Monday, April 16, students and staff will have a chance to partake in a badminton tournament. It will be held in the Pennington Student Activity Center at 5:30 p.m.

Badminton is a racquet sport which can be played by either singles, two opposing players, or doubles, two opposing teams of two.

“It’s going to be a tournament and student teams will play staff teams,” said Amy Oberschmidt, assistant director of Guest Services for the Recreational Sports and Wellness Department.

The game is played with a racquet and a shuttlecock. The shuttlecock is the small, feathered ball that the players try to keep over the net throughout the game. Though the rules to this game are somewhat complicated, the tournament will play by modest rules.

“We are playing with very simple rules. There is an Asian influence to the game, but we are playing very simple badminton because we want as many people to come and play as possible,” said Oberschmidt.

The game is very easy to understand and students are encouraged to join in and participate.

“It’s very user friendly. It’s like tennis, you have a little lightweight racket to use, and the badminton net is almost as high as a volleyball net. You hit the shuttlecock over the net, and the goal of the game is to keep the ball over the net. It’s like tennis with light rackets and a higher net,” Oberschmidt said.

The tournament is welcome to all students on campus, faculty and staff members.

“Some of our intramural leagues will participate. We have all kinds of student organizations, and then we have people that just like badminton in general who are registering,” said Oberschmidt. “There aren’t that many opportunities to play it, but we would like to start a badminton league in the future.”

If you would like to register, the deadline is Monday, April 16, at noon. You must fill out the paperwork and pay the $10 team fee at the membership desk in the Pennington Student Activity Center. You can also contact Amy Oberschmidt at 985-549-5738.