While some may view badminton as a niche or backyard sport, the members of Drake University’s Badminton Club are working to change that view.
Lillian Luangsomkham, a senior studying information systems with a minor in data analytics, serves as president of the Badminton Club. She grew up in Illinois, where badminton is a high school sport — a sport her mother coached. It was in high school that Luangsomkham began playing seriously.
“When I was trying to get enrolled into college and stuff, I was looking, like, do they have badminton?” Luangsomkham said. “I saw that Drake did have a badminton club, so I knew if I ever wanted to play some, I could join the club.”
Because of the club, Luangsomkham said she was able to have a “sense of home” while at Drake. She is now hoping to boost club enrollment to bring badminton to a greater number of Drake students by providing a range of experiences.
“If you want to play for fun, you can come out and play for fun,” Luangsomkham said. “But if people want to actually play and get better and get to a different level, I think people would be a little bit more intrigued and interested in that.”
Luangsomkham hopes that more people will play competitively or view badminton as a competitive sport.
Tracy Chen, vice president of the Badminton Club, agrees that many people view badminton as non-competitive.
“I was never really a sporty person growing up, but I just think that badminton is one of the most accessible sports out there,” Chen said. “People just remember it for playing it casually in gym class and stuff, but there’s really such a high skill ceiling.”
Chen is aiding in the recruitment effort. At Drake, where people are involved in many activities or have difficult classes, member retention or getting people to come to meetings can be difficult, Chen said.
Around the first exam season, the club typically experiences a membership decline. Chen added that the Bell Center’s distance from campus can also prove an obstacle to attendance.
To improve outreach, the club is posting more posters around campus and using social media.
“I feel like there are people who want to play badminton and stuff, but it just has to reach the right circle,” Chen said.
Chen said that when she first joined, the club members were friendly to her, so she brought friends to play often. During club meetings, Chen enjoys playing against higher-skill members to improve her own skills, and advises new players to do the same.
“I would just say that practice makes perfect,” Chen said. “It’s about consistency and showing up. I would definitely say that don’t be afraid to ask advice from players that are better than you. That’s how you improve, and don’t be afraid to play against people who are better than you.”
Advocating for funding can also be a challenge. Badminton Club aims to create an environment where anyone can join, which includes providing equipment — and equipment requires funding.
“A lot of people don’t understand the world of badminton, so we always try to advocate for our club in the best way to where we get nice equipment, enough funding for us to be able to compete in the tournaments and such,” Luangsomkham said.
In two weeks, the club members will be attending a tournament, which they weren’t able to last year. Tournaments were one of Luangsomkham’s favorite memories from previous years with the club.
“Just getting to play those tournaments and play against different levels of skill, it was fun. And not only that, we got to hang out and eat good food together. So those are always good memories to have,” Luangsomkham said.
Chen said that Badminton Club has brought her a “close community” at Drake, as well as a way to stay in shape that she loves.
“I’m graduating next semester, and I’m really like, I don’t know where I’m going to play badminton after I graduate. I just didn’t really expect to — because I’m not a very sporty person — but I didn’t really expect to find this sport that I really do love,” Chen said.
Zoe Wade-Bordeaux contributed to reporting.
