The San Diego City College badminton team (4-4) started Wednesday’s match versus Mesa College as they have against every opponent this season – down three points.
Because City only fields a roster of five players for the sport which requires six players, the Knights start every match trailing their opponent.
In a quiet Harry West Gym, The Knights fell to Mesa, 14-3 in a match they trailed throughout.
City College is one of two local junior colleges with a badminton team. Mesa College is the only other in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference. Grossmont College’s program disbanded during the pandemic when its longtime head coach, Bill Gillespie, died.
Mesa College’s head coach, June Andrews, said badminton is more popular in Northern California but has struggled in Southern California.
“I think it’s kind of a budgetary thing oftentimes with athletic directors and with colleges, unfortunately,” Andrews said. “But the sport is actually still growing, especially in Northern California. I believe they’re adding another school up there. So it can be tough to recruit at times, especially in this area.”
City College’s athletic director, Aaron Detty, believes that it’s hard to find recruits for badminton because it’s not a scholarship sport at the four-year level.
“It comes down to the fact that an athlete cannot receive a scholarship playing badminton,” Detty said. “If a parent is deciding which sport their kid should play, they generally are going to push their kid towards a major sport with potential for a scholarship.”
Tough economic times have also made it more difficult for City College’s head badminton coach Darby Duprat to recruit.
“It’s hard just based on the economy where a lot of students are working most of the time,” Duprat said. “It’s hard for them to adjust going to school and playing a sport that requires a lot of time because you’re on a team and working, too.”
Duprat was a star badminton player at City College from 2013-2014. According to the SD City Knights athletic page, Duprat was named Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player in 2013 and was also named to the All-PCAC team in both of her years at City. She has been head coach of the Knights’ badminton team since 2016. Now she is working to keep the sport she loves alive.
Duprat volunteers at local high schools in hopes of creating a pipeline to City College.
She says she still feels supported by Detty and the athletic department but is fearful that more schools will discontinue their programs.
“Our school is very behind badminton,” Duprat said. “But I feel like it may be in danger at other schools if they decide to bring in another sport that might generate more revenue.”
The Knights’ badminton team will play its final home game at Harry West Gym on Wednesday, April 30, at 2 p.m. against Compton.
