Neerlandia Public Christian School (NPCS) handily won the Junior High Badminton Divisional Championship on April 26, scoring a medal in every single category except for one.
The junior high divisional championship was open to all schools within the boundaries of Pembina Hills Public Schools, including St. Mary School in Westlock and the Covenant Canadian Reformed School in Neerlandia.
The winner of the divisionals was determined by medal standings, with five points for every gold, three points for silver and one point for bronze.
Neerlandia players accumulated 62 points, while Barrhead Composite High School scored 23 points and R.F. Staples School scored 18.
“We kind of crushed it this year,” noted NPCS teacher and badminton coach Trenton Wierenga. “We’re pretty proud of how (our team) did.”
He noted that Neerlandia has a pretty strong tradition of badminton; they also won the divisional championship last year, and while Barrhead dominated the three previous years, Neerlandia was champion before that.
Even so, Wierenga said “it’s pretty big for our school to win” considering their junior high only consists of about 50 students.
Nearly all of those students — about 30 in total — play on Neerlandia’s badminton team.
Wierenga said Neerlandia’s strong badminton record is probably because they are a smaller school, allowing the kids more play time. As well, he noted that they have some really good coaches who know their badminton.
