UMKC’s Badminton Club meets at Swinney Recreation Center once a week and helps students and community members find other players, stay active and volley the shuttlecock.
The club meets on Tuesdays from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Swinney gym and has two tournaments during the semester. Despite relative newness to campus, the club takes up the entire gym with four games going at once.
Badminton is an olympic sport and one of the most widely played sports in the world. The setup includes erecting two posts with a net about five feet off the ground to hit the shuttlecock over. Large sculptures of the shuttlecocks, or “birdies”, are located in the lawn of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art near campus.
“Badminton is an easy sport to learn how to play,” said Badminton Club President Rahul Reddy. “But you must take your time and have patience.”
Casey Davison, UMKC coordinator of recreational affairs, has seen the club steadily grow since becoming their club advisor in the spring semester of 2023, attributing the success to the atmosphere built by the group.
“They welcome anyone of any skill level,” Davison said. “It doesn’t matter what a student is trying to gain from participating.”
Davinson encourages students to get involved with recreational activities at UMKC to connect with peers and find a new hobby or rediscover an old one.
“UMKC offers many sports that students likely grew up playing,” Davison said. “Intramural sports are a good chance to revive those memories and/or create some new ones with students who go through the same challenges you do.”
Students can register for the Badminton Club’s weekly meeting on RooGroups. Participation is free for UMKC students and the Swinney Recreation can be accessed by community members for $35 a month, $45 including parking.
