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…
The Australia/NZ Referee and Umpire development programme was established at the beginning of 2022. The objective of the programme is to support young technical officials who have been identified by their Member Associations as having the potential to attain Badminton World Federation level in the future. In total there are two Referee’s and eight Umpire’s…
Last week at the Badminton Australia u15/u19 National Championships in Western Australia our BWF Vice President – Geraldine Brown made a special presentation to two Oceania Technical Officials from Western Australia. Greg Vellacott’s career as a Badminton World Federation official has spanned 33 years since his first appointment as an Accredited Umpire at the Thomas…
The Australia/NZ Referee and Umpire development programme was established at the beginning of 2022. The objective of the programme is to support young technical officials who have been identified by their Member Associations as having the potential to attain Badminton World Federation level in the future. Currently Australia has one Referee and five Umpires on…
BWF line judge Pauline Eldred and Australian line judge, daughter Sally, are a dynamic duo, mother daughter team from the Australian state of Queensland, who have been working together as line judges last week at the YONEX Bendigo International. In the past they have also line judged at several high-profile events in recent years including…
Technical Official appointments have been announced for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. A total of nine Oceania appointees, including Referees, Umpires and Line Judges will be representing their region and country on the world stage come July/August next year. Returning to the Olympic stage, semi-professional BWF Referee, Lynne Nixey (NZL), will be attending…
Following his assessment at the recent TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022, New Zealand Umpire Kelvin Tsui has successfully passed to become a BWF Umpire. His umpiring journey started in 2013 and over the last nine years, he has officiated at many tournaments in Oceania and beyond, including: Continental Championships (able-bodied and Para badminton) Samoa 2019…
Pictured: Christy P. Villaflor (Northern Marianas, left) and Taurea Mara (Tahiti, right) Congratulations to the following BWF Line Judges for being appointed to the 2023-2026 rotation: Ravi Nandan (AUS) Karen Arnold (AUS) Christy P. Villaflor (MNP) Taurea Mara (TAH) Lok Yun Loi (AUS) From the list above, Ravi and Karen have been renewed for a…
Pictured: Jiten Bhatt, umpiring at the Indonesia Masters 2022. Photo Credit: Yves Lacroix – Badminton Photo Australia’s Jiten Bhatt, now a BWF Certificated Umpire, talks about his journey as a Technical Official and how he manages to enjoy the job despite its various pressures and challenges. Early association with badminton I was born in Africa and…
The Northern Marianas 2022 Pacific Mini Games provided the perfect opportunity to kickstart new pathways for aspiring technical officials. Across the week, seven experienced technical officials travelled to the remote island to officiate (referee, umpire and line judge) and to not only perform their official duties, but assist with the upskilling and assessments of local…