10대부터 60대까지 다양한 연령층… 코로나19 위기 딛고 결속력 강화
Suwon Suseong badminton club overcomes the age difference through the medium of a shuttlecock and builds a strong friendship. Reporter Kim Young-woong
Suwon Suseong Club, a badminton club with 46 years of history and tradition. In 1977, 26 club members formed a meeting at the Suseong High School Gymnasium, which was the beginning of the Suseong Club. As the first indoor badminton club in Gyeonggi-do, it has continued for a long time and is strengthening its health and superiority through meetings on weekdays.
In the early evening of the 1st, the bright laughter of the club members flowed from Songwonjung Gymnasium. On this day, about 40 people from various age groups, from their teens to their 60s, gathered at the gym and exchanged shuttlecocks on six courts. Off the court, friends who hadn’t had dinner seemed like a family for a long time, sharing snacks and chatting.
Kim Ki-hyeong (50), who is in charge of general affairs, said, “Members rent Songwonjung Gymnasium from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm on weekdays.” “Anyone who loves badminton can join Suseong Club, It is operated as a systematic system, with communication channels such as cafes and social media (SNS) well established.”
Suseong Club has played a pivotal role in Suwon where badminton can take root deeply as a sport for life. In the early days of its establishment, it had a lot of difficulties to find a court to gather and train on, but after going through Suseong High School and the warm-up field at Suwon Sports Complex, it has been stably operated after settling in Songwon Middle School.
The Suseong Club has a number of outstanding talents as well as a long history. In the Suwon city competition, her skills are excellent enough to sweep the championship in each category, and her skills are recognized by winning the national competition. In particular, it has two professional instructors and provides lessons at low cost to club members who want to improve their skills. Last year, three people participated as representatives of Suwon City at the Gyeonggi-do Life Sports Festival and won medals.
However, the Suseong Club also had a recent crisis. As the Corona 19 pandemic situation has been prolonged, the opening of the training ground has been suspended and has been stagnant for the past three years. At one time, it had as many as 250 club members, but due to the COVID-19 situation, a large number of people left and now only about 60 people remain.
Baek Gwang-hyeon (56), chairman of the Suseong Club, said, “The club was not normally operated until November of last year when Corona 19 was rampant. During this period, I was unable to exercise and many competitions were canceled, so many members left, leaving me with regret.” I believe that only good things will continue in the future.”
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