It's totally unacceptable, it's practically asking the qualifiers to be extra fit and more skillful than their first round main draw opponents who may happen to be a seeded player !
The MS qualifying rounds are due to finish around 2.30 - 3 pm and the qualifiers begin their elimination-round matches scheduled earliest for around 8.30 pm. Enough time for a nice nap, kipper and a stretch. All other qualifiers have their main rounds the next day. Just another day at work for young able-bodied sportsmen. Historically, the qualifiers have had to work harder than anyone else to make it to the main rounds, so its nothing new or alarming. Check out some of the European tournaments as well. There are probably some organisational or logistical, financial or availability issues to be reckoned with. The organisers are putting up a show with very limited resources and we should be thankful that there are dedicated people doing all they can to promote the game in far corners. I've seen far worse organisation at SS/SSP events. It's often worse when you're just on standby for hours, waiting for your turn after you've warmed up. You people need to get off your high horse.
While it's a nice thing to be thankful and make allowances for the organizer's constraints if the situation is understandable, it's still not a good thing. Some players or member associations may choose silent protest and vote with their feet in future. What happened in that SS/SSP event (can't remember which one) , a supposedly prestigious tournament if I recalled correctly resulted in a lot of unhappiness as many here have expressed including the players themselves. Progress can only be achieved by inviting constructive criticism and feedback and not hope that everybody is diplomatic about it, so as to continually make improvements and strive for excellence. That's why many are ready to praise the most well-organized and well-planned tournament for which the organizer couldn't be more pleased,honored and proud of it. I've earlier expressed my joy and support for NZ to organize the GP event back to back with the AUS Open and had hoped that it be upgraded to Gold GP level next year when the AUS is elevated to SS. It can only be positive for NZ as a whole in attracting desirable attention to this part of the world, Oceania.
Thanks for the info, I checked the online schedule, the MS qualifying rounds (the last) started at 2:30 PM. And all the matches are scheduled to be finished within 30 minutes. This is impossible. By accumulated lag time, I doubt the MS qualification round can be finished at 3 PM. In fact, I don't believe that, many previous tournaments proved that 30 minutes is NOT enough. Even more, the next matches were all fixed at 30 minutes after, instead of waiting for consecutively playing, this makes the schedule impossible on time. The MS main draw competition starts at 5:00 PM. If players have to play 1 match by 1 match consecutively, then the qualifiers have to wait probably around 6:00 PM. Cannot imagine 3 matches, plus waiting every minutes on the court. Super Series, with only 32 main MS draw positions (40+ total in India open), needs 6 days to finish, why New Zealand open, with 64 main MS draw positions (nearly 100 in total), has to be finished within 5 days? By extending 1 more day, the local organization can sell more tickets, more air time, more hotel rental fees,... I don't understand what is the problem?
2cents, you're reaching. If you go through past tournaments you will discover that many matches are completed well within 30 minutes. Again, the first match that a qualifier plays in the main draw is scheduled to begin not before 8.10pm. The SS/SSP organisational stipulations are more rigorous in every respect. There is a certain amount of leeway in Int'l, GP events. It is possible that the organiser has very limited resources and needs to be as lean as possible. Please read some of the info on page 1. Besides, I'm not sure that any organisation depends on ticket sales on qualifying day. I don't think any organiser looks at revenues accrued by tickets, air-time or hotel rentals for qualifying and round-1 days, unless it happens to be a SSP. Of course, I could be entirely wrong, but somehow I doubt that. Also, please keep in mind that the qualification rounds in many lesser tournaments (Int'l, GP and GPG) can be quite chaotic for some players, who enter singles as well as doubles. This has happened quite often. Organisers need to find a happy medium between making allowances for players and recovery time, and organisational realities. But that's easy for us to comment on.
Yes, a more balanced approach on the whole as opposed to the "It's totally unacceptable" approach often helps. Please remember it is easy to put on a great and well-oiled show when you have the revenues to back up your spending. In that context, a more warm-hearted support of the ones who try and often put a lot more on the line personally, is desirable. It will leave our game in a more healthy and robust state. Aside from all that, I'm sure Badminton Oceania will be grateful for your support and understanding.
The Round of 16 and Quarterfinals match of this tourney will be played in same day (Friday), really hectic schedule.
Good ol' NZ Open!! Go the Kiwis!! Who are the top NZ players these days Cobalt? I've not kept up with them since moving to Brisbane 2 years ago. I know Emma Rodgers well, played singles against her and doubles with and against her before. She's a great gal! Hope she does well!
yea, Q- players get defeated pretty soon in 3rd game they played due to extreme exhaustion. it probably took lesser than 15 mins before they decided to give up.
Xue Song is through to the main round against New Zealander Vivian Joshua Washington. Should be easy game for him in his "3rd game" today. There are 2 other MS Qualifiers meeting New Zealander too, chance for them to win the "3rd game" as well today.
Hi Jimmy, Only found the following http://www.badmintonlink.com/Watch-Badminton-Live-Stream/2013_SkyCity_New_Zealand_Badminton_Open and it says live streaming from Fri 6pm (Quarter finals)
Wow . . . I did not prepare for it. Many new/unknown players so need more time to find their ranking points. I also need more time to prepare the PAWs, and I understand some days have 2 rounds played concurrently. I will not be able to make it for today's round. Let me think about it. . . . . but chances are low.
Uh.... Brendon Mac? ...just to illustrate the depth of my knowledge of NZ badminton... I'm just a grunt here! Sorry, Adelina, but I believe you would be in a much better position than most of us here. You can't be too bad a player yourself, if you were on the same court as Emma Rodgers Give us some inside news about players and stuff, pleeease!! It would be nice to know more about the players, and what NZ players do, or work at when they are not doing badminton...
