Cook Islands Badminton Association President Thomas Mereana-Ngauru has been elected as a Vice President for the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC).
His leadership in the sport has been instrumental in the overall growth of badminton across the country, and now, his expertise will contribute to the broader development of all sports across the Cook Islands. The new role offers an exciting opportunity for Thomas to help shape policies, support athletes, and strengthen the nation’s presence in international sporting areas.
Building Local Badminton, Piece by Piece
10 years ago, Thomas walked out of an AGM as president of Cook Islands Badminton Association (CIBA). He hadn’t been a part of the organisation long at all, but he saw the potential. The organisation had recently struggled to recruit people and Thomas recognised a gap — they needed a development programme.
“I said to myself, with all this work I’m going to put into it, I’m going to make sure this thing works, and it works well,” Thomas says. “I promised myself, I’m going to make this sport the number one sport in the country, and that’s what drove me.”
How was he going to do this? By adding one piece to their development every year, whether it was outreach, or another tournament, or another trip for players. Now, the organisation is unrecognisable from what it was a decade ago.
Seeing his athletes at practice and tournaments, he realises that without his team’s efforts, they may never have discovered the sport.
Thomas talking to his athletes at the BWF World Junior Mixed Team Championships 2023. Photo credit: Badminton Photo
At this point in his administrative career with CIBA, Thomas says he’s hit the ceiling in terms of athlete development. The dream is to take the players to the Youth Olympics and other major competitions, but they cannot do it alone.
“We really need assistance from the (CISNOC) board to be able to open those doors for our athletes,” he says. “I didn’t want to do all this work over all these years to get stopped at the final hurdle.”
Moving on To New Challenges
Thomas’s desire to help his athletes reach their finals goals is what drove him to apply to become a CISNOC board member. In a last minute effort, he threw his hat in the ring for the election.
Always at every sausage sizzle or coaching event, Thomas’ approach to leadership has been hands on and community based. Landing the Vice President role will challenge him in a new way.
“It’s all about policies and a totally different role that I’m not entirely used to, but I’m ready for it. It’s an exciting phase,” he says.
Over the next five years, he wants to help athletes compete at the Pacific Games and Youth Olympics. From a badminton perspective, he wants to keep the players in the sport, even as they transition to university. He hopes that providing opportunities for athletes to represent their country at a higher level will inspire them to keep going.
But in this new position, Thomas is excited to help athletes from all sports achieve their best.
“If our badminton players are going to benefit from me being on CISNOC, the only way they can is if I do the same for every Cook Island athlete, and that is how it should be.”
The New Age for Badminton Cook Islands
While he transitions into his new role, Thomas will continue to support CIBA as necessary. The most important thing for him is making sure there’s a strong succession plan. Recruiting quality people and delegating specific areas are key points for the organisation over the coming weeks.
“However long it takes, I’ll be around to make sure we do transition properly,”‘ he says. “The last thing I want is for badminton to drop, there’s no way I will let that happen. It would definitely defeat the purpose of me being on this board if we don’t still have a strong development programme. We still have athletes coming through.”
Julie Carrel, Secretary General of Badminton Oceania, reflects on Thomas’s impact.
“Thomas has been a driving force and led the way in development for our Pacific members over many years,” she says. “His commitment to his athletes and vision for what he wants them to achieve has carried badminton to new heights in the Cook Islands. We thank Thomas for his work and look forward to the positive change he will make for all athletes in the country.”
With the growth of Badminton in the Cook Islands over the last decade, Thomas has left a lasting legacy. Between his commitment to the sport and the strong team behind him, he’s poised to continue to transform the badminton landscape in the region.
