The roar of enthusiastic student cheers and screams can be heard escaping through the doors of Nanuet High School’s Gym 1. Everyone sits on the bleachers filled with anticipation that their team will dominate. Few students remain in the cafeteria, which now seems like a desolate area. All club advisors are the only one’s present at their meetings. Where have all these student’s gone? This can only mean one thing: The Badminton Tournament has begun.
At the beginning of December, student’s entered the new month with a new gym class unit: Badminton. During the previous unit of volley-tennis, junior Melanie Formoso constantly exclaimed how “excited [she] was for the badminton tournament” starting soon. Out of all units, badminton finds itself on almost everybody’s top three favorites since “it’s exhilarating.”
“There is a lot of energy,” she said. “Everyone is really excited about it because they want to see who wins. The competition is really intense.”
Even students who don’t always love to participate in gym class get involved in the excitement of this tournament each year, according to Formoso.
“It’s kind of ironic seeing people who don’t really care too much about the sport get so into the game and the matches,” she said.
Formoso herself has experienced the glory of being on a winning team during one of these tournaments, she explained.
“Everyone was watching and cheering,” she said. “It was just very exhilarating.”
Only the best in the school were able to make it to the tournament played during lunchtime. Even though many “didn’t make it,” said sophomore Kristen Schmid, they were still able “to feel involved with the players as they shuttled the birdie back and forth,” Formoso explained.
Many people expect the sport to be boring or an archaic activity, but it is actually a great time for all the students. For many, it is a reminder the holiday season is right around the corner and that second semester is quickly approaching.
“[I] was encapsulated by the abilities of Nanuet Students to play badminton [and] was amazed anyone could have that level of skill,” Schmid said.
Badminton requires a high level of skill in hand-eye coordination and speed. The preliminary rounds of the unit included all Nanuet High School students enrolled in gym class, where it was simply a fun game. Many of these students, unfortunately, did not go any farther than the basic gym class level. Their downfall was probably brought by having too much fun with friends in these classes!
The best of the best found themselves in the final tournament. This tournament lasted 4 lunchtime periods, which displayed how enthused the students were about this unit, even missing out on their midday feast! Only the greatest could get far in this tournament, and senior Ryan Darcy with senior Ibby Sherif were glad to grab that title. This tournament goes beyond watching the exchange of the birdie between the opposing teams. It was also a source of bonding for many friends and a place to build memories.
Junior Jaden Do was “excited to watch because his friends were in the tournament” and said it was thrilling to cheer them on.
The badminton tournament brought students closer together as many banded together on the benches rallying behind their classmates. If students weren’t standing, they found themselves “on the edge of [their] seats,” according to Junior Eli Sanchez.
At a closer look, the badminton tournament transcends a gym class unit. It’s building memories, cheering, and forging friendships in the form of a racket and birdie. It’s sensible badminton finds itself at the top of many people’s physical education favorites.
“People like the competition and it’s just really fun and entertaining to watch,” said Sanchez. “The thrill and adrenaline you get from playing makes it fantastic.”