An Okotoks club is proving the sport of badminton can be quite the racket.
The Edison Badminton Club continues to boost its prolific reputation in the provincial ranks as it boasts all eight of the Zone 2 representatives heading to the Alberta Winter Games, Feb. 10-12 in Stony Plain.
Sixteen-year-old John Chernoff, one of three Okotokians representing Edison in Stony Plain, said he’s looking to produce his best result in his third taste of the Winter Games.
“The first time I was really young and I didn’t play that much, but our team won bronze,” Chernoff said.
“The second time our team just barely lost bronze and got fourth so we (want to) get that back or better this year.”
Chernoff, who’s competing in the singles and mixed doubles competitions, said there’s a particular geographic rival Edison has set its sights on; the Zone 3 team from the Stampede City.
“This year (our goal) is definitely to beat Calgary because I know they don’t have as strong as a team as they’ve had in the past,” Chernoff said. “So I’m hoping for gold or silver.”
The Grade 12 student has attended Edison School since kindergarten and would like to put a cherry on top of his high school career at his final year of eligibility for the Alberta Winter Games.
“It’s not such a big deal to me, but I’d absolutely like to do well,” he said. “I’m not going to be playing badminton as much next year, but I definitely want this to be a good last year. No pressure, I just want to have fun.”
Joining Chernoff at the Winter Games will be fellow Okotokian Laura Spengler. The 14-year-old said she’s looking forward to her first experience at the provincial event.
“I’m excited, I just want to do well,” said Spengler of her goals in Stony Plain. “Also, I’ve never played team badminton before so I’m excited to try that out and hopefully we can win a medal.”
Spengler, a Grade 9 student at Edison School, narrowly missed out on a doubles qualification berth at the Winter Games, but qualified first in her singles division and will also be participating in the team event.
The lineups for team badminton are not determined until immediately before the matches, said Spengler, meaning the partnerships are not known in advance.
Spengler said she prefers doubles to individual badminton because of the emphasis of teamwork associated with the former.
“I like working with other people and it’s a faster game,” Spengler said. “Doubles you have to work with your partner. If you don’t work well (together) it’s not going to work out.”
Edison will also be represented at the Alberta Winter Games by Okotoks resident Ming Li as well as club members Darius Kamal, Kevin Xu, Julie Pham, Brittany Lindberg and Emma Finnegan. For more information on Edison badminton visit their website at www.edisonbadminton.ca.
