The BWF Female Participation Grant offers opportunities for female athletes to apply for financial support to attend and be Internationally Classified at several BWF sanctioned international tournaments annually. Each athlete must attend two BWF para badminton tournaments in the year specified (2023) to be eligible. The grant supports the BWFs goal to increase female participation in Para badminton across all sport classes in the effort to increase the retention of athletes.
Two Oceania badminton players are recipients of this grant; one from New Zealand and the other from Papua Guinea.
New Zealand para badminton player, and the first recipient is Amy Dunn. Having played in singles, doubles and mixed doubles at the recent Western Australia Para Badminton International 2023, this was Amy’s international debut. Playing for less than a year, Amy is putting in the hours on court and is showing great improvement. The grant has helped her to achieve her current goals of gaining international experience.
The second Oceania recipient, Manega Tapari is 24 years old. She is from Papua New Guinea and started playing badminton in 2022. Speaking of her international badminton experience at the Western Australia Para Badminton International 2023, Manega described it as “very challenging and an eye opener for me to experience the sport. I am proud to know and experience more with the other competitors for all around the world.”
Using the BWF Female Participation Grant to gain experience from playing will enable her to help other para players back in her home country. “To know more skills and techniques will help to build up para badminton teams to achieve our goals together as one for the future.” Manega explains.
Find out more about the BWF Female Participation Grant
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- Amy Dunn – NZL
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- Manega Tapari – PNG
