Members of the Youth Badminton Club are heading into this year's Yukon Championships with some additional playing experience.

The extra practice has been a result of two additional tournaments played over the past few weeks.

The most recent competition was the Fun Tournament, which was hosted at Takhini Elementary School and put on by the Whitehorse Badminton Adults Club.

"Everybody had a lot of fun and the junior who are preparing for out of territory tournaments as well as their Yukon Championships had a chance to play with some of the adults," said Eleanor Velarde, one of the tournament's organizers.

There was a total of 16 players in the adult tournament, including six juniors, who were 17 years old or under.

Cindy Guest, president of the Whitehorse Youth Badminton, said the youth players in the Fun Tournament did really well.

"The adults were very impressed with their ability," she said. "There was no awards or anything handed out, but they had a great time."

There are 14 youth players registered in program, however Guest said anyone from eight to 21 is welcome to drop in on Saturday at Takhini Elementary from noon to 3 p.m. The drop in cost is $5.

All members of youth program will go to the Yukon Championships. Guest said the goals are focused more on doing their best than winning a set amount of medals.

"Their skills have really improved since last year and we expect them to do quite well this year."

She said competitions like the Fun Tournament are helpful when preparing for the Yukon Championships.

"It really shapes the youth for just general life skills," Guest said. "Competition is an excellent learning resource. It is a great character builder for them."

The other tournament the youth group went to was held in Watson Lake in late February. Ten members made the trip and the club returned with 12 medals.

Watson Lake results for the Whitehorse Youth Badminton Club included Denis Godin winning a silver in men's doubles, while Francis Belanger took gold in men's doubles.

Jerome Belanger went home with a silver medal in men's singles and won bronze in men's doubles.

Jasmine Gordon took gold in mixed doubles and added a silver to her collection in the women's doubles final.

Leanne Gordon won the most medals among the group, taking silver in the women's doubles, a bronze in mixed doubles and another bronze in women's singles. Leanne also won the most improved player award.

Jessica Guest finished with a gold medal in the women's doubles and a silver in mixed doubles, with partner Sandeep Sharma.