Earlier this year, Badminton Oceania announced the return of the Oceania Tour 2022. The initiative is linked to the Badminton Oceania Player Development programme (supported by the Badminton World Federation) and aims to encourage players to support Oceania events by offering the opportunity to win prize money to support future training or competition costs.
Originally, the Oceania Tour 2022 comprised of seven tournaments, starting with the VICTOR Oceania Championships 2022 which took place in April-May. However, following the latest announcement from Badminton New Zealand and BWF, the following two tournaments which were part of the Tour have been cancelled:
- BARFOOT & THOMPSON New Zealand Open (22-27 November)
- Manawatu International (1-4 December)
As a result of the tournaments being cancelled, the Oceania Tour prize money which is awarded to the winners for further training and competition support, has been adjusted to the following:
- $1,500 NZD each for men’s and women’s singles winners (previously $2,000 NZD)
- $2,500 NZD per pair for the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles winners (previously $3,500 NZD)
The eligibility criteria remains the same and the points calculations for the Tour continue to be directly from the BWF World Ranking system in all five disciplines (MS, WS, MD, WD, XD) from the events listed below::
- Sydney International (5-9 October)
- Bendigo International (12-16 October)
- VICTOR North Harbour International (19-23 October)
- SATHIO GROUP Australian Open (15-20 November)
“It is disappointing to see the New Zealand Open cancelled for a third year in a row and the consequent impact on the Manawatu International, a new tournament on our calender, which relied on the New Zealand Open to attract a wide calibre of players in the following week”
”We are committed to providing opportunities to players, particularly those within our region, and look forward to delivering the remaining four tournaments across Australia and New Zealand which are part of the Oceania Tour – all of which are well underway in the planning stages”, says Badminton Oceania Secretary General/CEO, Julie Carrel.
The prospectuses for the Sydney, Bendigo and VICTOR North Harbour International have been released, all information can be found on the respective event pages here.
Following the last event (CROWN Group Australian Badminton Open), after world ranking points have been calculated, the winner of each discipline will be announced – no later than 24 November 2022.
Find out who is currently leading in each discipline of the Oceania Tour 2022 here.
