Howard Bach and Tony Gunawan will visit Alamance County to spread a message about badminton Friday.
They’re the International Badminton Federation world champions, becoming the first U.S. players to hold that distinction.
Bach and Gunawan will visit Southern Middle School at 8:30 a.m. and Hawfields Middle School at 10 a.m.
“The school venues are definitely more important to us because of the educational value,” said Paul Knechtel, director of the RTP Badminton Club in Raleigh, responsible for bringing the champions to the area. “We’re very fortunate to have some teachers in Alamance County and Durham that recognize the value of world-class athletes speaking to children about the importance of education.” At 7 p.m. at Hawfields Middle School, they’ll play an exhibition match against Canada’s top doubles team of Will Milroy and Mike Beres. Admission for adults is $10, with those younger than 18 admitted for free.
Bach and Gunawan won the men’s doubles gold medals in the 2005 IBF World Badminton Championships in August at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, Calif.
“For Americans to win badminton, it was like ‘The Miracle on Ice’ to the third degree,” Knechtel said. “For the No. 13 seed to win the championship, it was a huge upset.” While this is a badminton event, Knechtel said the main idea is to put educated, worldclass athletes in front of thousands of middle school students to spread the message of: “Follow your dreams, set your goals, and above all, get your education.” In 2004, the RTP club arranged for badminton standout Kevin Qi Han to visit the area. “When we brought Kevin to the area, it was wildly successful,” Knechtel said. “Howard was Kevin’s partner in the 2004 Athens Olympics, so when I saw Bach at the IBF Championships in August, I told him he needs to come to the East Coast and help us spread the sport.” Lisa Ward, a physical education and health teacher at Hawfields, has been coordinating educational projects regarding the visit from the badminton players. Ward said a marketing class created a souvenir program for Friday night’s match. She also said she hopes to organize a badminton team tournament involving multiple schools in May.
Bach and Gunawan will hold a free clinic for middle school students from 8:30-11 a.m. Saturday at Hawfields Middle School. At 8 p.m. Saturday, there’s another exhibition match at Durham School of the Arts.
