The Yukon now has a youth junior badminton club testing their skills against competition from out of the territory.
The team’s coach Alain Dallaire explained that since Christmas, more than 20 athletes ages 11 to 19 have been training three times a week in Whitehorse gymnasiums. Of those, four were selected to participate in a British Columbia Junior B tournament in Kelowna, B.C. from March 7-9.
Dallaire said the tournament saw more than 100 players from clubs across B.C. in action. It was hosted by a private badminton club sanctioned by Badminton BC and Badminton Canada that has existed since 1910.
One of the Yukoners, Dorothy Dallaire, picked up third place in the U13 girls singles tournament. Dallaire noted that Dorothy’s matches were some of the longest and most competitive of the tournament with two of her wins going three long sets of 21 points and taking over an hour each. Dorothy would make it to the semifinals before being eliminated.
Justin Langlois cracked the quarter finals in the U15 singles draw, eventually losing in two sets 21-5 and 21-7. Khoi Minh Tran, also made the quarter finals in U15 singles before a 21-13 and 21-15 final set of games. Theo Holland, in the same division, lost his first game but ended up in a consolation category where he was able to make the final. He lost the final match 21-16 and 21-17; Dallaire described it as tight and exciting to watch.
“Holland and Tran repeated the same feat in doubles consolation to win their final with scores of 21-16 and 21-17. This was a tight, an exciting match to watch,” Dallaire said.
Dallaire said he was impressed by the Yukon players’ performance. He plans to take more athletes to a similar Badminton Challengers B series event in Surrey, B.C. next May.
"We still have a lot of technical abilities to improve, and badminton strategies to learn, but I am hopeful athletes will be ready for the next event,” he said.
Dallaire said he is in agreement with the team’s other coach, Caroline Thibault, when he says it is an exciting time for Yukon badminton athletes. The hope is building a youth program that can get exposed to higher-level competition by travelling outside the territory. Dallaire hopes to have the team kitted out in Yukon team T-shirts in time for the next out-of-territory competition.
Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
