They don’t play a glamour sport and they don’t expect football-size crowds at every tournament they take part in, but they deserve the respect of the entire student population at U of T. They recently went into battle and came home with the spoils.
U of T’s badminton team won bronze medals at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championships on November 20 in London, defeating McMaster 10-3 after losing 8-5 to Waterloo in the semifinal. Three members of the team shared their insights and experiences with The Varsity.
“Winning the bronze has reestablished the Blues as one of the top teams in the OUA,” said Melissa Nock, a team member and an assistant coach. “However, bronze is not so much an end result for our team as it is a milestone achievement, indicative of our team’s drastic improvement and future potential.”
“It was great to obtain medals in the playoffs, because I think it was highly anticipated,” added veteran Andy Lam. “I think we were pretty much where we wanted to be, but of course, who doesn’t want to have the gold?”
last year the young squad struggled against the likes of Western, McMaster, and Ryerson, finishing last in the league. In 2005 the team dominated many matches and finished tied for first in the OUA, making this year a rebirth of sorts for the Blues.
“It feels like a great accomplishment for our athletes in moving from a last-place finish in 2004 to a tie for first place in the 2005 regular season and third in the playoffs this year,” said head coach Wayne King. “Last year we finished with 21 wins and 44 losses, while this year we rebounded to win 41 times against 24 losses-an incredible feat by any team. I think the kids from last year’s last-place team must have been really happy with the medals and they were very proud to wear them.”
Badminton will not cease for these three devoted individuals during the winter, even though the OUA season is over. Each one will be involved in the sport in some capacity in the offseason.
“I will be training some of the players on an individual basis and working with some of our new recruits,” said King. “Our team will continue at the club level and will also hold some player clinics in which they will teach youngsters in the GTA.”
Nock added that the team will be “gaining competitive experience by entering in provincial and national tournaments,” and Lam pointed out that “the offseason isn’t really an offseason because we are still going to participate in Ontario Badminton Association tournaments.”
