At the badminton club of Markegem the feathers have been flying over the net for forty years. The sports club will appropriately celebrate this anniversary next weekend with its own summer bar. “Our youngest club member is 13 years old, our oldest is 64 years old. So we have a good mix.”
The current board of the badminton club, which plays its matches and practice games in the Markegem sports hall, consists of chairman Mario Chantrie, secretary Lien Roobroeck, Christ Bossuyt, Tatiana Vanhastel and Bert Dereverie. “We can also count on a number of loyal employees who we affectionately call our ‘kudos’,” smiles Mario. “It concerns Davy Verbeure, Melissa Dedapper and Pedro Naert. In addition, we regularly receive help from about ten other members and we are of course extremely grateful to them for that.”
Good mix
The club today has 55 members. “That number has changed over the years,” says Mario. “Last year there were 75, but there have been years when we only had 10 to 25 members. We don’t know exactly why, but we are certainly happy with our current number, with a good mix between young and old. We know very little about the beginnings of the club. In the past, almost nothing was recorded, including membership information. That is why we recently launched a call to former members, asking them to come together during our holiday weekend, but we received little response. What we do know is that the club was founded by some enthusiasts of the sport to play together at a recreational level. Actually it was a group of friends who turned it into a club. Competition has never been the starting point.”
“Unfortunately, we know very little about the beginning of the club”
The youngest members of the club are 13 and 14 years old, the oldest member is 64 years old. “We meet weekly on Friday evenings to play from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. This used to only be from 8:30 PM, but we have extended the playing hours a bit. We have seven squares and can therefore play with 28 people at the same time. We also hold four tournaments for our members each year and crown a club champion each season.”
Party weekend
The club’s thirtieth anniversary was celebrated with a large barbecue. “We have repeated this every year since then,” says Mario. “I was a butcher in a supermarket at the time, that’s why. However, this time we are moving away from that for our fortieth anniversary. We will celebrate the anniversary on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June with a party weekend at the back of the Leieheem at Rosalie ‘t Feltplein in Oeselgem. We are building a cozy summer bar on it. You can go there on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m. You will find all kinds of drinks, but also three beers from the De Poes brewery in Tielt, as well as sangria and some mocktails. Children can romp on the playground and there will be a bouncy castle. That day you will also be able to take a free walk along the banks of the old Leie arm, guided by Natuurpunt, at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. There is music by Brass To You, consisting of two musicians from the local band. At 7 p.m. there will be a performance by Meermens, who will perform cabaret. We will then show the Red Devils’ match against Romania on a big screen.”
(Read more below the photo)
A group photo of the badminton club from 1985. © gf
On Sundays the bar opens its doors at 10 am. “There is music by Dans Amora, three musicians who play under the direction of the conductor of the Wakken harmony,” says Mario. “Myrthe is also coming along, a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Olsene, just like local star Yvie In’t Echt. We will also honor our club champions between 12 and 1 p.m.”
The inner man is of course also strengthened. On Saturday it is with bratwurst, on Sunday the club serves a badminton sandwich, or an oven cake with ham and vegetables. “It is a classic that we previously served in our stand at Wakken Smelt,” concludes Mario, who adds that 85 people have already registered.
More info: www.badmintonclubmarkegem.be.
2024-06-21 08:54:20
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