Badminton club members dressed in athletic gear, hands filled with rackets and birdies, take practice swings before the real playing begins on Monday afternoons in the field house and on some occasions in the courtyard.

The club first originated at the start of the school year when President Patrick Sorenson ’12, thought of the idea. “In gym the badminton unit only lasted two weeks and I wanted an opportunity to play more,” Sorenson said.

Kelsey Robbins ’12, Vice-President, agreed to join with Sorenson in creating the club. “Badminton is a really fun sport, one of the only sports I actually volunteer to play,” Robbins said.

A love for the activity led to the creation of the club back in the fall.

Jennifer Sorge, advisor to the club, said Sorenson felt other students would enjoy it, just as much as he does. “In the beginning I joined because I like badminton and my mom said I had to do an activity, but it is very fun,” said member Raphi Goldschlager ’15.

The club is made up of many members that join for reasons like Goldschlager. “I was always surprised that no matter the weather everyone was always out there playing,” Sorge said.

The dedication the members feel to the club pushed them to bring all of the equipment into the courtyard when the winter sports began that took over the field house.

Fun is the most important aspect of the club. “It’s pretty lax, we don’t really have competitions or anything like that,” Sorge said. Because of this rules are not strictly enforced. “We follow the Badminton rules, but it’s not like if you try another way to swing your racket you’ll get penalized.”

Overall, the members look forward to the start of the week when they have the opportunity to extend the exposure to the badminton. Some members think they’ll even take the sport farther. “I think I’ll try to continue with it,” Robbins said.