SeeSaw Club

                In August of 2026, I entered my fifth WILL-SEESAW Showdown Cup. Having obtained 2nd place in the previous tournament and first place the one before, I was eager to reclaim my title as the Showdown Champion. Like I always had done, I greeted the regulars and picked out my equipment. My Pro this time was relatively new to SEESAW, so I was very excited to discuss with him. It turned out that he, like me, was an avid athlete of cross country; he engaged in marathons, sprints, and even trail running. At that moment, a sudden wave of concern came over me; I questioned my teammate on how he was able to safely navigate the many twists and turns, as well as tripping hazards like loose roots, that existed on the mountain. I knew that such features were dangerous for the visually impaired. In response, the man chuckled and said, "Yes, it's one of the hardest things I have done! But with a guide, and through numerous walkthroughs of the a...

My visually impaired teammate had not played in a year. He mentioned it while we sat and waited. I originally assumed a year off would probably take a toll on his performance that day. I was wrong as he was tracking the ball the moment it left the bat, anticipating where the ball would be before I had worked out which direction it was coming from. He reminded me once again of the extraordinarily acute hearing visually impaired players have. But it is not his skill I keep remembering. Every point we won, he shouted "Nice shot!" It was always loud and instant, no matter how 'lucky' the point had been. Out team name was 덤벼, roughly meaning "bring it on," a bold thing to write as a name before winning anything. By the end of the day it felt pretty accurate. We had won, and I was happy about that for maybe ten seconds. No, maybe twenty. What really stuck with me was his reaction because he spent a year away from the sport, and the first tournament back ends like ...

 On Saturday, August 8th, our seesaw club members participated in the annual showdown game. When I saw my team, I was a bit surprised to see that the teammate I was with last time was my teammate once again. Both of us were on the younger side of the members, so to be honest, I didn't have high expectations. When we were choosing our name, our 3rd member, who is visually impaired, clicked instantly with us. Our team name was 야르, which is a Korean slang term that was the catchiest out of all the names. This gave me a sense of hope that we were going to do well with this energy. When we entered the room, I was anxious and hoped that I wouldn't have to end the game- I didn't want the pressure. In some games, we did well. In some, we struggled. However, what I thought was so great about our team was the encouragement and energy our team had. No matter how bad we played and how many games we lost, we were capable of bringing the best energy for sure. Luckily, our team placed 2nd...

  On August 8, I participated in the 10th National Showdown Cup Tournament with my volunteer group. It was already my fifth time participating in a Showdown tournament, but the moment I stepped into the competition room, I felt like I was playing the sport for the first time. I was nervous. Even though I had played Showdown before, competing in an actual tournament felt completely different. I could feel myself overthinking every move, and at first, I was much more anxious than I expected. But as the games went on, I slowly became more comfortable. I started to trust myself more, and with every hit, I could feel my confidence and energy building. What made this experience especially meaningful was being on the other side of the game. Last time, I participated in Showdown as a volunteer, helping and overseeing visually impaired athletes as they compete. This time, however, I was the one holding the paddle and standing at the table. For once, I wasn't watching the athletes from the o...