Strathmore to host badminton bout

Times Reporter

 

Strathmore will be the setting for the largest badminton tournament in the province on March 29, taking place at three schools in the area – Strathmore High School (SHS), Crowther Memorial Junior High School and Wheatland Elementary.

The exhibition tournament, organized by the Strathmore High School, gives players a chance to compete before playoffs officially begin.

The SHS Spartans have been practicing since January, and are excited to compete before upcoming County Campionship and zones.

“To be honest, we normally win zones, because we have a fairly strong team, and geography helps our position as well,” said SHS coach Kenton Zandee. “Normally, we do extremely well at counties and we should have a good shot at winning zones. I think a number of our players should proceed onto provincials.”

SHS also hosted a badminton team-tournament in February, finishing second and third overall. His team is roughly two-thirds boys, and is short on Grade 11’s, but still has a larger squad of 30 players. Zandee said his team plays singles, doubles, and mixed but will need to narrow it down.

“In tournaments, we try to at least get them in two events each,” Zandee said. “When it comes down to counties they have to declare one event to go into. That’ll determine whether they go to zones or qualify for provincials.”

Last season, the Spartans won zones and finished third at provincials. Their players will compete for individual medals but also combine their points for team medals.

“We should have a very good shot at provincials this year because we’re actually able to drop some of our Grade 11 players because of their birth dates into Grade 10,” Zandee said. “Some of those players are very high level.”

Counties will take place at Strathmore High School on April 2, and Olds will host zones on April 12.