From the Bleachers – 2012 Djarum Indonesia Open Premier Super Series: What a Great Event!

Well, Jun 12-17, 2012 is a week to remember. DIOPSS succeeded to make me forget about other important things like KKN, UAS,  and Euro.  And now, a day after the tournament ends, Istora euphoria is still felt. Yap, Istora always has great atmosphere. The noise of the crowd is so WOW. Its like the stadium will be exploded. It makes me (and of course them) come back again and again every year.
             

By depeer. Live from the bleachers.

For this year, I wanna say thanks and congrats to all participants, organizers, & sponsors for making this tournament a huge success. Started watching badminton live at Istora in 2008. And, I have to say that ever year, there’s always an increase. And this year, IMHO, is the most successful badminton tournament ever. All credits to the organizers.

Started with Celebrity Smash event to welcome the greatest badminton event in Indonesia. Some celebrities and athletes played fun badminton. It was also held last year. And then, the unique welcoming dinner when some players wore traditional clothes, and for this year they wore Gatot Kaca costume. Brilliant idea to promote Indonesian culture to the world.

Then, about ticketing which people always concerned about it. This year is much better than before. Almost every year, there are always  ticketing issues. Many people felt dissatisfied with the ticketing service. Masih inget banget, waktu nonton Thomas and Uber  Cup  tahun 2008, sampe di depan loket, panitia bilang tiket udah abis,  tapi anehnya masih banyak orang yang ngantri. Hmm, katanya si ada yang lagi ngelobi panitianya dan saya beserta teman-teman pun tetep ikutan ngantri dan hasilnya dapet juga deh tiketnya. Tiket itu sebenernya tiket buat  pertandingan besok, tapi ngeliat antusisme penonton yang luar biasa, dijual juga deh tu tiket buat hari ini. Dan begitu sampe di dalem, masih kosong dooongg.  Hmm, banyak dibeli calo kali ya???

Tahun-tahun berikutnya walau ga separah 2008, masih banyak juga yang protes tentang ticketing.  Jadwal penjualan tiket yang ga tentu mambuat penonton yang udah pada ngantri dari pagi jadi emosi. Apalagi waktu itu belum ada sistem online (padahal udah taun 2009). Belum lagi calo yang bertebaran dimana-mana. Tahun 2010 udah mulai ada sistem online. Mulai taun lalu, saya lebih memilih beli tiket secara online (yaeyalah, harga sama dan ga perlu ngantri), tapi masih aja terjadi kekacauan gara-gara loket penukaran voucher dan pembelian tiket disatuin, jadi aja ricuh. Tahun ini, loket penukaran dan penjualan dipisah. Jadi, ga perlu ngantri lama-lama deh buat nukerin tiket. Malah, waktu perempat final, saya nukerin tiket tanpa ngantri sama sekali. Hahayy…. Hmm, panitia sepertinya terus belajar setiap tahun. 

to be continued…