Seven R.D. Parker Collegiate junior badminton players will be in Winkler May 3-4 for the first-ever Manitoba junior varsity provincial championships.
These competitors include boys’ doubles team Ethan Alcock and Evan Alcock, mixed doubles team Brady Krentz and Kamryn Horvath, girls’ singles competitor Rylee Boychuck and girls’ doubles team Emma Tomchuk and Amber Miscavish.
“This is the first time juniors are able to go,” said Grade 10 student Tomchuk. “It’s going to be hard but it’s going to be a good experience because it’s going to be our first provincials to see what everybody’s levels are at.”
Even though she played badminton during her last few years at Westwood School, Grade 9 student Miscavish said her first high school season was a completely different atmosphere.
“It was really different going into zones and all the outside tournaments but it was a lot more fun and a lot more experience and I learnt a lot more,” said Miscavish, who characterizes herself as a doubles player first and foremost. “I’ve never been a singles person. I don’t cover the court good enough by myself so I like doubles a lot more.”
The pair played two of three tournaments this year together, including the Zone 11 championships in Thompson April 18-19, where they finished second.
“We came fourth in our first tournament and then our second tournament Amber was away so we didn’t play together,” said Tomchuk. . “I think we could have done better [at zones] but we weren’t really ready for it. We weren’t prepared enough, I guess.”
“We had really good chemistry from the very start,” said Miscavish.
“Once we were partners, we knew we should be partners because we got it together really quick,” Tomchuk says.
That chemistry stems from maintaining a positive outlook.
“We usually just cheer each other up,” Tomchuk says. “We talk to each other. We just communicate with each other throughout the game, help each other out.”
“We just never get frustrated at each other,” Miscavish says.
The pair would like to finish near the medals at provincials but know that they won’t be able to gauge the competition until the games begin.
“We’re not setting our hopes too high,” said Miscavish. “It’s going to be a hard competition and it’ll be a good experience. We’re just going to try and have fun.”
Tomchuk says they wouldn’t’ be heading to provincials if it wasn’t for their coaches.
“Badminton’s a really short season. It’s only basically for a month so you have to get a lot of practice in in between tournaments,” she says. “We’d like to thank our coaches because they always help us out.”
