Southland To Host As New Zealand Hope To Continue Dominance Over Australia

 The New Zealand Badminton team is looking to continue the trend of being one of the few sports where New Zealand dominates Australia when they play the bi-annual trans-tasman test match series for the prestigious Whyte Trophy later this year.

Badminton Southland has been awarded the hosting rights by Badminton New Zealand, with the entire series to be played at the impressive Stadium Southland in Invercargill.

New Zealand has won the trophy on the last six occasions. In fact the last time Australia won a test in the three-match competition was in 1999. The last time they actually held the trophy being 1997.

With all three tests in the series to be held in Stadium Southland it will be the first time the entire series has been staged at one venue. The Whyte Trophy is scheduled to be held 5th, 7th and 9th September.
Badminton Southland Development Manager Sue McCormack said Southland was delighted to be awarded the hosting rights for the series, something which is due to give the province high level competition in a top venue.

“We have worked closely with Stadium Southland over recent years to host many national and provincial events and we see this as a great opportunity to build a destination event for Southland in the future.

We have a large number of young players and the opportunity to see Australasia’s best players in action will provide a fantastic spectacle and also the opportunity for our players to attend training sessions with the New Zealand squad members,” says McCormack.

Stadium Southland’s General Manager Nigel Skelt believes the proactive volunteer base in the region along with the world-class venue is a major benefit to the sport.
Skelt said specialized synthetic court mats will be in used for the event along with electronic scoring units and the ability to host corporate functions courtside will also be available.
Last year Stadium Southland hosted the New Zealand Age Group Championships which is part of a major push by the sport to place major events into a stadium as opposed to a badminton hall.

This follows on from the move last year when the US$50,000 KLRC New Zealand Open was held at the North Shore Events Centre, where it is returning to again in July this year.
“The Stadium in Invercargill is world-class and the Badminton Southland facility will be a fantastic training venue for both teams. It’s a pleasure to bring such an important event to a city that really understands its sport and is prepared to invest in its people and infrastructure,” says Badminton NZ Chief Executive Mike Kernaghan.

“Where else in New Zealand are people more passionate and parochial about sport? I can just see 2–3,000 Southland people taking the roof off the Southland Stadium as we take on the Aussies.”