The Terrace Badminton club hosted its first set of two annual tournaments in the Thornhill Secondary school gym, Nov. 19 and 26.
Member of the Terrace Badminton Club Andrew Blix said despite a nominal decrease in players, both tournaments went well.
About 40 players took to the courts as local girls and boys competed against out-of-town players and each other, during the junior’s tournament, Nov. 26.
Blix said it was more of a fun tournament as some of the age categories didn’t have enough players, resulting in a mix-up of levels.
“Some of age groups were changed or mixed together to make the competition more exciting,” Blix explained.
Transportation on the day was also an issue as the area received more than normal amounts of snow, followed by wet slushy rain.
“Travelling is always difficult because badminton is played primarily in the spring and winter,” Blix said, noting this is probably the number one issue when hosting tournaments in the north.
In the under 10 single category, first place went to Sarah Kroeker and second to Braden Clunas. In the under 10 boys singles category, first place went to Logan Clunas, with second going to Liam Nutma. In the under 14 boys singles, Evan Veldman took the top spot, with Lucas Mantel behind him in second place.
For the under 14 girls singles, Bronwen Juergensen ended up in first place, with Brianna Weire in second. In the under 16 boys singles, Jake Blix came in first, and Prince Rupert’s Kory McSorley came in second place. In the under 16 girls singles, Katie Julseth was the winner, and Hannah Resch came in second place.
For the doubles events, it was Kroeker and Cassidy Grootendorst who won the under 10 category, Logan Clunas and Garic Hill won in the under 12 boys doubles, and Veldman and Lucas Mantel were the winners for the under 14 boys category.
For the under 14 girls event, Juergensen and Kathryn Peters took the top spot. In mixed under 16,
Jake Blix and Hannah Resch came in first place.
In the under 16 girls doubles, Julseth and Resch took first place.
The adult tournament was also hosted in the Thornhill Junior school’s gym the weekend before on Nov. 19. Blix said about 30 local and out-of-town adults took part in the event.
“It is maybe 10 (people) lower than last year,” Blix said, noting this tournament is the smaller of the two hosted by the club, with the larger tournament to be held this spring.
One exciting part of the adult tournament was the joining in of some older juniors, Blix added.
In the ladies A flight doubles, Lena Ly and Karen Resch took first, with Maggie Eccelston and Joy Hill in second. In the mens A flight doubles, Surinder Dhaliwal and Andrew Blix came first with Don Hill and Ron Julseth in second.
For the A flight mixed double category, Ly and Steve Weir from Prince Rupert took the top spot, and Melodie and Ron Julseth came in second. In the B mixed doubles event, Twyla Rudd and Stewart Hiscoke came in first with Tatiana Tchernoussoff and Harold Fedderson taking second place. In the mens B doubles, Steve Weir and Clint Frazen from Prince Rupert came in first and Norm and Colin Parry came in second.
Blix reminds anyone interested in the sport of badminton to come out on Tuesday or Thursday nights to the Thornhill Gym to try it out. Play runs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and drop-ins are $5.
