HUMAN OF SHUTTLE TIME – GENELYN LANSANGAN – NORTHERN MARIANAS

Article from BWF Development & Shuttle Time

𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬
I’m the youngest of three siblings. My family wasn’t wealthy and I wasn’t able to afford equipment for sports. I played soccer, track and field, and then came to badminton a year ago through friends.

The first time I watched it was at my high school interscholastic tournament where my friend was playing. I was amazed by its speed, and I found the rackets and shuttlecock quit interesting.

𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧
I play every day in Saipan. During the summer, I play as much as I can with friends. I train three days a week and play on Saturdays. I also play for the Northern Marianas national junior team and represented them at the U17 Pacific Team Challenge at the Oceania Championships and the BWF World Junior Championships 2024 in Nanchang.

𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
My most memorable moment was getting second place at a national competition in Saipan. I hadn’t been playing badminton for that long so the achievement of coming second was fulfilling.
I’ve made a lot of friendships along the way and experienced new places that I otherwise wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for badminton.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬
I love badminton. Badminton is like therapy to me, and without the connections I’ve made through badminton my skills wouldn’t be as good as they are currently. Overall, without badminton I feel empty.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭
Badminton is not very well known in some places and some people even think it’s weird but in reality it’s mentally and physically challenging. People tend to underestimate the sport. What I most enjoy is how challenging it can be.

𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧
Through the Shuttle Time Youth Leadership programme I’ve line judged at middle school tournaments in Saipan as well as the Northern Marianas International. I’ve noticed badminton growing in schools recently, especially among teenagers.

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞
Through the Youth Leadership programme I’ve learned how to be a leader and to utilise different styles of leadership to help others grow. Shuttle Time helped me gain knowledge and experience about being a role model through badminton.