Ryune Kono, president of Badminton Club and senior

When did you join the Badminton Club?

I joined Badminton Club in my sophomore year when it was newly made.

What made you decide to get involved with the club? 

My dad played badminton in college and middle school. I just thought it was like a great sport to get into, and since I found out that there was a club in my sophomore year, I got a lot more involved with it. Then I became an officer in my junior year. And now I’m the president.

What do you hope people get from the Badminton club?

I just hope people can find a community to belong in, especially since badminton is a really inclusive sport. There’s co-ed badminton, like at the professional level, as well as just so many things you can do with badminton; you can play it recreationally, you can play it competitively. And I just want people to get more in touch with badminton as a sport since it’s not really prominent in the United States. That’s pretty much my goal. 

Jessica Ding, vice president of Badminton club and junior

What is Badminton Club about?

Badminton Club meets on Fridays every month and we play recreational badminton in the fieldhouse gym of CHS. It’s mostly a place to create community and for friends to gather together to play the sport. Throughout the year, we will host charity tournaments to help raise money for different causes that we’re passionate about. The club was started around three years ago by students who have already graduated and we chose to start it because we always loved to play badminton with our families and we wanted to also share that and create a place for people to do that at school as well.

What sparked your personal interest in badminton?

My personal interest in badminton came a lot from my dad. He really loves the sport and I’ve always played it with him since I was a little kid. Basically, that’s what got me into the sport. Then over time, I kind of discovered that although it’s a little bit niche, badminton is a really fun way to kind of pass the time and have some fun. You can play it both indoors and outdoors. That’s what kept me hooked on it, even now. 

What are your plans for Badminton Club next year?

Next year, the Badminton Club will continue to have our bimonthly meetings. We also hope to do a little more fundraising and also maybe engage in some projects to improve the school’s equipment. A lot of the nets that we’re currently using and the rackets are damaged or really old. We’re hoping to improve those as well.

What are some events the Badminton Club has participated in?

We usually do collaborations for our charity tournaments. Our most recent one, we did with the Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council and we were raising, for Riley (Children’s Hospital). We raised over $500 just from that one event. We’ve also participated in culture fairs and we also have booths at Homecoming; we fundraise at events like that.

Casey Danubio, Badminton Club Sponsor

Why did you decide to sponsor Badminton club?

I’ve always loved badminton. I think it’s a super fun sport to play. It’s really low-key. It wasn’t something we had here too. So when a student approached me about it, I was like, “Oh, what a good idea,” And then it ended up being super popular and a lot of kids loved going. So it was just, super easy. We already had all the equipment from PE class. It just seemed like a no-brainer, super fun.

When was the club formed?

The student who started it ended up going to Purdue, but he had really loved badminton and he wanted to have a club that he started while he was here. So we thought badminton would be really fun and so we’re ending our second year.

When are meetings?

Fridays after school and I think we have like four more (meetings) until the end of the school year. We have one on (April) 26, then (May) 10 and 17. Typically, Fridays. Court time can be hard sometimes because with rain and stuff, sports will have to come inside, but if we can get court time enough in advance, we at least try to meet twice a month in the fieldhouse. We also have met in like the freshman cafeteria as well because we bought some mobile courts or mobile nets. We’ll bring them in there and play sometimes.

What do meetings look like?

Kids show up after school. I try to get down there early and with some of the leaders and we set up the nets and we have a bunch of nets and a bunch of equipment and rackets and stuff like that.

We buy new birdies and keep the equipment nice and kids just show up and get into teams, they play. It’s pretty easy-going. There’s no like strict rules or format. Everybody’s pretty independent and forming their own kind of thing.

What are some of the club’s future plans?

We already elected our leaders for next year. I feel really happy about that group. They’re very into playing badminton and the technique of the sport and things like that. They’re a very proactive group. I think there’s going to be a lot more events for the group within the community, which I think is cool. We haven’t met to do our planning meeting for the fall. We’re going to do that probably in May. I don’t have like specifics on things, but I know that they have a lot of good ideas and they’re very proactive in making sure that we do things in advance, like at the club, get the court time in advance and make sure the equipment is all up to date and marketing is good, kids know when to come and just not being last minute. And I try to give them free rein. They’re all very smart and capable.