Badminton Oceania is pleased to announce the hosts of the VICTOR Oceania Championships 2025.
In February the VICTOR Oceania Championships (Open) will be hosted by Badminton North Harbour, in Auckland, New Zealand; 10-16 February with the VICTOR Oceania Junior Championships being hosted by the Northern Marianas Badminton Association; 8-14 June.
This is the fourth time Badminton Oceania has announced North Harbour as the host of these Championships, with the previous three editions having to be either cancelled – due to COVID 19 or as in the case of 2023, a new host venue had to be found at the last minute due to the North Harbour venue being destroyed by a one in a 100-year flood. The positives to come from all of this is the venue will be modernised through a full internal refit due for completion in time to host the MAXX North Harbour International in October 2024.
The Oceania Championships will include the Mixed Team Championships (10th – 12th), which is the qualification tournament for the BWF Sudirman Cup finals in China, May 2025, followed by the Individual Championships. Alongside the Mixed Team Championships the Under 15 Invitation Pacific Team Challenge will be played; this will be the third edition of this initiative which is a key component of our Pacific Player Development Programme.
Chief Executive of Badminton North Harbour, Glenn Cox reflects on what it means to be hosting the Oceania Championships: “ We are delighted to once again be hosting the Oceania Championships. 2025 will be special for us as we will be in our upgraded facility which we are confident will give everyone: players, coaches, officials, volunteers and spectators a quality experience. We extend an invitation to the Oceania community to come and join us for the Championships as we look forward to welcoming you all back to Badminton North Harbour in February 2025”.
In what will be a first for the region, the VICTOR Oceania Junior Championships will be hosted by the Northern Marianas Badminton Association on the back of successfully hosting the 2022 Pacific Mini-Games and back to back BWF Grade 3 International Challenge tournaments for the past two years. President of Northern Marianas Badminton Association (NMBA) Merlie Tolentino says “We are excited to welcome everyone to the Northern Mariana Islands for the VICTOR Oceania Junior Championships 2025. Hosting this event is a great honour, and we eagerly anticipate showcasing the exceptional talent and sportsmanship of the participants. We are committed to making this a memorable and successful event and look forward to seeing many people in Saipan next June”.
Following the lead of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) who are implementing the Team Relay format at the World Junior Championships this year, this format will be played at the Oceania Junior Team Championships 2025.
The week following the Oceania Championships NMBA will hold a BWF Grade 3 International Series tournament which will be an opportunity for their older local players to also have the opportunity to play in an international tournament at this time. The two BWF Grade 3 International Challenge tournaments will be held in August 2025.
Badminton Oceania’s Secretary General Julie Carrel says “it is with great delight that we can announce these two hosts, who will both deliver quality experiences for the players. To be going back to North Harbour two years after the flood destroyed their facility is momentous and a testament to the drive of Glenn and his team who are always supportive of hosting international tournaments.
We had a goal of taking the Junior Championships to one of our Pacific countries so when Merlie came to us asking ‘what else could NMBA host’, this was the perfect opportunity. This is the first time we have split the Open and Junior Oceania Championships which will also enable some of the juniors to also play the Open tournament in February and gain some valuable World Ranking points. NMBA are providing a very generous support package around the championships, connecting in with our player development programme; I know that every player going to Saipan will have an experience they will remember for a long time. Playing the Team Relay format just adds to the whole experience of what this tournament will be for our young players.
We hope to announce the host of the VICTOR Oceania Para Badminton Championships 2025 within the next month.
