LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - Speed and hand-eye co-ordination are two qualities young badminton players say are needed to succeed in the sport.

Juliane Isiah-Tanche, left, and Janelle Bruneau are two members of the Thomas Simpson School badminton team who are preparing for the NWT High School Badminton Championships. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Approximately 25 students at two Deh Cho schools are training for the NWT High School Badminton Championships scheduled for Hay River in December. Badminton players at Thomas Simpson School started practising twice a week in October under the guidance of John Forbes.

"It's a game based on etiquette," said Forbes who's been coaching the team for the last three years.

In badminton players keep track of their own scores and referee their own games. They are also responsible for calling whether the birdie lands in or out of the playing area.

"You have to be well mannered and a good sport," Forbes said.

Single players or double teams play badminton games to 21 points. Points are awarded to a player if the birdie goes out of bounds on their side or if they get a kill by dropping the birdie to the floor on the other side. Winners are declared after the best three out of five games.

At the twice-weekly practices an average of 10 players have been learning and perfecting different shots.

In addition to technique having good hand-eye co-ordination and moving quickly around the court is the key to winning, said Katelyn Harold.

Harold, 15, has been on the team for three years. She started the sport out of curiosity to see if she could play it and discovered she's a natural.

"And I like competing," Harold said.

Some of her favourite parts of the sport are smashing a birdie in opponents' faces and winning games. Harold, who plays both singles and doubles, has set a goal of coming in first in her divisions at the championships.

Teammate Nikita Larter, 15, joined the team because she was interested in the idea of a badminton tournament.

"I like its competitiveness and it's a fun sport to learn," she said.

In order to do well you really need to know the game. There's a mental component of waiting to make certain moves and then changing your approach based on how your opponent responds, Larter said.

A lot of people mistake badminton as an easy sport to play but it's difficult, she said.

"It definitely takes fitness," said Larter.

In Fort Providence a group of approximately 15 students at Deh Gah School is also preparing for the championships.

The students meet after school on Tuesdays to do cardio, run through drills and practise a game. They also attend the Thursday night badminton club that is open to the whole community where the focus is solely on game play.

"It's one of those sports that is all inclusive," said Jeremy Kielstra, who is coaching the students.

Unlike many team sports, you don't have to be the strongest or the most athletic to succeed, Kielstra said. Because you only need two people for a game you also don't have to worry about organizing a whole team, which is good from a coach's standpoint, he said.

"For me it's just fun to play. It's good exercise," said Kielstra.

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