Ohlone College launches Women’s Badminton Team (Tri-City Voice)
Story originally appeared in the Tri-City Voice / October 17, 2023
By Vidyuth Sridhar, Tri-City Voice
On March 9, 2023, Ohlone College, located in Fremont and Newark, announced their inaugural Women's Badminton team would begin play during the upcoming Spring 2024 season.
Ohlone now offers 14 sports (six Men's and eight Women's), competing in the California Community College Athletic Association's (CCCAA) Coast Conference. Rising student demand, coupled with a desire to increase ethnic diversity played a major role in Ohlone's decision to create the team. "We want to continue to reach out to the areas that may not have had the opportunities and bring those here. This was going to be an opportunity to bring some new interest into our college, and have a well-rounded program," Ohlone College Dean of Kinesiology, Athletics, and Arts Chris Warden said. Badminton's ability to be played within existing facilities, an established conference league, and the support of administration also led Ohlone to introduce a competitive program.
In charge of Ohlone's badminton team is Head Coach Albert Chow. Chow previously served as Head Coach at Mission College in Santa Clara, and also enjoyed success as the former Head Coach at Cupertino High School. "I heard about Ohlone … and the idea of building a program from the ground up really appealed to me," Chow said. In addition, "Ohlone has a little bit more of a traditional community college feel, where you're getting high school students that are moving to the next stage in life rather than professionals who are looking for supplement classes. Because of that, I felt the badminton program would have a stronger chance of success."
Signing up for the team involves enrolling in an exclusive class at Ohlone, led by Chow, which functions as a slot for team practices and awarding college credits for athlete participation. Chow is also offering for-credit badminton classes available to all Ohlone students, as well as non-credit bootcamps through the Ohlone For Kids & Teens (OFK) program – targeted towards children of various skill levels aged nine-18.
Currently, Chow is focusing on recruiting current Ohlone students – placing flyers over campus to help boost awareness and interest for the program. "I want people to be excited to come to train for badminton, and I want them to use this as a stepping stone to the next level … I'm hoping that's leadership skills, [and] confidence … to walk into a badminton club and feel like 'yeah, I can step onto the court with anyone,'" Chow said. In the future, Chow's goal is to utilize mediums such as OFK to foster connections on the high school level, and help redefine players' college outlooks. "A lot of the families that participate in badminton at a high level are looking at a [four-year college] and they do not consider community college as well. That's why one of the first strategies is building a relationship with the local high schools, because if I can prove that I'm a worthy coach, and that Ohlone is a strong program, I'll get some people to change their minds about a four-year," Chow explained.
Ultimately, launching the Women's Badminton team is part of a wider push by Ohlone College to increase their athletic offerings – which are slated to expand to include Women's and Men's Cross Country and Women's Beach Volleyball in subsequent years. "It's an exciting time for Ohlone because we're going to be the biggest non-football school athletically [in the Coast Conference] once that's over," Warden said. Currently, Men's Badminton is not offered as a competitive sport in the CCCAA, and there are no plans to introduce a team at Ohlone. However, men are welcome to train with the team, and try out as assistant coaches.
"I feel strongly that anyone can, as long as you have the desire, join badminton, and I want this to be a very inclusive space," Chow described. "To the general community, I just hope that they support the sport, and spread the word."