It was an exciting summer for Helen Ye, a 5th grader at Redwood Shores Elementary School. Helen participated in three major junior national and international badminton tournaments this summer and won rewards from all of the events. She was qualified to represent USA and compete in the 20th Pan Am Junior Badminton Championship held in Kingston Jamaica. It is a very special experience for Helen to represent her own country and compete on foreign ground. In Jamaica, Helen joined with over 500 young players from 17 countries and made many new friends. Helen won 1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in the U11 events. Mostly recently, Helen competed at 2011 California Junior International Badminton Championship where she won 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medals.

Badminton is an Olympic sport that is gaining popularity in US. Helen started playing badminton nearly two years ago purely as a recreation sport. She quickly discovered a new world in badminton and developed a growing passion for it. She now trains regularly at Bay Badminton Club in Burlingame. Helen learned the technique that helped her to build up speed, endurance, flexibility and accuracy. More importantly, the training programs instill self confidence, determination and disciplines in the players to face various challenges. These core skills are not only crucial for the sports but also for life.

Helen is looking forward to further improve her badminton game and bring up the awareness of the sport in the Bay Area.