TAKECARE Saipan International 2023
13 – 18 JUNE 2023
Badminton Oceania and Northern Marianas Badminton Association (NMBA) are delighted to announce the addition of two new International Challenge tournaments to the BWF Calendar in 2023, taking place back-to-back in June. Starting with the Northern Marianas Open 2023 (6-11 June) and culminating with the Saipan International (13-18 June).
The Northern Marianas Islands is a territory of the United States, sitting within Micronesia – a collection of islands in the northwest region of Oceania, also including Guam (another member association of Badminton Oceania), Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Typically, the country is frequented by tourists from East Asia, the closest being the Philippines which is just over a 4-hour flight away.
In 2022, Northern Marianas hosted the 2022 Pacific Mini Games and badminton was one of nine sports included in the multi-sport programme, leaving a legacy which welcomes two international tournaments to the country for the very first time, one year later. Additionally, local players could compete on the international stage (wildcard prospects) for the first time, while the upskilled volunteers and technical officials from the Pacific Mini Games have more opportunities to officiate at events and witness world-class badminton – made even more exciting by the fact that both tournaments fall within the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualification period, which starts on 1 May 2023.