Fall sports are in full swing once again, and there has never been a better time to get involved. I was lucky enough to catch the brand new badminton club’s first meeting and shared some words with sophomore president Hermela Yemane before the matches got underway.
“It’s something new, something fresh and something fun for the community,” Yemane said. “I feel like everybody’s so stressed out these days, they just need something, like the right level of hard, and that’s badminton for me.”
That low-stress attitude was felt immediately after the four nets were set up and people started filing in. Music began to fill the air as people grabbed some water, some rackets and hit the courts.
“Back at my high school, we had a badminton club, but it had to be shut down because of Covid,” Yemane said. “I wanted to bring that to wherever I go and that’s Hamline now, and I want that fun, that experience here with my new friends….[Hamline] didn’t have that as an intramural sport, at all. So it worked out perfect for me!” Over thirty people showed up for the inaugural meeting in the lower level of Walker Fieldhouse. These included students with all ranges of experience in both badminton and sports as a whole, finding a good time in casual competition and conversation. The attendance was so strong that the games spilled over into the other half of the lower level gym and in between all four courts.
The planned meetings for Badminton Club are every other Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. They will not always be free-play, as they hope to have nights practicing different aspects of badminton, like serving and hitting form. If interested in learning how to play, staying active, staying social or staying involved, stop by the next Badminton Club meeting time.