2013 

High School Badminton Athlete of the Year

Kate is an outstanding High School Badminton Athlete.  She took an interest in badminton after taking a racquet sports class as a Physical Education requirement in the fall of 2010, her sophomore year.  In January of 2011 she sought out additional experience playing with the group in Longmont, and occasionally in Westminster.  Her play improved to where she was able to compete and win Girls Singles and Doubles in the Colorado State High School Badminton Tournament in 2011.  She and her partner took Second in Mixed Doubles with her high school team capturing first place.

She continued to play locally all year round and compete in local tournaments.  She was lucky enough to get a scholarship for badminton camp through the Colorado Badminton Association and the Boulder Badminton Club.  She spent a week at Eastern Illinois University playing with other high school girls.

            In 2012 and 2013 she and her teammates again won the Colorado State High School Tournament.  Kate took first place in singles, doubles and mixed doubles both years.

            She has competed against adults during these years as well, competing in tournaments in Colorado including the Colorado Open, the Fort Collins Open and the Boulder Badminton Tournament.  In Longmont, she is routinely one of the few teenagers that play, and often the only female player.  She has not let this discourage her interest in this sport.  Kate has demonstrated a high level of play for such a young player, especially when you consider that she will not turn 18 until September of 2013.  She exhibits a high level of sportsmanship with her play.

            Kate is also an outstanding student.  Her academic achievements and awards are numerous, and driven by a keen academic interest and intellectual curiosity.  She is a National AP Scholar, which means she has scores of 4 or 5 in eight or more AP exams that she has taken.  Kate accomplished this by the end of her junior year in the 9 AP exams she has taken so far.  She is scheduled to take 5 more AP exams this Spring.  She has a GPA of 4.4 at Boulder High School and was elected to the National Honor Society.  She is concurrently enrolled at University of Colorado Boulder and has received A’s in courses in Japanese, Linguistics and Linear Algebra taken there.  She currently is taking Abstract Algebra at CU.