Female Athletes of the Year
say “arigato” for everything

s it a surprise for Tomomi Ohkubo

and Kyoko Yamada to be sharing

this year’s Douglas College Female
Athlete of the Year award? “Big time!”
says Tomomi, an International Student in
History and Political Science. “Extreme!”
agrees Kyoko, who’s completing studies
in Computing Information Systems and
Business.

Both have been playing badminton
competitively for the College for about
three years. This winter they placed
second in the women’s doubles
competion at the British Columbia
College Athletic Association badminton
championships and went on to place
fourth in the national finals.

But Douglas College has been full of
surprises ever since they arrived here from
Japan. Tomomi had played badminton at
home, but Kyoko fluked into a position on
the team when she accompanied a friend
to tryouts. “I used to play tennis, though”
she admits. “That probably helped.”

While these young athletes are modest
about their accomplishments, doing as
well as they have was no mean feat.
Under the guidance of Coach Peter Chan
and Assistant Coach Doug Dak, they
practiced hard twice a week, which
increased to three times a week before the
championships. On top of that, each had
to maintain at least nine credits to keep
playing.

Luckily, both Tomomi and Kyoko
have the attitude that keeping physically
and socially active on campus 1s as
rewarding as hitting the books. But their
academic experience at the College has
brought them some surprises too. “In
Japan I memorized a lot of dates,” says
Tomomi, who hails from Chiba (‘just
across the airport from Tokyo”). “Here,
I’ve had to analyze history.”

Encouraged by information she
received from Tad Hosoi and the Centre
for International Education, Tomomi
chose Douglas College and its homestay
program as an excellent place to study

 

 

 

 

Tomomi Ohkubo (L) and Kyoko Yamada (R) proudly accept their 1996 Female
Athlete of the Year awards from VP, Educational Services Al Atkinson.

while improving her English. Her future
plans include staying at the College to
finish her Associate of Arts diploma
before returning to Japan and further
studies in Political Science.

Kyoko, who’s from Gunma Prefecture
two hours north of Tokyo, says that she
also has found her College experience
challenging but rewarding. “My
instructors are business people, so they

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are as strict as in the business world. I’ve
learned a lot.” Kyoko heard about the
College and its programs from family
friend (and Nursing Instructor) Juliet
Takahashi. Now she would like to stay
and work in Canada, and is currently
interviewing for local positions in
computing and international business.
Best of luck to both 1996 Douglas
College Female Athletes of the Year! |