On June 6, 2023, the Girls Badminton (Doubles) City Championship took place in FDR High School. A total of 20 different schools participated in this event. Double´s players Tina Lang and Sophia Shi took home the third place bronze medal in the championship playoff.
The playoffs consist of the best of all five borough’s individual champions. The individuals are hosted on separate dates which could take multiple days to complete. PSAL individuals and the City championship are typically hosted in FDR High School for both boys and girls playoffs. These events only take place after all the schools have finished their PSAL school badminton seasons. These events give the players a good opportunity to shine on their own. Senior Sophia Shi spoke about the value of this opportunity, saying “I take badminton as a really competitive aspect of my life, and I think my goal would be to get first place in City championships next year.”
Much like Sophia, another member of the team, Nuoting Lang, has her sights set on the next City championship, saying “It was my goal two years ago to win my individual’s game and get be city champ now that I’ve achieved that this year I´ll try to get first place.”
Sophia Dong and Lydia Zhu, from Staten Island Tech, placed first in the City Championship, and Selina Lam and Victoria Wang from Hunter High School placed second.
Girl’s Badminton coach, Mr. Gross, expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance, saying “I´m very proud of these girls, one of the best teams I’ve had in years.”
The John Dewey Badminton team, both boys and girls, isn’t very well known in the school- so the funding for the team wasn´t great either. Players had to provide themselves with everything they needed. Essentials like shuttlecocks and shoes were all bought by the team members themselves. Sometimes the players wouldn’t have enough shuttlecocks to play a proper 2 vs. 2 or 1 vs. 1. They would need to gather together and play 3 vs. 3 or 4 vs. 4 which would not give them good practice for competitive games.
Shuttlecocks are essential to badminton. With a can of 6 plastic birdies (typically used for practice) going for 15 dollars and a can of feather (typically used for competitive games) can cost you 24 dollars for 12 birdies. These shuttlecocks usually last a very short amount of time depending on how hard the players are hitting it but typically one plastic would last the competitive players 2 or 3 games at max.
Even though the team continues to face financial difficulties, it didn’t stop them from working hard in practice nor stop them from showing up to practice everyday.
Members of the team were candid about these costs, with Lang saying “Playing the sport is pretty expensive, monthly when season is going on I spend around 100+ on shuttlecocks.”
It takes a lot of commitment to play badminton competitively. It’s not just spending money on necessary equipment that gets them third place across the entire city- it’s the willingness to get up at 8 AM on a Saturday morning for practice.
Close up image of the trophy (Courtesy: Tina Lang)
