![As the school year progresses, the Badminton club looks for ways to get people more involved. “During club meetings, we will try to plan events [that have] fun activities for the students to do,” Xu said. “So currently, we're just letting them have fun and just hang out with their friends, but we're trying to make a competitive team in this school.”](https://portolapilot.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Screenshot-2025-10-02-12.23.28-PM.png)
The Badminton Club begins its journey to make a place for itself at Portola High. As a less popular sport in the U.S. and a sport that is not offered in IUSD, the club serves as an outlet for badminton lovers in the school.
Juniors Josh Xu and Angela Yu created the club for badminton enthusiasts on campus to have a place and opportunity to play. Looking forward, they want to create a competitive team and may even host tryouts in the future as the club grows, according to Xu.
“Currently, IUSD has a badminton league where they organize scrimmages with [schools to compete with] each other, which includes Northwood High and University High,” Yu said. “In terms of CIF, we are working towards [joining] CIF in the future and to have IUSD approve us to become official.”
In hopes of making badminton a school sport at Portola High in the near future, the club and its board have worked to obtain donations from non-profit organizations such as Pureking Badminton Academy to help fund the materials needed for the sport.
“[The students] are really running the show, and I’m just there to support them,” Badminton Club advisor and business teacher Robert Stowell said. “In previous years, they’ve been able to get donations from agencies and organizations across Orange County to donate rackets, the shuttlecocks and the nets. An outside group is also trying to help them start a team here, and so they’ve been involved in previous years to do that.”
The club aims to diversify its membership, encouraging students to explore their interest in the sport with friends. Additionally, they wish to work toward strong players that are ready to compete. They currently meet every Wednesday, and are planning to host training sessions after school for players looking to compete with other schools, according to Yu.
“It’s a very intense sport, and that’s why a lot of people like it,” Xu said. “We are trying to motivate others to just see how fun this sport is. A lot of people don’t know badminton right now, [so] we’re trying to create a community where a lot of people can try this sport and see if they like it.”
