As the fall semester continues, returning and incoming students are finding ways to settle in at the University of South Carolina.
Some choose to join Greek life while others decide to find an organization that interests them. But some Gamecocks have joined a club that offers the ability to play a new, or familiar, sport: badminton.
The Gamecock Badminton Club offers students the ability to compete at different levels. They can play in casual intrasquad tournaments or try out for the competitive team.
Whether the student is a seasoned veteran or someone picking up the game for the first time, club president and second-year public health student, Quan Nguyen said he wants to create an inclusive environment for students.
“My current goal right now is to make a space for everyone just to come and enjoy badminton,” Nguyen said. “A lot of people tend to say that they're bad at badminton … but that's the thing, that's why we're here. We’re here for you to come play even if you're ‘bad’ or whatever, or you're new, you come here to play and have fun."
Nguyen hopes to grow the club. By creating a positive atmosphere for the students, second-year accounting and marketing student Andrew Martin said he hopes it will encourage students to return and build their numbers.
“Our main goal in the leadership has just been to get people playing, get people having fun,” Martin said. “The more people we can get, the better.”
Martin, as the marketing head of the organization, said his main responsibilities include running the team's social media, helping recruit new players and planning tournaments.
And the club has seen the results of the executive board's work. They now average around 40 to 50 people attending meetings this year, while last year the club would average 20 to 30 people, Nguyen said.
As the club continues to grow, Nguyen believes that the recreational facilities on campus don't recognize badminton as a top priority.
“The number one challenge right now is that Blatt, and Strom and even USC as a whole don’t recognize us as ‘an important club,’" Nguyen said. “I feel like Blatt (doesn’t) take us very seriously, even though we're a very fast growing club … we really need space.”
Members of club badminton scrimmage at practice on Sept. 11, 2024. Club Badminton practices at Blatt Public Education Center and was restarted in the fall of 2023.
One thing Nguyen said he thinks will help is having tournaments against other universities.
By playing against other collegiate teams, the organization would qualify as a sports program. A club must pursue and compete in three competitions against other schools per year to qualify, according to the Sport Club Officer Manual.
Once the club becomes an official sports program, the organization can receive funding from the Sport Club Executive Board.
Membership dues play a big part in purchasing things like equipment and entry fees for tournaments. Nguyen estimates that membership dues will be under $20. The dues and allocated funds make up a majority of an organization's revenue.
The club has been in contact with other schools from around the South, including Clemson and Georgia. Martin says, likely, the club will host other teams since the club does not yet have travel funds.
Even though these tournaments are still being planned, there are other opportunities for tournaments with club members.
In the past, the club hosted events, such as "Anything but a Racquet", a tournament where participants use any item but a racquet, and Halloween tournaments, where members were encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes. The club also finished the 2024 Spring semester with its Wall Of Fame tournament, its final intrasquad tournament of the semester.
The organization not only plans to host this event at the end of each semester to wrap up everything, but to do tournaments around major holidays, such as Halloween and Christmas, Martin said.
Second-year biology student Anuvarshini Rajaji Sivaranjani said that she used to play badminton several years ago, and when she attended the club meeting on Sept. 5 and described the experience as nostalgic and not intimidating.
“I definitely feel it's welcoming and not too intimidating,” Sivaranjani said. “They mentioned they have competitions and stuff, so I was kind of nervous, but then after I came here I saw people who are pros and people who are learning.”
Student experiences such as Sivaranjani's show that the main goal set by Nguyen of creating a friendly, open-armed atmosphere is being accomplished. Martin said these positive interactions with the club go for all students who attend its meetings.
“Everybody who comes to this club leaves with a smile on their face, wanting to come back,” Martin said. “It’s still just so fun to hit around, and you meet so many new people doing it, it’s just really amazing.”
The club meets on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Blatt PEC in Room 307 from 7 to 9 p.m.