Badminton Is Booming In The Bay

The Bay of Plenty Badminton Association (BOP Badminton) is celebrating unprecedented growth and community engagement, cementing its place as one of the region’s most inclusive and vibrant sport organisations. With a focus on fostering participation at all levels, BOP Badminton continues to thrive, thanks to its strong culture and the dedicated efforts of its players, coaches, supporters and staff.

BOP Badminton’s Community Development Manager, Delwyn Cooper, says the organisation is incredibly proud of the culture it has built over the years.

“It’s a sense of community and teamwork that drives our success.” she says, “The attitude towards how we work together as a team is a large focus, and we’re all aware that from doing certain things, we’ll see results happen and continue developing, improving and growing.”

“Without the continued support of our clubs, players, their families, and coaches, we wouldn’t have achieved the remarkable growth we’ve seen in recent years.”

Their recent achievements include seeing the largest growth (10%) of any sport in the Bay of Plenty at the secondary school level between 2022 and 2023. This progressed to expanding the number of secondary school teams from 23 to 40 at the Western Bay of Plenty Qualifying Champs in 2024 and having 10 junior teams compete at NZ Junior Team Nationals—the country's highest number of junior teams from one region in 2024.

Over the years, BOP Badminton has also revitalised its operations by offering more to its players. They brought back the ABCD Tournament in 2023 after a 20-year hiatus, which provided a platform for consistent local competitions. They launched non-representative junior tournaments in 2024 in Whakatane, Rotorua & Tauranga. One tournament was held in each region in the April, July and October school holidays, which attracted 40+ players from the region. They also began hosting accessible junior camps that combined training, guidance, and fun for their junior players and families at low costs.

These recent successes have been due to the hard work of the BOP Badminton team and initiatives like CoachForce, which has supported the coaching development of their staff and members. Through this, BOP Badminton has fostered a new generation of skilled players and younger coaches which has been a gamechanger for the sport regionally. These young leaders aged 15 – 20 in the sport are now regularly enhancing their coaching skills while giving back to the community by mentoring younger players.

“The development we’re seeing of our youth coaches is one of the most inspiring parts of our work,” says Delwyn. “Seeing players transition from participants to mentors speaks volumes about the strength of our badminton community and the values we uphold.”

Developing the pathways of players to coaches and offering more to their members has resulted in an increase in general participation in the sport locally and an increase in registered members at local clubs. However, despite this growth over recent years, BOP Badminton has faced challenges, particularly limited court availability and the need for a dedicated facility to accommodate this increasing demand. The organisation’s vision includes developing a facility as a hub for players, coaches, and supporters, enabling even greater participation and success.

The support of local funder TECT, who in 2024 granted $20,000 to BOP Badminton, has been influential in sustaining the organisation’s operations. “TECT’s funding allows us to maintain the key staff who drive our programs and ensures we can continue to support our clubs,” says Delwyn. “Their contribution enables us to deliver meaningful experiences to the community.”

TECT Trustee Rachael Gemming says TECT aims to empower our communities to shape a better today and tomorrow.

“Through supporting BOP Badminton, we are enabling our local community to participate in community sports, build skills, and gain opportunities for learning, social connection, inclusion, and belonging.”

Looking ahead, BOP Badminton is gearing up to host the U15 and U19 National Championships in April 2025, as well as the New Zealand Masters Championships in October later this year. These events promise to showcase the depth of talent in the region and reinforce the Bay of Plenty’s reputation as a hub for badminton excellence.

BOP Badminton’s goal is to grow its numbers and continue fostering a lifelong love for badminton within the community. With its strong culture, dedicated team, and vision for the future, it is confident that it will continue to thrive and inspire for years to come.

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