Life membership has been granted to Julie Carrel at the 93rd AGM of Badminton New Zealand, in recognition of her substantial contribution to the sport over 40 years.

Glenn Cox of Badminton North Harbour spoke to Julie's nomination, which was unanimously passed.

"Julie’s contribution to Badminton is spread over 40 years, during which she has undoubtedly left a lasting positive impression.

Firstly, as a player at the age of 18 she was selected to represent New Zealand in a tour to Australia and was part of one of the first NZ junior teams to have a series win there against Victoria. She was a member of the New Zealand National Squad with 26 international appearances for New Zealand from 1986 to 1996 including the 1990 Commonwealth Games and Uber Cup, Sudirman Cup and White Trophy competitions. She was a member of the North Harbour Wisden Cup teams who were successful winning the Inter-Association Division One team's event in 1990, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1999. She is also the holder of 22 national championships titles ranging from juniors, seniors and masters events.

At the conclusion of her playing career, Julie began coaching in which she mentored and passed on her vast experience to future badminton players in New Zealand. She was then appointed the Chief Executive of Badminton North Harbour and over the next 13 years was responsible for not only lifting the sport in that region but also raising the bar for all of badminton in New Zealand.

In 2003 at the Badminton New Zealand inaugural awards Julie was awarded the Supreme award for “Outstanding Contribution to Badminton in New Zealand.” Concluding her time at North Harbour, Julie took up the role of Events Manager for Badminton New Zealand and so began a legacy of badminton events in New Zealand. In 2004 Julie was appointed Tournament director for the first ever One-Star tournament to be held in the Oceania region and tournament director for 2005 New Zealand Open, which was a World Grand Prix event, then again in 2006, 2007 and 2008. She continued running this from 2013 – 2018 utilising her own business and risk.  She was also the tournament Director for BWF World Junior Championships held in Auckland in 2007.

Julie was the convenor for the New Zealand Tournament and Events committee from 2004 – 2019. She completed her Referees course in 2007 and has been a BWF Referee since 2014. Julie is respected throughout the Badminton World Federation for her contribution, experience and expertise in whatever badminton role she engages in. Julie is still active in providing her time to New Zealand Badminton, volunteering her time as referee for the Badminton New Zealand U19 National Championships in Christchurch last year and the NZ Tour Manawatu Open last weekend.

Julie Carrel is a 'one in a million' badminton person. Her passion for the sport in New Zealand and as part of New Zealand has covered over 40 years and we can think of no one more deserving of a life membership than her."

Badminton New Zealand joins our associations in acknowledging Julie's incredible passion and dedication to our sport, and we congratulate her on being granted life membership of Badminton New Zealand.

Badminton centres around the country will be opening their doors and courts to the public as part of the nationwide #LoveBadminton day taking place on Saturday 10 February.

Participants who swing by their local badminton centre can expect a range of fun games and activities, free courts to have a go with friends and family, and helpful information about the various clubs, programmes and memberships available.

This new initiative builds off the successful Wellington region and Counties Manukau open days held in 2023 and is intended to grow into an annual event, inviting more people to experience the sport we all love.

Counties Manukau found great success with their open day in 2023, with plenty of people visiting and trying badminton on the day. This led to new senior players signing up, kids coming back for a follow-up Shuttle Time session and even a new board member!

If you've never tried badminton before, or if you play regularly and already love it, we invite you to bring your friends and family to a participating venue and enjoy all that is on offer.

For full details of participating venues, hours and activities, please see the #LoveBadminton page.

Badminton New Zealand is excited to welcome the Manawatu Open to the NZ Tour in 2024, joining Waikato, North Harbour and Canterbury. We gratefully acknowledge the exceptional work put in by Wellington North to host in the Central Region over the past two years and are confident that Manawatu will continue to build on their success.

With two years of the NZ Tour completed, the time was right to begin introducing new hosts and ensuring that the Tour remains fresh and exciting for players, while also providing opportunities for more associations to improve their capabilities and put on fantastic events. The addition of Manawatu, along with the return of North Harbour provides players with two different tournaments in the 2024 Tour.

Badminton New Zealand Events Manager Will Boyden is excited to see what the season will bring.

"We've seen the Tour bring out the best in badminton over the past couple of years, and its great to see associations striving towards joining the tour. Manawatu has a very skilled team and volunteers and I look forward to seeing them put on an excellent tournament."

Hosts of the New Zealand Junior Team Championships for the past 40 years, Badminton Manawatu are no strangers to hosting large events. General Manager James Veitch looks forward to the welcoming a strong contingent of players for the season's first Tour event.

"Badminton Manawatu are delighted that our Manawatu Open is joining the NZ Tour and we are excited to see all the usual faces and more testing their skills in Palmerston North. We're ready to build on the superb legacy started at Wellington North and we cannot wait to welcome all the players and officials who will make the event a huge success!"

2024 NZ Tour

• 5-7 April: Manawatu Open
• 10-12 May: Waikato Open
• 28-30 June: Canterbury Open
• 26-28 July: New Zealand National Championships
• 23-25 August: North Harbour Open
• 20-22 September: NZ Tour Finals

Badminton New Zealand is pleased to announce the calendar of events for 2024. We gratefully acknowledge the associations and partners who have worked with us to confirm bookings for our events and programmes in 2024 and we look forward to another fantastic season.

The thrilling NZ Tour returns for a third year, featuring the exciting addition of Manawatu as a new host, and the welcome return of the North Harbour Open. Waikato and Canterbury continue as tour hosts, and the New Zealand National Championships round out the qualifying stage of the Tour.

For Junior players, there is a packed season ahead, with plenty of opportunities to compete throughout terms two and three. The New Zealand Junior Team Championships in Palmerston North will undoubtedly be a highlight, along with the Secondary School Championships and AIMS Games later in the season. World Junior Championships will take place in China, however the exact date and city is unknown at this stage.

In addition to the NZ Tour, Senior players can look forward to competing in the Oceania Championships in Australia, the Tertiary Championships in Christchurch and wrapping the season with a string of international events in Bendigo, Sydney and North Harbour.

We're excited to see growing opportunities for Masters players, with a total of seven tournaments available throughout the year, in addition to the regular Inter-Association competition. Additionally, Badminton Australia has kindly extended an invitation for New Zealand Para-Badminton players to compete in their National Championships, adding a valuable opportunity for these players to play against a wider range of opponents.

Lastly, Badminton New Zealand will be delivering the BWF Level 1 Coaching course across two weekends in 2024. Participants will be able to register online in early January.

Our best wishes to all players, volunteers, coaches, staff and supporters for a busy and enjoyable 2024 season.

Badminton New Zealand is pleased to share news of its restructure which will set up the organisation for a stronger and more sustainable future. With the development of the latest strategic plan for Badminton New Zealand, a clear need arose to refocus the resources of the organisation towards our key strategic priorities, such as revenue development and the implementation of a member management system. A review of all current roles was completed collaboratively with the team and a new structure has now been put in place.

With the new roles there will be a transition of some duties, which we will be focussed on internally over the next few months, and all roles will have a component of partnering with Associations built-in. We then look forward to sharing more about how Badminton New Zealand sees this partnership approach working at our next Hui, which will precede the AGM in April 2024.

The restructure sees the formation of two distinct teams - the Sport team and the Business team. The Sport team, led by Donna Trow, will be responsible for the delivery of all badminton programmes, including performance, development, coach development and events. The Business team, lead by Stephen Nelson, will ensure the organisation has a solid financial and administrative foundation to support the Sport team and allow them to work to their strengths.

I'm excited to see the team moving into new roles within our new structure. The Business team will ensure the smooth operation of Badminton New Zealand while the Sport team can focus their efforts towards delivering outstanding experiences that inspire Kiwis to love badminton.

Stephen Nelson, Chief Executive

The new structure sees the creation of a Commercial Manager role, which Jonathon Stone has stepped into. This role will be responsible for growing Badminton New Zealand's revenue streams and implementing the revenue plan which was developed earlier this year. The success of this role is key to strengthening the financial position of Badminton New Zealand, which in turn means that we are able to reach more people and expand our programmes sustainably.

Donna's role continues with a new title, which better reflects the areas that she leads, bringing together the Sport team and working to deliver on our Sport NZ initiatives and Badminton New Zealand strategic priorities.

Will has also stepped into a new role, taking over the events team after spending this year learning the ropes, and we will shortly be recruiting for a events and communications coordinator to provide support in this space.

The team all look forward to partnering with Associations to continue building a strong and sustainable badminton community within New Zealand that inspires Kiwis of all abilities to love badminton for life.

Following a year of tough competition around the country, New Zealand's top junior players recently attended a series of selection camps, aiming to earn a coveted spot in the New Zealand Under 15 Development and New Zealand Under 19 Performance squads for the 2024 season. The selected players will attend training camps throughout 2024 and push hard for the chance to represent New Zealand at upcoming major events.

New Zealand Under 19 Performance Squad

The New Zealand Under 19 Performance Squad is led by coaches Rikke Olsen Siegemund, Nick Chambers and Larry Lin. Congratulations to the following players:

New Zealand Under 15 Development Squad

The New Zealand Under 15 Development Squad is led by coaches Tracey Hallam, Kenneth Yew and Angus Crawford. Congratulations to the following players: