Athletes from different corners of Northern Ontario gathered in Sudbury from February 24-25 for the annual Northern Ontario Badminton Association Junior Championships.
This was the 47th edition of the tournament which saw nearly 100 athletes from North Bay, Sudbury, Kirkland Lake, Noelville, and Timmins. Athletes could compete in three disciplines (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) in one of three age groups (U14, U16, and U19).
KTP Racquet Club of North Bay brought a contingent of 28 athletes to the event. Although still a relatively new club (turning 10 years old this fall), the club has found its footing in the competitive badminton scene in Northern Ontario and provincially.
Head Coach, Kurt Tempelmans Plat attributes the club's success to the structure of his program and the team culture at the club. "As our program has grown over the years, we have been able to create different training streams to allow athletes of any level to learn, train, and compete at KTP. This combined with our knowledgeable and ever-growing coaching staff has led to great success in the last few years. I am especially proud of the club culture that we have developed. It is always special to see athletes of different ages spending time together and supporting one another at tournaments. KTP truly is a badminton family."
KTP Racquet Club took home a total of 17 of a possible 18 titles, a feat that no other club has done before. The club earned a silver in the U16 Boys Doubles event, the only title they did not claim. The club maintained the overall U14 Team trophy, overall U16 Team trophy, and overall U19 Team trophy for their 6th, 8th, and 3rd consecutive years.
Many special achievements were made at the tournament including three triple crowns (winning all 3 disciplines) by Ryan O'Donnell, Olivia Popp, and Nathan Boutilier. Double crowns were also earned by Victoria Charbonneau, Dania Lalonde, and Alexie Carré.
The club looks to continue its success at the 2024 NOBA Jr Championships. Until then, the club's members look forward to a Badminton Ontario Jr B March 4-5 in Markham, as well as the Provincial A/B/C Championships in April and May.
Full Results:
U14 Boys Singles
1st - Nathan Boutilier
2nd - Francis Morneau
3rd Mathew Iounatanov
U14 Girls Singles
1st - Alexie Carré
2nd - Rory Corbeil
3rd - Dania Lalonde
U14 Boys Doubles
1st - Nathan Boutilier/Francis Morneau
U14 Girls Doubles
1st - Alexie Carré/Dania Lalonde
2nd - Rory Corbeil/Emily Middleton
U14 Mixed Doubles
1st - Dania Lalonde/Nathan Boutilier
2nd - Rory Corbeil/Francis Morneau
3rd - Izzy Popp/Reid Daigle
U16 Boys Singles
1st - Wade Belanger
U16 Girls Singles
1st - Victoria Charbonneau
U16 Boys Doubles
2nd - Marc Giroux/Ben Ostojic
U16 Girls Doubles
1st - Victoria Charbonneau/Gabrielle Dufresne-Nappert
2nd - Carlie Popp/Lilly Wolfe
U16 Mixed Doubles
1st - Lillian Li/Theo Lefebvre (Sudbury)
U19 Boys Singles
1st - Ryan O'Donnell
3rd - Jeff Taylor
U19 Girls Singles
1st - Olivia Popp
3rd - Emilie-Ann Ingram
U19 Boys Doubles
1st - Shyam Pradeepan/Ryan O'Donnell
3rd - Jeff Taylor/Kyle Gauthier
U19 Girls Doubles
1st - Olivia Popp/Gillian Obradovich (Sudbury)
2nd - Emilie-Ann-Ingram/Lillian Li
3rd - Emily Tremblay/Lauren Evans
U19 Mixed Doubles
1st - Ryan O'Donnell/Olivia Popp
3rd - Alexie Carré/Matteo Rocca (Sudbury)
