Session Information
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Saturdays @ Leith Community Centre
Our Saturdays sessions in Leith Community Centre are our OG events. The centre is hidden away - take the stairs next to Lidl and walk all the way along to find us. We have four courts split between two two-hour sessions, 10am-12pm and 12pm-2pm. The playing ability on Saturdays slightly higher in general compared to Wednesdays but the friendly and social vibe of Budminton means that everyone will find games to suit them. We often head out for some food in the local area. We encourage everyone to come along to this! Sometimes we run themed sessions instead of our general social sessions:
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Main themes:
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Advanced session - this is a high level session not suitable for beginners and improving members. Only members with the 'Advanced' badge can attend this session - get in touch to see if you're eligible for an advanced badge. If you book into a session without an advanced badge your booking will be refunded as Bud Bucks. Please respect the decision of the organiser when determining your level - if you are unhappy with the decision, you can earn your badge by challenging us to a game! From September 2025, this session will run weekly from 9am-10am.​
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Coached session - this session will run alongside the advanced session. Suitable for beginners and improving members! Think of it as a casual taste of the Foundations coaching. Those with advanced badges cannot attend unless they are willing to help share their knowledge with beginners and improving members.
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Other themes:
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Women's only - as it says on the tin, no men allowed!
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LGBTQ+ session - a safe space where members of this community can come and play. Allies welcome!
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Your idea here - we're always looking to broaden the horizons of Budminton. If you have a good idea for a themed session please reach out!
Our Wednesday evening session at Meadowbank Sports Centre was created in March 2023 due to overwhelming demand on Saturdays. We have 8 courts in Hall 1 from 6pm-8pm and we run two social session - a social and a ladder. Read more about these below. As with Saturdays, we warmly welcome all abilities - we have a lot of beginners and intermediates who attend. Wednesday sessions are a great place to start if you're completely new to the sport because we have more space to dedicate some time to show you the basics. We can facilitate a dedicated court at the start of the session for this if requested. We'll still be on hand to help even if you arrive later. We often head for food after the session and you're welcome to join us!
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Our social Wednesdays run the same as Saturday - have a blether while you wait and jump on a court when it becomes free. The ladder session is a bit different but is still very much a social vibe on the court. A queuing system runs in the middle of the hall. The result of each game you play determines which queue you join next - winners move up towards the entrance, losers move down. For example, the winners of a game in Section 2 will move up to join Section 1's queue, and the losers of that same match will join the queue in Section 3. If you win in Section 1 or lose in Section 4, you join the same queue again. This system provides more competitive games in general and helps you play with a bigger variety of members!​
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Be prepared when your racquet is in the top four of the queue (top is nearest the entrance) - you won't have long to claim your racquet when a court becomes free before it's put to the back of the queue.
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The red zone above is a no waiting area. The hall is marked with a red and black line. For safety, all racquets must be placed within the black line and members must stay within the red line, away from the baseline of the courts.
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You cannot play with the same partner twice in a row. If you play with them in the next game, you should be on opposite sides of the net.
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If you want a break, remove your racquet from the queue. You need to join the same queue when you wish to play again.
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If the queues begin to look uneven, they' usually sort themselves out in a few minutes. The session leader can move racquets to a different section if this doesn't happen. Only the session host should do this, please follow their instruction!
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If your racquet is the same as another, mark it in a way to distinguish between them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
General Information
Preparation:
By completing this checklist, you know you'll be ready to hit the courts running when you arrive:
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Read everything below and also our code of conduct and rules, listed in the blog section of The Hub.
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Confirm your booking time, date, and location. Google Maps can show you where to go and your account should list the time and date of any bookings you've made.
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Bring appropriate sportswear. Nothing too dangly or loose-fitting that you may trip over, cleanish indoor shoes with good grip to prevent injury. If you're someone who works up a good sweat a towel is a good optional.
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Have a racquet ready! You can add a racquet hire for £2 per session as you checkout if you don't have your own. You may be able to hire one at the session if you forget but availability is limited and this cannot be guaranteed. If you are unsure about racquets and don't have your own, we recommend hiring from us a few times before investing. If you have a great time and want to come back regularly, we can then advise you on comparable racquets to get.
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Bring some water! There are local shops and vending machines around. Hydration is important, especially in the warmer months!
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Get your remaining questions answered. Use our website chat, find us on Instagram (@budmintonedinburgh), or email us at budmintonedinburgh@gmail.com. Once you've attended your first session, you can also join our WhatsApp.
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Booking:
It's cheaper to book ahead and you'll be guaranteed a spot. If you show up unannounced, a £2 surcharge applies and you may not be admitted if the session is already full. You can book via the website or with the app. Using the app also enables you to join the waitlist if you missed your chance - this is strongly encouraged as spaces often become available closer to the session start time.
If something comes up and you can no longer make your session, please remember to cancel your booking to give others the opportunity to join in. Booking privileges may be suspended policy for multiple no-shows as you may be denying someone else the opportunity to attend - nobody wants this to happen so we appreciate you keeping on top of you booking!
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Fees:
Budminton is tailored towards memberships - we offer great value for those who wish to attend regularly. Memberships start from as little as £6 per session. PAYG is £11 per session. If you have not booked into the session but show up, a £13 walk up fee applies and a space in the session is not guaranteed.
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Racquet Hire is available for a fee of £2 and should be purchased as an add-on when you book. If you fail to do this we cannot guarantee that we'll have some available at the session.
Special offer coupons may be issued occasionally for certain memberships or events. Membership coupons issued to individuals are for personal use and must not be shared with others. Coupon use is monitored and any misuse as determined by the organiser may result in suspension or removal from the group.
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When you arrive:
First timers must speak to the session host for a quick welcome briefing before jumping on court. They'll help you check in, provide relevant information for the session, and make sure you have everything you need. You are welcome to request our rules infographic and/or a quick demonstration of the rules and basic skills. This will occur in the first 10 minutes of a session so please arrive early if you would like to be part of this. If you come back, it's still very important that you check yourself in (not only from an admin/fire safety perspective) as doing so gives you a Bud Buck from our loyalty scheme. Bud Bucks can be spent on coupons for free sessions!
Once you're checked in and briefed, it's a case of chilling at the side, having a blether, and jumping on whenever you see a court freeing up. If others have been waiting longer, please let them on first. Back-to-back games are not permitted during busy sessions - please make sure you leave the court once your game has finished.​ We play doubles games to 21 and singles games are only permitted during quiet sessions where a court is not being used for more than 5 minutes. We use plastic shuttles but feel free to bring feathers of your own if you wish to use them.
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Guests:
Those with an active monthly membership can bring +1s for just £5 with no sign up required - Platinum members can bring unlimited guests (max 2 per session) and the first one is free! Gold members can do this twice per membership, Silver members once. This must approved and paid for in advance. Please do not bring in a guest without first getting approval as they will have to pay full price and may not be admitted if the session is full.
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Credits and Refunds:
It's possible to easily reschedule your session as long as you do so 24 hours before the start time of the original session. Those with monthly memberships can cancel and reschedule at any time, though regular last-minute cancellations will result in forfeiting a session credit. Payments can be refunded as a coupon (to the full session value) or as cash (a £2 cancellation fee applies) by contacting us via the refund form in the help section. Refunds are not issued automatically and contacting the organiser within the appropriate timeframe is the responsibility of the member cancelling.