Rally and Rise: Redwood’s Badminton Club

Badminton club advisors and members share about the state of the club, the possibility of it actually becoming a sport at Redwood, and other valuable information.

By: Fabian Anguiano

Everybody has played badminton in their PE class, but did you know that there is a badminton club, and they even host tournaments? Badminton club members and advisors share how they feel about the state of the club, how they got into the club in the first place, and much more.

Club member Ratinerpartap Singh Sidhu, ’26, shares how he feels about the state of the club.

“I think it is pretty decent. We are hosting tournaments and even next month we will try to host a big tournament,” says Sidhu.

Singh shared what got him into Badminton in the first place.

“So I started Badminton when I was eight and I started playing for my school, then I got good. I went to the state championship, I won the state championship, [and] that’s how my journey went.”

Singh then shared on how he thinks Badminton can make it bigger in the future.

“I do think there is plenty of chance if we add varsity badminton to school, we can make it to the states here in the United States and further on in the Olympics,” says Sidhu.

Sidhu asked the Redwood athletics director about the possibility of the sport becoming official at Redwood, and Sidhu says, “I did ask Mr. Wright about it and he said it’s not possible for like the next two years.”

Club member David Sanchez, ’27, shared how he feels about the state of the club at the moment.

“We are continuing to grow, and I am especially proud of the Badminton tournament as we definitely had a lot of participants. It was a great way to get the community involved at Redwood,” says Sanchez.

Sanchez shared how he started the sport in the first place.

“I first started badminton last year in PE, I first had Mr. Roebuck and then for the badminton unit and I realized ‘hey this is pretty fun,’ so that’s why I originally started playing badminton.”

Sanchez gave his thoughts on how the sport itself can make it bigger in the future.”

“I do definitely think this sport can grow, I mean just a good step is making a badminton club, as now people are going to say ‘hey this is actually a pretty good sport!’ Maybe we can talk to Mr. Wright and actually see if it can become a [sport]. So in the future, I do see potential, especially because it is pretty similar to tennis, [and] tennis is already a pretty big sport at Redwood. I wouldn’t be surprised to see badminton also become a sport.”

PE teacher and Badminton club advisor Mr. Travis Roebuck shared how he feels about the state of the club at the moment.

“I feel like it’s better than ever … to actually have to compete and have a tournament on campus has been amazing.”

Mr. Roebuck shared on how the people from the club have improved.

“Absolutely, there’s a young man named Justin in the club, and I’m watching him and he’s doing jump shots and he has a lot of power behind his hits. So yes, they are a lot farther from where they were when they were freshmen.”

Mr. Roebuck shared how the sport itself can become a permanent sport at Redwood.

“I hope so. There would have to be … a female version of badminton, but for the most part it’s a rapidly growing sport. There are sections in our CIF that have it as a sport too, so you could become a varsity lettermen in badminton,” says Mr. Roebuck.

Main club advisor and ethnic studies teacher Mr. Jacob Huerta shared how he feels about the state of the club at the moment, “Right now I think we’re doing okay, we had some setbacks earlier of trying to secure the gym. We finally had [a couple of weeks ago] our first group play and the tournament. It was pretty cool, so I think the word is going to get out and I think the club is only going to get more attention and more members,” says Mr. Huerta.

How did he get interested in badminton in the first place? “I played it when I was younger. It’s not a hard game … and it’s fun so I think that’s a good thing. It’s not just singles, you can have doubles, and you can do tournaments.

“The games go by fairly quickly, so I think that’s another positive. You won’t be on the sidelines for long,” says Mr. Huerta.

Can badminton become an actual sport at Redwood?

Mr. Huerta says, “I know other schools have it, mainly the Fresno schools like Hoover and McLane, they actually have it as a sport and it’s recognized by the CIF. I’m pretty sure if there’s enough interest, yeah honestly why wouldn’t it become an official sport here at Redwood?”

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