On Feb. 13, STUCO hosted the third annual Badminton tournament in Ravenscroft Gym. Participants were split up between six different courts and each played three games before being divided into gold, silver and bronze brackets. The tournament was open to students of all grades to sign up for. Some foreign exchange students took this as an opportunity to try something new. Although badminton is a fairly common sport in most countries, it’s not always played the same as in the United States.

“I’ve played [badminton] a lot, but these are not the rules. It’s different, but it’s fine. I don’t know how to score here. In the real rules, if you score, you score. If your team scores, you will get the serve,” senior Rafif Faza Pradana said.

The badminton tournament was an activity offered to students as a part of homecoming spirit week. Homecoming is an event unique to most high schools in America. Students are also given other opportunities to participate in spirit week, like dressing up for the themed dress up days throughout the week.

“We don’t have homecoming [in my country]. I [dressed up this week], I looked cute. I feel [homecoming] is a fun thing for me,” Pradana said.

While there are many different aspects of homecoming week, senior Tim Kirner states his favorite part.

“I think [homecoming is] pretty fun because it’s just fun to have a dance every semester with the entire school,” Kirner said.