Schools in Northern Marianas cast their eyes on AirBadminton

Text by Roselyn Monroyo, Northern Marianas Badminton Public School System Student Support Services Athletic Program director Nick Gross is considering adding AirBadminton to their roster of sports events for students. Launched last year by Badminton World Federation and HSBC, AirBadminton is played outdoors with modified rules and has been gaining popularity across the globe because…

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Olympic Day Inspiration: Tongoboo Beero aiming to become Kiribati’s first BWF Level 1 Coach

Pictured: Kiribati Badminton Federation’s Shuttle Time Co-Ordinator, Tongoboo Beero. Olympic Day commemorates the day that the International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894. The annual event is a celebration of sport, health, and ‘being the best you can be’, inviting everyone around the globe to be active and celebrate the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect…

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Slowly but steady: Badminton creeps back onto Oceania’s scene

The non-contact element of badminton became the sport’s biggest strength in 2020. As Oceania’s member countries slowly return to life after the countries announce themselves COVID19 free, or gaining greater control of the virus, small gatherings and low contact sports like badminton have been allowed to take place once again. Cook Islands Badminton Association were…

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Research proves that Shuttle Time improves schoolchildren’s Fundamental Movement Skills

Pictured: Shuttle Time participants in Kiribati. Text: BWF staff and Badminton Oceania Remember the study by Shinji Takahashi at Tohoku Gakuin University which proved how useful badminton was to boost ‘executive function’? The benefits of badminton continue to be researched, with a team from Coventry University (in England), who have recently proven the significance of…

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BARFOOT & THOMPSON BWF World Junior Championships 2020 rescheduled to January 2021

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) today announced the new dates for the BARFOOT & THOMPSON BWF World Junior Championships 2020, which were scheduled to be held in Auckland, New Zealand in September this year. The rescheduled dates for the world event are 11-24 January 2021. Only those athletes eligible for the originally scheduled championships will…

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Anona Pak seizes lockdown opportunity to dust off her lab coat and pick up a sixth language

Pictured: Anona Pak, New Zealand. Photo credit: Badminton Photo After taking home silver in last year’s Sydney International and this year’s VICTOR Oceania Women’s Team Championships in Ballarat, New Zealand’s Anona Pak was ready to embark on an eight-week tournament stint around Europe as she pursued Olympic qualification with mixed doubles partner, Oliver Leydon-Davis. Oliver…

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Thomas Mereana-Ngauru wins at Cook Islands Sports Awards

Pictured: Badminton Cook Islands President Thomas Mereana-Ngauru (left) with Shuttle Time teachers Badminton Cook Islands celebrated one of their biggest triumphs at the Cook Islands Sports Awards over the weekend. Collectively, the organisation was nominated in six categories, with President Thomas Mereana-Ngauru going on to win the Sports Administrator of the Year for the second…

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BWF announces revamped tournament calendar for 2020

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has announced a revamped tournament calendar for the remainder of 2020 following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of planning and consultation has taken place with Member Association hosts to be able to provide the framework for badminton’s potential return. This includes the rescheduling of top-tier events that…

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International Day of Families: NZ based family ‘The Virk’s’ bringing a community together through badminton

Pictured left to right: Rupinder, Aveer, Amreen and Mandeep Virk The International Day of Families is a movement observed by the United Nations to raise awareness around the importance of communities and families and their significant impacts on one antoher. One fine example of strong community spirit displayed by a family comes from the region…

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Six-time Oceania champion, Wendy Chen, overcoming anxiety with goal-setting

“It was difficult to adjust to new lifestyle at the beginning, lives just kind of stopped all of a sudden” The sudden interruption of the COVID-19 pandemic had athletes all around the world rethinking their choices. For Australia’s six-time continental champion, Wendy Chen, a strategically planned tournament calendar was quickly made redundant. Despite the six…

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