Bunbury and Districts Badminton Association’s Derek Garcia, 15, set to represent WA in national competition

A young Bunbury badminton player has received a call-up to represent his State at a national level. Derek Garcia, 15, has been chosen as part of the WA under-17 Scorpions team who will compete for at the June Bevan Trophy and National Individual Championships in the Victorian city of Ballarat in September. He is one of the youngest members to make the squad and is the only one from the South West. Derek said the selection came as a surprise. “I never thought I was going to get chosen, because I was like the only one from down south,” he said. “It’s a really good feeling.” Derek had to overcome a number of hurdles to be selected, travelling to Perth for training on weekends before State trials were held last month. The competition will be his first time heading to Ballarat, with junior giving himself a 50-50 chance of coming home with a victory. Derek said it was his family who first got him involved with the sport. “I got started with my dad — he let me try badminton — then I started going to training every Wednesday,” he said. Bunbury and Districts Badminton Association life member and head coach Robert Italiano remembers Derek first attending sessions as a young child. “His older brother was coming in and he was having a bit of a hit,” he said. “I said (to his father) ‘this kid’s got some talent, why don’t you let him come and join?’. “He started from there and he hasn’t looked back.” Derek’s family can no longer give him much competition, as he easily beats both his father and older brother in matches. His achievement of reaching nationals is a major milestone for the association, with Derek the first junior to represent WA in more than a decade. When asked where he would like to take his career, Derek has high ambitions. “I want to play in an international one day,” he said.