In the quiet transition period in terms of sports events, last Thursday’s badminton tournament at the Wm. E Hay high school was the only competitive event for local teams.
Teams from Stettler, Castor, Coronation and Brownfield faced each other in boys’, girls’, doubles, singles and mixed categories in round robin play in preparation for their games in the area tournament which was scheduled to take place in Sedgewick on Tuesday, April 20.
Badminton zone finals will be held in Lacombe on May 1 and 2, to be followed by provincials on May 7 and 8 in Edmonton.
In the meantime, the Stettler Junior Badminton Club (SJBC) competitive group wound up its season on April 12 with a pizza party and badminton games.
SJBC competitive group consists of players who practice twice a for a total of four hours and compete in as many tournaments around the province as their family chooses to attend.
In this group of 16, two players come from Castor, 1 from Trochu, 1 from Red Deer, 1 from Erskine and 1 from Big Valley and all others attend schools in Stettler.
“Our 16 competitive players have enjoyed much success in tournaments this past season, often winning medals in more than one event,” said Chris Langdon of the SJBC.
The second group consists of 13 beginners/recreational players who play once or twice and run a shorter season.
“It has certainly helped our younger players to be mixed in with the older ones and be required to step up their level of play. We are looking forward to watching our younger players develop further as they are quite skilled at this point,” Langdon said.