Badminton Champ Is Tough Bird

Borge Frederiksen has been playing badminton since he was 14 years old and now, at age 70, believes he’s a decent competitor.

And for good reason.

In January he won the U.S. International Championship for Seniors in singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in his age group. The tournament was held in Manhattan Beach.

In March the five-year Laguna Hills Leisure World resident won the top prize in singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles in his age group at the United States Senior National Championship in Midwest City, Okla.

“I have won everything I have played in this year,” he said matter-of-factly. He intended to compete in Canada this month but canceled due to work problems. “I work a little from time to time,” said Frederiksen, a retired president of an insurance company in Copenhagen, where he was born and raised.

However, his premiere competition occurred in 1948 when he won the All-England Badminton Championship in London.

“At that time it was considered the world championship,” said the soft-spoken Frederiksen.

“That had to be my finest hour,” he added.

Pressures of business had kept Frederiksen off the court for years until he retired eight years ago and “four years back I wanted to prove to myself that I still hit the bird with authority,” he said.

So Frederiksen started playing badminton three days a week to sharpen his technique, and played golf, walked a treadmill and used a rowing machine to get himself in condition for the sport.

“The game itself is very strenuous and in fact is one of the most strenuous sports in the world,” he said. “Most people in America think of it as a casual outdoor game.”

They couldn’t be more wrong, said Frederiksen, who spends one of his practice days at the five-court Manhattan Beach Badminton Club where “the good players are.”

He competes and practices there with players in the 50 to 55 age bracket “who can give me a really good practice session.” Other days he plays at the badminton court at Leisure World.

“The game is somewhat like tennis, although badminton is a tougher and faster sport because there is very little rest time in between points. It is a very, very fast game,” he said.

“The thinking about badminton is changing somewhat and because of that some Americans have become top-level badminton players.”

Players who become proficient at badminton see the complexities of the sport as their experience grows, Frederiksen said.

“They see how really fast it is and the things that can be done during a game,” he continued. “The really good players in the world are between the ages of 20 and 30 so there is plenty of room for young Americans to compete.”

The toughest competition comes from from such countries as China, Indonesia, Sweden, Denmark and England. “China is the tough nation for the time being,” he said.

“It would take time for America to catch up,” he said.

Westminster resident and Orange Coast College student Anneke Sherohman traveled to Singapore to compete in the 20th International Salon Culinarire, and it was a winning trip.

She collected a silver medal in a culinary arts competition that drew students and professionals from throughout the world.

“It was an incredible creation,” said Barbara Cooper, director of the Orange Coast College culinary arts program, who accompanied Sherohman.

Sherohman’s silver medal came in the centerpiece category for a five-piece Oriental depiction of the four seasons fashioned out of powdered sugar, corn syrup, glucose and water.

“She’s an unbelievably talented artist,” Cooper said.

Acknowledgments--For the fourth consecutive year, the Key Club of Canyon High School in Anaheim won first place in overall achievement at the 44th Annual Convention of Key Clubs in California, Nevada and Hawaii held in Anaheim. Representatives were Craig Dart, president, Rob Sunderland, Jimmy Lee, Mike Le, Matt Webber, Danny Uyematsu, Jeff Ellis and Brian Jalowiec.