New Zealand Badminton Inter-association Division 1 and 2 Competition - starts Tuesday

The New Zealand Inter-association division one and two competition for the Wisden and Slazenger Cups respectively starts on Tuesday and concludes on Saturday in Auckland.

There are six teams in each division with an automatic promotion relegation between the two divisions. Each division is a round robin competition, all teams will play each day commencing 5.30pm except for Saturday when play starts at 11am, at the Auckland Badminton Stadium, Gillies Avenue, Epsom.

Auckland are the current title holders of both the Wisden and Slazenger Cups; this year they have two teams in division one, however their strength has been diminished with the unavailability of their top female player and New Zealand representative Michelle Chan who is in Denmark playing and the lack of an experienced top men’s singles player, last year they had the services of a Danish player. Praveen Tayalan from Counties Manukau – runner-up in the NZ Junior International earlier this year, has been named at top singles, a tough ask for a youngster playing his first division one competition, eligible to play as his home Association does not have a team in the competition.

Waitakere have received the top seed in division one. The Waitakere team is a real mixture of experience and youth. The men’s line-up is a who’s who of ex-international players; World Championship Bronze Medal winner in 2005 Daniel Shirley, John Gordon, Geoff Bellingham and Nick Hall. The women’s line-up is more youth focused, led by current NZ representative Danielle Barry who is supported by top junior Mary O’Connor (16) and 2008 NZ Junior Representative Kritteka Gregory (19). Second seeds are Waikato who are very solid in their men’s line-up led by New Zealand’s top ranked man Joe Wu. Auckland 1 are seeded third followed by North Harbour, Auckland 2 and Wellington North.

Canterbury are seeded top in division two, relegated from division one last year. This division is dominated by teams from the South Island with Southland looking like the team to beat, James Eunson and Anna Rankin lead their line-up, players who have come through the ranks in Southland but now reside in Auckland for their badminton and to study.

Teams:

Wisden Cup: Waitemata Badminton Shop Waitakere, Waikato, Auckland 1, North Harbour 1, Auckland 2, Wellington North

Slazenger Cup: Canterbury, Ascot Park Southland, Bay of Plenty, North Harbour, Otago, Nelson

For the full draw and player lists see:

http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=CFF516CD-2CB8-4B9E-9A6E-624DDEAE280C

As play will not finish till approximately 10.30pm each night the results will be sent by 10am the following day. These will include the tie results, an update on the overall standings and a summary of the days play