ESTEVAN — Many of Saskatchewan's top young badminton stars were at the Estevan Comprehensive School May 10 for the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletics Association's provincial tournament.
Kevin Daoust, who is one of the coaches with the ECS Elecs, said the local athletes did their best, and they played at a level they hadn't reached during the year, even at regionals the week before.
"We're so happy and pleased that they did so well," Daoust said in an interview with SaskToday. "We expected that they would do well, but I think they overachieved even [beyond] what our expectations were."
ECS Grade 12 student Dongjon Won finished fourth in boys' singles. He went 2-1 in the round robin to finish second in his pool, and advanced to the semifinal. He then lost 2-0 (21-18, 21-14) to an athlete from Marion Graham Collegiate in Saskatoon and 2-1 (21-18, 18-21, 21-15) to a player from Regina LeBoldus. His wins were over opponents from Tisdale and Regina's Luther College.
Grade 11 Feby Jane Contillo went 1-2 in the round robin and finished third in her pool. Her lone win was a 2-1 (18-21, 21-15, 21-14) victory over an athlete from Centennial.
The team of Moksh Rabari and Xave Sequito, both in Grade 12, went 1-2 and finished third in the round robin. Their lone win was a 2-1 (21-19, 18-21, 21-13) victory over a team from Nipawin.
Daoust said it was exciting to see local athletes in three of the five events.
"They absolutely played their hearts out and faced some extremely stiff competition, as you would well expect from provincials. Unfortunately, we didn't get any medals, but we were very close, especially in the boys' singles event."
ECS also hosted a regional tournament the weekend before, and Daoust said they received all kinds of compliments from coaches, athletes and parents for successfully hosting the two events.
Provincials always has some tough competition, he said. They saw that first-hand last year as well when ECS was represented at the tournament in Nipawin.
"There's a big number of athletes that not only plays for their school but also play in clubs in the large urban centres, and they're very highly skilled. They play all year long. And we just know that when you get to that level, you're going to be playing against some very good athletes," said Daoust.
Sixty-four athletes were at provincials between the five divisions. Daoust said the tournament would have an economic benefit for Estevan, even though it was just one day.
"A lot of those folks came in the day before, stayed in the hotels and did a little shopping," said Daoust. "They had breakfast in the morning before they competed, and I think some of them were even having some meals before they headed out after the tournament."
He was also pleased to see some local spectators come out and watch the badminton.
The flow of the tournament was very good. Six of the eight courts at the ECS gymnasium were in use, and there was a lot of room for the spectators, the athletes and the coaches to walk.
The Elecs made a lot of strides this season, he said. They didn't know at the start of the season how they would fare. In the tournaments they went to, they were always in the top two or three.
"As the year progressed, we got to learn more and more that these kids were ready to compete at just about any level."
A lot of volunteers helped out with the tournament, he said. Students really stepped up, while ECS teacher Jessie Smoliak ensured the day went well, thanks to her organizations ahead of time.
