The trip from Watson Lake, Yukon, to Prince George took 16 hours. It was a painfully long time to spend on the highways, but for Vanessa Carlson, the journey was worth it.
When she finally reached her destination, she got to play her favourite sport.
Carlson, 16, was one of 50 participants at the North Central Junior & Open badminton tournament, held Friday through Sunday at the College of New Caledonia. She competed in the open and under-19 divisions and was one of the top talents on the floor.
Carlson is good for a reason. For the past six years, she has made badminton her top athletic priority.
"Somebody in Watson Lake decided they were going to start a recreational program," Carlson said, referring to her badminton beginnings. "My dad [Randy] played in high school competitively so he thought, 'Let's go try it.' And, about a month later, I quit hockey so I could start training.
"Just following in my dad's footsteps and being able to go to the same tournaments he went to was nice," she added. "Some of the people he played against were coaching other athletes that I got to play against so it was kind of nice that I already knew people. And it's also really a gentlemen's sport -- there's no contact, except by accident sometimes."
Carlson, not surprisingly, is coached by her dad. He was the guy behind the wheel for the trip to Prince George and enjoyed watching his daughter play. Carlson's older brother, Jason, also competed in the tournament.
Randy Carlson said Vanessa has a good build and brain for badminton.
"It's more about quickness and thinking than it is about muscle and power," he said. "It's really a thinking game and Vanessa does really well in her grades at school. Also, she's two years younger than her brother, and to have him to play against makes a big difference."
In her young career, Carlson has already played in the junior national championships three times. In Winnipeg in 2008, she finished with a 6-5 record. Her other national appearances were in Edmonton in 2009 and Toronto in 2010.
Carlson is in Grade 12 and is interested in playing on scholarship in 2011-12. She's considering attending Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops or Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo. Both schools have badminton programs. But, she's also kicking around the idea of going to the University of British Columbia or Simon Fraser University, institutions that don't offer badminton at the varsity level. Academically, she's pointing herself toward athletic therapy or kinesiology.
"I don't really want to give up badminton but I I think it's not possible to do my whole program at TRU or VIU, only the first couple years," she said. "So, we'll see."
