BONDING THROUGH BIRDIE BASHING
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
The final bell had rung on Friday, yet students, faculty and administrators were in no hurry to leave for the weekend.

What kept them after school was the 22nd annual "Badminton-Mania" finale - the anticipated teacher-student contests that traditionally cap a two-week badminton extravaganza in the high school gym.

The field has grown considerably since physical education teacher Dave Webb started it all over two decades ago as a way to bridge the winter and spring sports schedules. This year, 66 participants took part in the doubleelimination tournament where students team with faculty and Nantucket High School alumni.

Last year, Jasper Young paired with Class of '59 alum Ken Blackshaw to take it all. Young, a senior now, tandemed with fifth grade teacher and Badminton-Mania veteran Mike Girvin this year simply because, he said, "I like to switch partners every year."

Students, for the most part, select their pedagogical partners. High school senior Carl Stevens, for instance, chose Jamie McCoy, NHS Class of 2000 and current member of the school's computer technology department. "I played against him one day and he spiked the birdie at about 70 miles per hour," Stevens said. "I asked him if anyone had asked him to play yet and when he said, 'No,' I said, 'Yes!.'"

PHOTOS BY ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent As Beth Davidson's T-shirt attests in the top photo, the action at Badminton-Mania is fast, furious - and polite. Davidson and teammate Tim Marsh reach to shake with CPS teacher Bob Kessler, whose partner was Kent Martling. In the bottom photo, the father/daughter duo of Grace and George MacClellan swing away as they advance to the next round.

McCoy, like several members of the present faculty, took part in Badminton-Mania as a student, capturing the men's singles title one year and the men's doubles crown another. He was happy to oblige Stevens' request. For not only does Badminton- Mania give the faculty a chance for some extra-curricular athletics, it engenders a teacher and student bond like no other activity. On the badminton court they are true partners - and the result is a palpable sense of camaraderie. "This is true community building," Girvin noted, a sentiment echoed by high school principal George Kelly, who also hefted a racquet and donned sneakers for the afternoon. "This is a wonderful thing," he said. "It brings everybody together - students, teachers and parents."

ROB BENCHLEY/The Independent "Rising Star" bracket winners Megan Donnelly and Chris Getman got to take home some badminton hardware.

That focus was clearly evident Friday afternoon. It is a competition, to be sure, and contestants take pride in winning, but the overarching atmosphere is fun. The sport in itself - whacking a little plastic "birdie" back and forth - prompts light-hearted reactions from participants. The tournament is a joy, with teachers and students not only encouraging each other, but playing to each other's strengths, looking to make the most of the other's abilities.

And what could be better than that?

Because interest in the tournament is so high, Webb organized the players into two brackets this year: "the Rising Stars" for novice participants, and "Over the Moon" for the more seasoned racqueteers. Teams advance with each game won, but because it's a double-elimination format, a loss does not necessarily mean you're finished - a team can work its way back in if it does not lose further matches.

That's just what happened to the Young-Girvin team when, after winning their first few matches, they were defeated by the Stevens- McCoy team, who, much as Stevens had anticipated, were overwhelming all comers. As it turned out, Young-Girvin would have one more crack at them.

The father/daughter team of Grace and George MacClellan, meanwhile, were also doing well, taking their first two matches. But as the afternoon wore on, eyes turned to the Stevens-McCoy duo. Blackshaw, teamed this year with Cassie Moran, was one of the victims. "I underestimated Jamie," Blackshaw laughed. "I set him up too many times."

"We got spanked by McCoy and Carl Stevens," noted badminton organizer Webb, who teamed with Eric Lowell. (Webb, by the way, is an annual force to be reckoned with, a player that former student and current high school math teacher Tim Psaradelis called "my arch-nemesis for the past 15 years.")

Getting their second chance in the tournament, Webb and Lowell lost to the comebacking Moran-Blackshaw team, who then faced Young and Girvin for the right to play for the championship.

In the end, the finals came down to two pairings: Tim Marsh and Beth Davidson facing Chris Getman and Megan McNeeley in the "Rising Stars" bracket and, in the grudge match: Stevens-McCoy versus Young and Girvin in the "Over the Moon" category for badminton bragging rights.

The final matches were best two out of three. With slams and dinks utilized by both teams, the pairing of Young and Girvin was victorious in the end, as was the duo of Getman and McNeeley.

Afterwards, T-shirts, trophies and badminton calendars - yes, badminton calendars - were handed out. The tournament had ended, but still many students remained long into the afternoon, playing casual pickup games. On top of the tell-tale thwack of racquet hitting birdie

the sound heard most was good-natured laughter. I

Badminton - Mania 2008

Nantucket High School 22nd Annual Badminton Tournament

WOMEN'S SINGLES: (3-12-08)
Champion - Lindsay Fry
Runner-up - Lia Newman
MIXED DOUBLES: (3-5-08)
Champions - Nigel Koester
& Sarah Andrews
Runner-ups - Henry Farrell
& Lia Newman
MEN'S SINGLES: (3-10-08)
Champion - Tomas Smaliorius
Runner-up - Jasper Young
MEN'S DOUBLES (3-7-08)
Champions - Adam Spencer & Brian Reis
Runner-ups - Jordan Ferreira
& Jasper Young

WOMEN'S DOUBLES: (3-8-08)
Champions - Jessica Guevara
& Parinda Darden
Runner-ups - Lia Newman & Sarah Poor
FAMILY DOUBLES: (3-13-08)
Champions - Sam & Henry Toole
Runner-ups - Kelly & Jamie Reid
TEACHER / STUDENT (3-14-08)
Pool A
Champions - Jasper Young & Mike Girvin
Runner-Ups - Carl Stevens
& Jamie McCoy
Pool B
Champions - Chris Getman
& Megan McNeeley
Runner-Ups - Tim Marsh
& Beth Davidson