Badminton New Zealand have made the decision today to cancel the inaugural South Island Secondary School Badminton Cup which was scheduled to take place in Dunedin from June 6-7, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions.
The decision was reached in consultation with School Sport New Zealand to provide schools with certainty about upcoming events, and allow them to focus their energy on returning to normality within their communities, without the added pressure of making entry, travel and accommodation arrangements for sports teams.
Badminton New Zealand Events Manager Sam Paterson reflects on the cancellation.
“While this is disappointing for players and schools, we have to put the health and wellbeing of all participants as our top priority. I would strongly encourage schools affected by this cancellation to shift their focus towards the Secondary School National Championships being held in September as an alternate event.
“We are committed to running a South Island Secondary School Badminton Cup and look forward to delivering this event for our South Island schools in 2021.” All other secondary school badminton events remain unaffected at this stage