The Oceania Tour was first launched in 2019 – an initiative which is linked to the Badminton Oceania Player Development programme which is supported by the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
With an aim to encourage players to support Oceania events and provide the highest performing players with additional support to enable them to attend international tournaments or training camps, the tour awards prize money to those who accumulate the highest amount of World Ranking points from the eligible tournament that take place across Oceania.
In 2019, the Oceania Tour launched with immense success, with players and pairs from Australia claiming all the prizes across the year. However, the disruption to global badminton across 2020 and 2021 has resulted in the cancellation of the Oceania Tour since then.
Following the announcement of the VICTOR Oceania Championships 2022 (Individual Championships) which are now able to happen from 28 April – 1 May 2022, alongside the four Grade Three tournaments which will accompany the CROWN Group Australia Open and New Zealand Open in the last quarter of 2022, Badminton Oceania is delighted to be able to bring back the Oceania Tour in 2022.
The Oceania Tour 2022 will comprise of the following seven tournaments:
| Tournament | Date | Grade |
| VICTOR Oceania Championships 2022 | 28 April – 1 May 2022 | International Challenge |
| 2022 Sydney International | 5-9 October 2022 | International Series |
| 2022 Bendigo International | 12-16 October 2022 | International Challenge |
| North Harbour International 2022 | 19-23 October 2022 | International Challenge |
| CROWN Group Australian Badminton Open | 15-20 November 2022 | HSBC BWF World Tour 300 |
| New Zealand Open | 22-27 November 2022 | HSBC BWF World Tour 300 |
| Manawatu International | 1-4 December 2022 | International Series |
Players must meet BWF criteria to play in the VICTOR Oceania Championships 2022 to be eligible to be a part of the Oceania Tour 2022. The points calculations for the tour will be directly from the BWF World Ranking system in all five disciplines (MS, WS, MD, WD, XD) from the events listed above. Points for doubles are calculated per pair as per the BWF World Ranking List and both players in a doubles pair must meet the eligibility criteria.
Following the last event; Manawatu International, after world ranking points have been calculated, the winner of each event will be announced (no later than 8 December 2022). The men’s and women’s singles winners will receive up to $2,000 (NZD) each, while the men’s, women’s and mixed doubles pairs will receive up to $3,500 (NZD) per pair.
“With two years of no international tournaments being played in the region, it has been a challenging time for players as they have had to pivot into new ways of remaining engaged, motivated and connected with their development programmes with no tournaments to keep them challenged”
“We are excited to bring back international badminton to the region, starting with the VICTOR Oceania Championships next month in Melbourne, Australia and hope the Oceania Tour will motivate players to soak up the opportunities across Oceania and beyond as the world begins to open”, says Badminton Oceania Secretary General/CEO, Julie Carrel.
The Tour rankings and more information about the tour (including 2019 winners) will be available to view on the Oceania Tour webpage.
