One of the success factors of an international badminton tournament is strong partnerships. Northern Marianas Badminton (NMBA) is a great example of an organisation with strong partnerships. One of these strong partnerships NMBA is with their Continental Confederation; Badminton Oceania (BOC).
During the recent CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianas Open and the DOVE Saipan International, Badminton Oceania’s Secretary General, Julie Carrel took some time to talk to Jerry Tan – President Northern Marianas Sports Association (NMSA) and Merlie Tolentino – President NMBA about all thing’s badminton in the Northern Mariana Islands.
This is the second year of back-to-back BWF Grade 3 International Challenge tournaments in Saipan; made possible by a change in the BWF sanction policy around the number of Grade 3 tournaments at each level one country can hold each year. The partnership between NMBA and BOC is strengthening each year since they started collaborating in 2021 about the Pacific Mini Games.
Jerry Tan reflects on the changes that have occurred since 2022, when badminton was a very new sport in the Northern Mariana Islands. As one of nine sports played that year at the Pacific Mini Games, and badminton medaling, the sport has taken off in popularity. “It was a new sport for Northern Marianas at the 2022 Pacific Mini Games. It made people realise there was a future in badminton. The Mini Games allowed for certain investment into the sport for equipment and everything else that came with the tournament. The facility was totally renovated, including the addition of air conditioning, what a great legacy for us from hosting the Games.”
“Badminton Oceania’s support led to our first BWF Grade 3 international tournament in 2023 and has paved the way for development of the sport in Northern Marianas” explained Jerry. He is grateful for the people supporting badminton on the island, saying “the leadership shown by the President of NMBA, Merlie Tolentino and that of the players, coaches and volunteers, has given assurance to the NMSA about what great work the badminton association is doing and we are supporting their growth. Sport Tourism is important for our country; Northern Marianas has several international events however none are of the scale which the two badminton tournaments are; bringing in over 200+ players, coaches and officials for 2 weeks. These tournaments have really helped put Saipan on the map not just from a badminton perspective”.
Merlie comments that “our player development pathway with the support of BOC and their coaches has been beneficial to our players with our youth players being inspired by having international players in Saipan. They may be the best in the Northern Marianas but until they see these players, they don’t realise how much they have to improve.”
NMBA are developing strong player pathways with Merlie explaining that “we are also thankful that we can send players to international tournaments which gives players a reason and motivation to get better. We have a team heading to China for the BWF World Junior Championships this year; the first time we have played in this world tournament and have had teams travel to the u15 and then the u17 Pacific Challenge in Auckland – 2023 and Australia – 2024 respectively.”
NMBA is proving that you don’t have to be a large country to be successful. Jerry remarks that “at the end of the day money can only go so far. Things happen here because of the people; the team of volunteers that are vested in the success of what they are involved in. Merlie has been able to develop and bring together many different people into different roles. They run workshops, local competitions, Shuttle Time and coaching, but when the international tournaments come around from the juniors to the seniors, from the recreational to the competitive players, everyone just steps up as they want to be involved. To be recognized by the BWF this year when we were awarded the BWF Participation Award at the AGM in China, was a big moment for us. The key to long term success is down to the volunteer base; it is all about people. You can have nice equipment, facilities, and you can find a sponsor who will pay for everything, but if you don’t have the team, the committed volunteers, it won’t be a successful tournament now and into the future.”
As the President of the NMSA, Jerry Tan says “the biggest comfort for me is seeing more and more people signing up for the sport of badminton, playing, volunteering and willing to learn what they have to for their roles, and taking it seriously. NMSA oversees 17 sports in the Northern Mariana Islands; badminton by far has the best partnership that I can see between the National Federation and their Continental Confederation; it is a very respectful and positive partnership; again successful because of the people from both organisations”.
Julie Carrel backs up these comments from Jerry Tan; “it is 100% all about the people when we work with NMBA, not just what they do but how they are looked after, valued and respected by the management for what they do. Everyone works well together, there is never a negative or grumbly word, they just want to do the best they can for the benefit of badminton. They have excellent development programmes and pathways in place; they know what they want to achieve, they take the people with them to make it happen. Working with Jerry, Merlie and the team at NMBA is very rewarding, to see what they have achieved over the past 3 years is testament to their commitment and drive; we are excited to see what the next 3 years will bring”
Badminton is in the infancy stage in this small Micronesia country, but most importantly, the Northern Marianas Badminton Association is on the right track. Their future is very bright.
