Currently, Arcadia High School’s (AHS) Badminton team is undefeated and on its fifth straight Almont League Champion title. Junior Reanne Chan, member of the AHS Badminton team, details her experience with the sport and provides insight into their ongoing season.

Chan began her journey in badminton from a young age and sharpened her skills over the years.

“I have been playing badminton since I was eight years old, so it has been eight years. I’ve been on the Varsity Badminton team at AHS since I was a freshman, so it has been about three years playing for AHS,” said Chan.

From her eight years of playing badminton, she has racked up an enormous amount of memories that she will treasure for the rest of her sports career.

“My favorite memory from playing badminton was having the opportunity to represent the United States in my age group playing in an international tournament which was held in Acapulco, Mexico, where I won a gold medal,” stated Chan. “Being able to compete at a high level has been my number one goal since I first started playing local tournaments, so representing my country at an international event was a great experience and helped to develop myself as a badminton player.”

The reason for participating in athletics varies from person to person; a couple reasons for joining a sports team would be the camaraderie, the exercise and health benefits, or maybe the pure enjoyment from stepping on the court to represent a broader organization like AHS.

As for Chan, she claimed, “To be honest, my parents put me in this sport and at first I didn’t enjoy what badminton had to offer but as years went on and as I got older, I met some great people, made friends that I’m super close with till today, and gave me opportunities that I wouldn’t have experienced without badminton. I am thankful to my parents, and of course, all my coaches and teammates, for always urging me to keep going.”

Recently, on Apr. 18, the AHS Badminton team won a 20-1 game against South Pasadena, which maintained their remarkable winning streak this season! When asked what games are like for the team, Chan describes preparing herself for such events.

“I don’t do much before I prepare for practices, but I would say I drink more water than I normally would prior so that I won’t be dehydrated during practices,” remarked Chan. “Before games, I try not to use my phone or look at a screen for too long because from experience, it has made me less focused and more tired the following day.”

With the height of badminton’s season gradually approaching, Chan has outlined her personal and team goals that she hopes will be achieved.

Chan said, “From this season, I hope that we can defend our CIF title, both as a team and individually, in hopes to also deepen the connections with my teammates from games, tournaments and bonding events!”

This spring, make sure to keep an eye out for the AHS Badminton team as they have proved game after game that they are a force to be reckoned with. Good luck to the AHS Badminton team, and keep up the great work!

Photo courtesy of REANNE CHAN