INUVIK
There's going to be a racket at East Three School this weekend, but it's all good.

East Three Secondary students Winter Allen, left, and Julienne Chipesia are all set for a badminton tournament starting May 31. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The school is hosting its first badminton tournament in several years on May 31 and June 1, said organizer Colin Pybus, the physical education teacher at East Three Secondary School, during an interview May 23.

"The idea came from Michael Francis. He approached me with the idea that the school hadn't had a badminton tournament in a long time, and there's been some interest in badminton in the community this year," Pybus said.

Aurora Campus officials led first by David Bob and then Jonathan Wood have been offering free badminton nights at the East Three gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the community has responded enthusiastically to the program.

"That just got people interested or exposed to the game, and Michael approached me about forming some kind of partnership," Pybus said.

"He said he wanted to start a tournament, and let's get the kids involved and the school involved and open it up to the community as well."

Eight people have signed up for the tournament so far, and Pybus expects more will come out.

"I know in my classes the kids are definitely into it. They're learning the basics and the technique and everything. There seems to be a lot of interest.

"We'll see kind of what the final registration is for this tournament."

There will be divisions for junior high school students, high school students, men and women, Pybus said.

"The idea if there are enough players, we can break the men's and women's into skill levels. So you could sign up for an advanced category or a beginner/intermediate."

Any money made from the tournament's entry fees will go into the budget for the school's badminton program, which Pybus is trying to revive.

"Hopefully we can drum up some interest and then next year we'll be able to kind of hit the ground running and send students to the badminton territorials, which are later in the fall."

Pybus said there hasn't been an active team for "at least a couple of years."

"Interest in a sport is really dependent on whether you have a chaperone or a coach who is really willing to put the time in," he said.

"I'm not really involved in any of the sports offered in the fall, so potentially this could be something else we offer to students to be able to travel, show their skills and compete. It's something that's definitely of interest to me."

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