virtually, at this difficult time.

All complimentary and purchased passes issued this season (2019-2020) will be extended to the end of December 2020.

Keep well,

James W.
Apollo Badminton