Badminton Booker: A Hassle-Free Way to Reserve Courts Online
Sigma School
2nd February 2025
At Sigma School, students take on real-world problems and build innovative solutions. Yap Ji Hao, one of our students, tackled the hassle of badminton court reservations by developing Badminton Booker—an all-in-one online platform for court booking and badminton accessory shopping.
As part of his Capstone Project, Ji Hao applied his coding skills to create a convenient and efficient system. In this blog post, we’ll explore his journey, the challenges he faced, and how he brought his idea to life.
Two years ago, Ji Hao encountered a recurring issue whenever he wanted to book a badminton court. The facility near his home lacked an online booking system, leaving him with only two options: making a phone call or visiting the center in person. More often than not, phone calls went unanswered, and visiting the center meant dealing with long wait times and sometimes unhelpful staff.
He realized that many other badminton enthusiasts likely faced the same inconvenience, which sparked the idea for Badminton Booker. His goal was to create a simple and accessible online booking system that would allow players to secure a court in just a few clicks. Additionally, he wanted to integrate a shopping platform where users could purchase badminton accessories conveniently.
To bring his vision to life, Ji Hao used a combination of modern technologies to build his platform. His tech stack included:
By leveraging these technologies, Ji Hao successfully created a user-friendly, mobile-responsive platform where players could book courts, manage their reservations, browse badminton gear, and even receive AI-driven recommendations on products.
As with any ambitious project, Ji Hao faced several challenges during development. Some of the biggest hurdles included:
Implementing Firebase storage to allow users to upload profile pictures and product images was not as straightforward as expected. He had to experiment with different methods before finding a reliable solution.
Adding an AI-powered chatbot using Google’s Gemini API required a deep understanding of API integration and troubleshooting unexpected errors.
Implementing Mapbox API to display the exact locations of badminton courts proved to be more complex than anticipated. Ji Hao had to explore extensive documentation and tutorials to make it work seamlessly.
How did he overcome these obstacles? Persistence, problem-solving, and support from the Sigma School community. By researching extensively, watching tutorials, debugging with ChatGPT, and seeking advice from instructors and peers, Ji Hao was able to overcome each challenge and refine his project into a fully functional platform.
By the end of his Capstone Project, Ji Hao had developed more than just a booking platform. Badminton Booker became an ecosystem where badminton players could easily book courts, shop for equipment, and receive AI-powered recommendations—all in one place.
This project reinforced the importance of problem-solving, resilience, and learning from real-world challenges. Despite the tight deadline, Ji Hao proved to himself that with determination and the right resources, he could build something impactful.
A huge thanks to Sigma School, his instructors, and the supportive community for their guidance throughout this journey. Ji Hao’s story is a testament to what aspiring developers can achieve when they combine passion with technical skills.