Every time Glenn Cox turns into the driveway of Badminton North Harbour, it’s very hard for him to forget the sight of floodwaters that swamped the building back in 2023.
It was a normal Friday evening on January 23 with squad training taking place, meanwhile heavy rain had just set in outside, which is not out of the ordinary for summertime in Auckland.
However, things were about to take a drastic turn.
“We’ve seen water lapping at the bottom of the stairs to the main entry many times before after a heavy downpour,” Badminton North Harbour Chief Executive Glenn Cox said.
“But the problem that evening was that the water just kept coming.”
As the rain began to overrun the hall’s main driveway, the only plan of action was to evacuate everyone as fast as possible. Glenn also had a desperate scramble to find his beloved golden retriever Maggie – he didn’t know it at the time, but she had already been taken to safety amidst the mad rush that had taken place a few minutes earlier.
“I then returned to the hall and was in the main foyer and realised the water was now well at the entrance – I had never seen it this high before.”
Floodwater engulfs Badminton North Harbour on Friday January 23, 2023.
Glenn urgently found as many towels as possible in an attempt to hold back the murky flood water from flowing through the main entrance, however in the process he discovered water had risen through the floor and had started wreaking havoc to the courts.
“I turned off all the electricity mains as fast as possible. I was then in complete darkness with water around me that was nearly waist deep,” Glenn said.
There was no other option but to get himself out of there as fast as possible, doing so through a fire exit before he then had to swim across to safety on higher ground.
“I will never forget looking back and it was like one big lake had surrounded the building,” he said. “It was a very eerie moment as by that stage there was no one else around.
Upon returning on Saturday morning, he was met with what can only be described as a “war zone”.
“Everything had been picked up and thrown around. Within moments of arriving, I knew it was going to be a major rebuild before we would be up-and-running again,” he said.
“What shocked me the most was how quickly the mould started to emerge a couple of days later – it was horrific.”
Floodwater rising through the Badminton North Harbour main hall.
The damage had been done and now the biggest challenge was afoot, the mental toll of dealing with layers of “red tape” during the process of receiving approval to begin the reconstruction.
“Our biggest concern was that we wouldn’t be allowed to rebuild as we were now sitting in what was now classified as a flood plain,” he said. I had worries that we would have to relocate, but thankfully after months of discussions we received the green light to go ahead.”
North Harbour athletes Edward Lau and Shaunna Li in action at the MAXX North Harbour International. Photo by Paul Foxall
Most impacted by the floods were North Harbour’s members and high-performance team that were now left without a place to play badminton.
“It was very difficult afterwards,” North Harbour squad member Edward Lau said.
“The floods happened two weeks before we were set to host the VICTOR Oceania Championships, and we were left without a place to train which meant we had to scramble to find courts.
“During the lead up to Oceania Championships and for months after we were all impacted as there’s already a lack of courts in Auckland – it was a very difficult time to train.”
In addition, he is also on the Badminton North Harbour staff roster and is an integral part of the organisation’s pro-shop.
“It’s a strange but welcoming feeling to have the hall open again with an international tournament taking place,” Edward said with a smile.
Badminton Oceania CEO Julie Carrel, who is also a Life Member of North Harbour, is pleased to see a venue with such rich history back up and running, especially coinciding with this week’s MAXX North Harbour International.
“I’ll never forget receiving a call from Glenn on that Friday afternoon as the hall was being engulfed by water, also saying that Oceania Championships won’t be there in two weeks,” Julie said.
“It was a devastating moment as years of New Zealand badminton history have taken place at North Harbour.”
Watch TVNZ’s report on Badminton North Harbour’s reopening. Story continues below video.
During the rebuild, Badminton Oceania worked alongside North Harbour to assist and help get the venue ready to host this week’s International.
“Walking into the hall this week for the MAXX North Harbour International is a very proud moment for our region,” Julie said.
“It’s the only international badminton event being held in New Zealand in 2024, and it has been a terrific success.
“I couldn’t be prouder of what the North Harbour team has accomplished, and we look forward to many more events here – including the VICTOR Oceania Mixed Team and Individual Champions 2025 being held in February.”
From every act of destruction comes an opportunity for creation, which is exactly what Glenn Cox and everyone Badminton North Harbour have done to make the most of what had occurred back in January 2023.
The community venue now has a state-of- the-art setup that includes advanced livescore and steaming capabilities, with high-standard badminton courts suitable for hosting international tournaments.
“We’ve designed our hall as best we can to ensure we can host major events and also to protect it from any future floods,” Glenn said.
“What we can’t do is change the design of the infrastructure around us to ensure a similar flood doesn’t happen again.”
