The 50th edition of the Northern Ontario Badminton Association (NOBA) Championships were contested and celebrated last weekend at St Benedict Catholic Secondary School.

That said, it was largely the KTP Racquet Club crew from North Bay doing the celebrating.

Under the guidance of head coach and NOBA president Kurt Tempelmans Plat, KTP athletes collected gold every single one of the 15 “A” division brackets that were up for grabs, with one category shared by a boys doubles team representing both KTP and Thériault from Timmins.

(U16 Boys Doubles: Oliver Ashfield (KTP); Calvin Yu (Theriault))

A trio of KTP members completed the "Triple Crown" as Zoéanne Dubien (U19 Girls Singles; U19 Girls Doubles; U19 Mixed Doubles), Ellie Tremblay (U14 Girls Singles; U14 Girls Doubles; U14 Mixed Doubles) and Reuben Abraham (U14 Boys Singles; U14 Boys Doubles; U14 Mixed Doubles) all turned the trick.

Double gold medal winners from North Bay included Wade Belanger (U19 Boys Doubles; U19 Mixed Doubles) and Dania Lalonde (U16 Girls Singles; U16 Mixed Doubles).

The man largely at the centre of the KTP success was even more thrilled to have a chance to speak about the importance of an event that marked a half-century of competition.

“There are a lot of juniors here, so they may not all understand the significance – but it’s really unique to have an event last this long,” said Tempelmans Plat, who took advantage of the milestone to prepare full charts of every single divisional winner going back the full 50 years, a tribute to an impressive legacy of badminton excellence in northern Ontario.

“To see the tournament running strong, with numbers that are still great, is impressive,” Tempelmans Plat added, noting that the 2026-2027 season will mark the 100th year of the existence of the NOBA.

A weekend highlight came in the form of a Saturday morning visit from badminton great and Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame inductee Lucio Fabris, sharing a message that transcended the incredible badminton resume that he accumulated over the years, including a silver medal performance at the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton and the rare accomplishment at nationals of sweeping all three divisions of play as a junior.

“It was good to have someone like Lucio come out and speak,” said Tempelmans Plat. “Even though these athletes never had a chance to see him play, they got to understand his story and perspective a little.”

“He said it best this morning, in that the game brings a lot of people together. He has made friends around the world – and these tournaments are how you do that.”

Sudbury highlights include a second place finish in U19 - Boys Singles - Division "A" for Blake Chenier and "B" Division titles for Sam Marquis (U16 - Boys Singles), Skyler Lytle (U14 - Boys Singles), Eric Giroux / Maxim Coulombe (U16 - Boys Doubles) and Ava Gigliotti / Hana Nakano (U19 - Girls Doubles).