After developing into one of the fastest growing interscholastic sports at Townsend, physical education teacher Raymond Adamkiewicz and Athletic Director Lauren Caiaccia have proposed to implement badminton into the physical education curriculum.
In order to increase support for their new idea, Mr. Adamkiewicz and Ms. Caiaccia have created the Badminton Doubles Bash, a badminton tournament that will raise funds for purchasing enough equipment for a prospective badminton unit. According to Mr. Adamkiewicz, the ultimate goal of this endeavor is to create a new gym elective dedicated to badminton. The idea for this proposal came about during a monthly teacher team meeting. While brainstorming a new unit to implement in freshman physical education, all of the physical education teachers agreed that badminton has become an extremely popular sport among the student population.
Mr. Adamkiewicz accredited its popularity to the high interest in the PSAL team and rare appearances in the classroom. “We knew it [badminton] was very popular among students because while we gave free enterprise days and guided discovery, the majority of the class was grabbing a badminton racquet and playing doubles together,” he said.
Ms. Caiaccia added that badminton is so appealing because it “is enjoyable and people can play it for their entire lives.” Other than the high student interest, Mr. Adamkiewicz and Ms. Caiaccia said that badminton’s convenience was another selling point. The badminton team’s presence offers accessibility to badminton equipment. Moreover, the badminton nets are easy to set up, which can be done quickly.
All of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards THHS physical education classes. “A majority of the funds will be going towards badminton supplies so that we can start the unit in the spring term for freshman gym,” Ms. Caiaccia said.
She also included that the physical education departments aims to buy new popup nets, an increased number of racquets, birdies and other equipment that can replace the currently broken ones the school has now.
Ms. Caiaccia concluded saying that “successful or not the fundraiser is a preliminary thing. It will be a bonus and we will market it as an exciting day with a sense of community.”
