On Friday 28 January 2023, Auckland was the epicenter of a severe weather event which saw major flood damage across the region.
Unfortunately, the venue for the upcoming Pacific U15 Invitation Team Challenge and VICTOR Oceania Championships 2023 – Badminton North Harbour – was greatly impacted by the weather and has been closed until further notice.
The tournaments will continue to take place from 10-12 and 10-19 February, respectively, after relocating the Championships to another Auckland-based venue: Auckland Badminton Stadium, 99 Gillies Avenue, Epsom, Auckland 1023, New Zealand (Google Maps).
Auckland Badminton Centre is located in the surrounding suburbs of Auckland’s CBD, less than 15 km away from Badminton North Harbour. The hall features 12 badminton courts, plenty of spectator seating and has hosted numerous international events in the past including BWF Grade Three tournaments and the World Masters Games.
All team managers have been made aware of the change and the associated logistics which allow the tournaments to resume as planned.
“Our team is sad to see another edition of the Continental Championships pass us by. The 2021 and 22 editions were disrupted by COVID-19 and now the floods across Auckland have caused extensive damage to our stadium which will take months to fix. We will continue to support the local community, our players, and these relocated Continental Championships and we look forward to welcoming players and international events back to our venue in the future”, says Badminton North Harbour CEO, Glenn Cox
“Times have been challenging with the extraordinary weather events over the past week, and all Badminton Associations have had to come together to support each other. With the unfortunate damage to Badminton North Harbour Stadium we have been able to work with Badminton Oceania and Badminton North Harbour to ensure the VICTOR Oceania Championships 2023 can still go ahead at Auckland Badminton Stadium. We appreciate all our clubs, members and other stakeholders for their understanding and willingness to make adjustments to their regular programs at short notice to make this possible”, says ABA General Manager, John McGregor
“We are devastated to see the impact of the floods at Badminton North Harbour, and our thoughts go out to the team who have worked so hard to host these Championships for the past three editions. We endeavor to support their team and the association to get back up and running as soon as possible. Badminton Oceania remains determined to host the Continental Championships on schedule and we thank Auckland Badminton for their flexibility and understanding to allow us to host these tournaments on such short notice”, says Badminton Oceania CEO, Julie Carrel
Please contact events@badmintonoceania.org if you have any further questions.
