Concordia Thunder Badminton History

The Concordia Thunder badminton program is one of the oldest and most success programs in the history of the Thunder athletic department. Qualifying for every Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC) Badminton Championships since beginning conference play, the Thunder badminton program has captured 13 medals, including four ACAC Conference Championships. The program has also produced 23 ACAC All-Conference Athletes and seven CCAA All-Canadians. Current Head Coach Kevin MacAlpine, a former athlete from Concordia’s badminton program, took over in 2009 after being an assistant coach before that and is a five time ACAC Coach of the Year. Under Coach MacAlpine, the Thunder badminton team has won nine team medals and 48 individual medals at the ACAC Badminton Championships – including a conference championship in 2018-19 – as well as nine individual medals at the CCAA Badminton National Championships. Coach MacAlpine also guided coached one of the most decorated athletes in Concordia Thunder history – Takeisha Wang. Through five years of conference badminton play, Wang captured five ACAC medals and five CCAA medals – including two CCAA National Championships. Wang finished her career as a four time ACAC Female Badminton Player of the Year and a three time CCAA Women’s Badminton Player of the Year.

Head Coaches: Naeem Haque, Kevin MacAlpine, Rachel Smilie