AUCKLAND, 14 July 2025 — Following the success of 2025, it is with great delight that Badminton Oceania confirms North Harbour, Auckland, NZL as the host of the VICTOR Oceania Championships 2026.
The championships will incorporate the Men’s & Women’s Team Championships, as well as the Individual Championships. The Pacific U17 Team Challenge and training camp will also run alongside these tournaments in February.
As Julie Carrel, Secretary General, Badminton Oceania, explains, this selection comes as part of an agreement between Australia and New Zealand. Currently, each country hosts the tournaments for two consecutive years, providing a cycle of the Mixed Team Championships and the Men’s & Women’s Team Championships.
Currently, Australia and New Zealand are the only suitable host countries; however, this could change in the future, particularly after the successful hosting of the Junior Championships in the Northern Marianas last month.
“Badminton New Zealand undertook a bid process with their Associations to determine the host, nominating North Harbour as their preferred option,” she says. “We are very happy about this after a successful Championships this year in their new upgraded facility, where they have gone out of their way to include enhancements like underfloor cabling for live score to ensure they continue to host quality international tournaments.”
The next edition of the championships will follow a significantly different format. After consultation with Member Associations, the championships will now run for eight days, beginning with the five-day individual championship and culminating with the three-day team event.
The additional day for the individual events will enable a greater spread of matches to give players more rest time between rounds.
The Pacific U17 Team Challenge will be played at the same time as the Men’s & Women’s Team Championships.
The individual championships will begin 8 February 2026, with the team championship starting on 13 February.
Glenn Cox, Chief Executive, Badminton North Harbour, is excited about the tournaments’ return to the North Shore.
“We are delighted to once again host the prestigious Oceania Championships. we had a two-year delay due to COVID, then we were hit by the Auckland flood in 2023,” Cox says. “Hosting this year was fantastic after these setbacks, and we couldn’t be happier to be appointed again as the host.”
