Hi all, just received an e-mail from Badminton NZ, basically saying that they have decided to postpone this year's tournament until April 2011 :crying: the reasons are: 1. to make the distribution of schedule more even (there are going to be heaps of tournament going on this July) 2. it's too cold for many players during July (mostly players from Asian countries) 3. specifically for 2012, the tournament will be one of the last chances for players to qualify for London 2012 quite sad to hear about it, but then if it does attract more players to come, i guess it's worth waiting also heard that the INA national squad would skip this year's tournament, so i guess it wouldn't make much difference (at least for me personally) anyway.
Heres the actual email content The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has suggested to Badminton New Zealand that we look to hold a World Grand Prix event in the month of April each year, commencing 2011. This would help to achieve a better spacing of tournaments and to give players access to as many tournaments as possible for 2012 Olympic qualifying. Currently on the calendar for July 2010 there are six World Grand Prix tournaments with New Zealand clashing with the US Open; not an ideal situation. The intention is for Australia to also hold an Australian Open in April, the week following the NZ Open, with an assurance from the BWF that no other tournaments at this level will be on the calendar at the same time. Badminton New Zealand is supportive of this move by the BWF as an international tournament in April fits well into our calendar. It is also a well known fact that the Asian players struggle with the cooler temperatures in New Zealand in July; we would anticipate with the change in date to April the New Zealand Open would attract more players from the Asian countries. The other big positive is that in 2012 the New Zealand Open would be very near the end of the qualification period for the Olympic Games which could result in a very good entry as players chase last minute world ranking points. Badminton New Zealand feels that having two Opens within one calendar year is demanding in terms of both financial resourcing and also the demands on volunteer personnel and they have therefore decided to postpone the 2010 event with the focus now moving to April 2011. Badminton New Zealand is currently working very closely with a potential international sponsor for the NZ Open; we will update you all on the progress of this later in the year. We have checked with our International Broadcaster (IEC) and other partners in New Zealand; they have no issues with the change in timing of our event. Whilst this gives our New Zealand players one less event on our national calendar this year there are still plenty of events on offer for the players: North Island Championships in May, South Island Championships in June, the Pan Pacific Junior Team Championships, New Zealand Junior International and under 23 Championships in June, the New Zealand Championships and the New Zealand Division I & II competition in August.
so it is not really postponed then is it? more like cancelled and then they will hold next years one earlier? The email says that "Badminton New Zealand feels that having two Opens within one calendar year is demanding in terms of both financial resourcing and also the demands on volunteer personnel" What is the other open they are holding this year? Also they state that "this gives our New Zealand players one less event on our national calendar this year there are still plenty of events on offer for the players". What about the international and those trying to qualify and gain seeds for commonwealth games? This means more expensive travel for all players in the oceania region Anyway inspit of this I heard that the tournament is back on. That the BWF wont let them cancel at such a late date.
