Cal Badminton | National Badminton Collegiates | Fall 2026

Badminton Club at Berkeley is sending a team of 15-20 players to the National Collegiate Team Badminton Playoff in the Spring of 2027! With more than half of the Team USA 2024 Paris Olympic badminton athletes from Cal, we have attracted incredible players and consolidated our prominence in creating a platform to compete at the highest level. Proudly adding to our list of achievements, we recently secured the title of National Collegiate Team Champions in Boston in both 2024 and outplayed schools across the nation to secure 1st place in the Smash Collegiate Championships 2026 Summer Cup. In the 2026 National Collegiate Team Badminton Playoff, we finished in 2nd place, with 90 universities across the nation competing in the collegiate circuit. We need your support to further our dominance!

Founded in the 1990s, formerly known as Cal Badminton, Badminton Club at Berkeley is the only badminton club at UC Berkeley. Entirely student-run with 150+ undergraduate and graduate students each semester, we promote badminton within the Berkeley community, welcoming all participants and offering opportunities to compete at both recreational and intercollegiate levels through meets and tournaments.

However, we are more than just a competitive team. We are a vital part of the global badminton community, hosting over 75 prestigious tournaments such as the Golden Bear and Polar Bear throughout our existence and attracting over 600 entries annually from players worldwide. These events not only showcase our commitment to the sport, but also our passion for uniting people through badminton. Looking ahead, we are committed to attracting and training the next generation of world-class players while expanding our network. We are excited to continue to thrive and shape the sport for years to come.

Why We Need Your Support:
This year, we are aiming to raise $5,000 to continue our mission. Your contributions will help us:

• Organize Community Tournaments: Host a series of inclusive tournaments that welcome players of all skill levels, fostering a love for the sport in the local community.

• Prepare for Nationals: Defend our national titles by covering travel expenses, training equipment, and essential resources needed for high-level competition.

• Enhance Intra-Club Events: Create opportunities for our members to engage in practice sessions, social events, and internal tournaments, building a sense of camaraderie and teamwork.

How Your Support Will Be Used:

• $4,000 on travel (flights, rental cars, lodging)

• $500 on training and competition equipment (tournament-grade feather shuttlecocks, court equipment, and official team uniforms)

• $500 on tournament registration fees and miscellaneous

All estimates are rough only, and actual expenditures may vary.

Surpassing our goal will allow us to sustain Badminton Club at Berkeley further into the future and provide us with the bandwidth to engage more members of the community in the sport we love. If we fall short of our goal, the money will be allocated towards essential costs, such as travel expenses and basic equipment. While we may need to reduce the scale of our planned events, we will still be able to keep the number of events at a similar amount. 

Our goal remains to promote badminton and foster community engagement, even if it means adjusting our initial vision. We will also explore additional fundraising opportunities and sponsorships to supplement any shortfall, ensuring that our commitment to the community and the sport remains strong. We hope you will help us realize our vision in its totality!

Why it Matters:

Badminton is more than just a sport to us—it’s a community and a family. We want to make badminton accessible to everyone, whether they're just picking up a racket for the first time or training to compete on the global stage. With your support, we can continue to grow this community, share our passion, and ensure that the next generation of Cal players are ready for success. As a student-run sports club, our primary goal this year is to reduce financial barriers for our competitive team members while maintaining accessible, high-quality programming for our broader community of recreational players on campus.

Thank you for considering a gift to Badminton Club at Berkeley! Every donation, big or small, makes a huge difference to us. 

If you would like to learn more, please feel free to visit our website and contact us by emailing calbadminton@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Instagram @cal_badminton and TikTok @CalBadminton to learn more. We appreciate your support!

Want to make your gift by check, donor-advised fund, or employer matching program? We are happy to help! Please email calcrowdfunding@berkeley.edu and include how you would like to support this project. Our team will provide the appropriate instructions, coordinate gift processing, and help ensure your contribution is credited to this campaign whenever possible.