The Yorkton Elementary School Sports Association (YESSA) hosted the annual city elementary school badminton championships last week. YESSA president Mark Schendel says the event has been running for many years and anticipates it will continue for many years to come.
This year the tournament features 10 area school with about 160 young athletes competing for the city title, Schendel reports. Competing schools include M.C. Knoll, Dr. Brass, Columbia, Yorkdale, St. Michael's, St. Mary's, St. Alphonsus and St. Pauls, St. Theodore and Saltcoats Schools.
The current badminton season got underway right after the Christmas break, says Schendel. Schools generally host mini-tournaments to determine which players advance to the city championship tournament as each school is limited to 16 participants or two in each of the five categories. The competition categories include boys' and girls' singles, boys' and girls' doubles and mixed doubles.
The tournament features a round robin competition. The two winners in each category will advance to the playoffs.
Both the Christ the Teacher and Good Spirit School Divisions take great pride in allowing their student to showcase their talents. "We've got some amazing athletes out there doing their thing," Schendel declares.
While the young athletes may not use their badminton skills actually playing badminton, they can certainly use them in life, he insists. They're learning about leadership, teamwork, commitment and work ethic. "These are tools that they will be using in their tool kit for years to come," Schendel states.
The YESSA season calendar started with volleyball in the fall. Curling was added top the program this year. Curling was followed by badminton. "We're giving these kids a lot of opportunities to explore these different skills," Schendel comments. He'd like to see the youngsters continue as they move through into high school.
The basketball season will begin March 5 to March 9. Many of the elementary schools have already started their practises, Schendel notes. The season will run through March and April when the annual city wide tournament Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, April 23 to 25 will wrap things up.
The winners for the YESSA city badminton championships were: Boys' Singles - Nick Payne (Yorkdale); Girls' Singles - Emma Teneycke (Columbia); Boys' Doubles - Caleb Bymak and Derrick Budz (Yorkdale); Girls' Doubles - Brett Lindsay and Lacey Senchuk (M. C. Knoll). Mixed Doubles - Halle Harris and Carson Welke (M. C. Knoll).
