Badminton Oceania is pleased to announce the appointment of two new staff members in the development team based in Auckland, New Zealand. Sam Kreutzer replaces Nadia Bleaken, who finished up in December after 13 years in the role, as Participation and Development Manager with Dhanny Oud taking up the newly created role of Development Officer to support Sam and Coaching and Development Manager Robbie Thackham in the delivery of programmes.
Secretary General, Julie Carrel says “This is an exciting time for Badminton Oceania with Sam and Dhanny giving us increased capacity and capability in the area of development which is where we can make the greatest impact across the region. We appreciate the support and confidence of the BWF to enable us to deliver our ambitious plans for 2024 and beyond”.
Sam Kreutzer has a Bachelor of Sport Management degree from the Towson University (USA) and Massey University (NZL) and has recently been working in the Community Rugby Participation Development team for New Zealand Rugby which has provided him with some good insights and tools into project coordination, stakeholder relations and working with Pacific communities. Sam has connections with the Pacific having lived in Fiji in his younger days and family in Samoa. Sam’s sport of choice is rugby, he has played some badminton as a recreational player and is looking forward to sharpening up his skills through his new role.
Sam will lead the Shuttle Time and Team Up programmes which will include Air Badminton, Para badminton participation and Special Olympics as well as work with members to further strengthen and develop their capacity and capability.
Dhanny Oud joins Badminton Oceania as Development Officer, supporting both the Coaching & Development Manager and the Participation & Development Manager with a particular focus on delivery. Dhanny has a NZ Diploma of Sport, Recreation and Exercise from Unitec, New Zealand. He is well known in badminton circles in New Zealand having played to a national level and working as the Development Coordinator for Auckland Badminton for 4 years until August 2022. Dhanny is currently a BWF Level 2 Coach and a BWF Shuttle Time Tutor.
Members will get an opportunity to meet both Sam and Dhanny at the upcoming Shuttle Time Trainer and Tutor course being held in Geelong alongside the VICTOR Oceania Championships and the Pacific u17 Invitation Team Challenge, 12-18 February 2024.
