The return of junior badminton competition to St. John’s provided an exciting day for players from Baccalieu Collegiate, Conception Bay North Badminton Club, Conception Bay South Badminton Club, Holy Heart of Mary High School, Holy Spirit High School, Rennie’s Mill Junior Badminton Club, and St. Paul’s Junior High School.

The Under 17 Boys’ Singles saw Quan Minh Tran of Holy Heart secure the gold with a 21-7, 21-10 victory over runner-up Brady Dale of Conception Bay North. The Bronze medal went to Lenny Zhang of Rennie’s Mill Junior Club. Quan and Lenny teamed up to win the U17 Boys’ Doubles in a tense 9-21, 21-19, 21-17 win over Brady and Brandon Upshall of Baccalieu.

Andrew Chaulk and Luke French were awarded Bronze.

For his Triple Crown, Quan and schoolmate Jaelyn Andersen won the U17 Mixed, beating out Lenny and Kate Bishop, also from Rennie’s Mill, 21-12, 21-6. Bronze went to Brooke Andrews and Ephraim Kojak from Holy Spirit. Jaelyn’s second victory was in U17 Girls’ Doubles, teamed up with Brooke Andrews of Holy Spirit, to score 21-12, 21-16 over the team of Marcienne Theriault from CBS Junior Club and Olivia O’Brien-Purcell of St. Paul’s. Bronze went to Emma Douglas and Kate Bishop of Rennie’s Mill Junior Club. in U17 Girls’ Singles, Jaelyn completed her Triple Crown with a 21-15, 21-18 win over Marcienne who took the silver. Brooke took Bronze.

In U15 Girls’ Singles, Emma took Gold with a 21-17, 21-10 win over Olivia, while Kate took home the Bronze.

In U13 Boys’ Singles, Andrew Chaulk from Conception Bay North beat out teammate Luke French 21-15, 21-13. Rowan Theriault took Bronze, and as well won the draw for a Victor racquet bag.

It was a great tournament for all involved and everyone is keen to come back next year. It is expected that this will be a tournament that continues to grow as more schools become involved. As well it was a great return to using MUN as the venue for some tournaments.