2006 ANNUAL REPORT Annual Report 2006 BADMINTON OCEANIA Office Bearers 2006 Presidents Report Executive It seems only yesterday that we met during Robin Bryant (Aus) ~ President the hugely successful Thomas Uber Cup/ Nigel Skelt (NZ) ~ Vice President Oceania Championship in Auckland in 2006. Geraldine Brown (Aus) Our guest then, Paisan Rangsikitipho Chair Warren Yee (Fiji) of the BWF event Committee carried back Fabien Kaddour (New Caledonia) into the BWF messages of Oceania on the Alan McKenzie (New Zealand) move, good teamwork, growth, development and excellent competition. Office Staff The year has been a very active one in which we have sought to consolidate the Secretary General structure of the new organisation and Corinne Barnard promote the development concept of the sport in the minds of our key partners, BWF Development Officer and the Oceania National Olympic Lynne Scutt Committee. Bookkeeper Key priorities have been Donna Millington • Building the networks in the region with non members Delegates • Providing Equipment based on grants from BWF Badminton World Federation • Securing our financial base with Robin Bryant BWF • Protecting our Events structure • Ensuring that Samoa gets the support it needs for the SPG • Creating the environment within BWF that allows the French Territories to become BWF Members/Associate Members • Ensuring the key Committees are able to work • Establishing the Office as a viable Life Members and visible operation. Heather Robson Attendance at the ONOC General Assembly Roy Ward (d. 19/12/2006) by this time the Secretary General and the Development Officer was a plus, building on our presence the previous year by myself and the Development Officer. The Committees 2006 opportunity this has given to create the networks within the region and maintain them is slowly bearing fruit with more and Court Officials Committee (changed to more Oceania NOC’s expressing interest in Technical officials committee) the sport. Peter Cocker (Chair) The new image in BWF bore fruit with the region receiving increasingly larger volumes of equipment support which is being Tournament Committee distributed on a targeted basis. 2007 will see more equipment become available than ever Ian Williamson (Chair) before. After substantial debate within the BWF the Oceania Grant was maintained at www.oceaniabadminton.org Page : 2 Annual Report 2006 BADMINTON OCEANIA its current level for the rest of the the region is continually being scrutinised. quadrennial. The proposal was for a Two attempts to remove the concession significant decline in support, in line with the have been able to be argued to finality. declines being imposed on the other Oceania does however now have more Confederations. Whilst the level does not opportunities with the growth of the Samoa guarantee prosperity it does ensure we can and Fijian events, the New Caledonia maintain our operations. International should also become a solid part of our calendar. I expect that within 2 years Oceania was able to respond very quickly to we need to look at moving to the same the changing structure of the IBF, now BWF structure as is applied to other and follow suit with its name change to confederations. That means looking to Badminton Oceania. However the key area improve the status of all events if we are to of interest too us in the changing framework be conscious of world ranking points. of the BWF were the provisions that have been included in the new Constitution that The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne allow the French Territories to apply for were a resounding success and Badminton Associate Membership without losing their Australia is to be congratulated in terms of French connection. That should allow New their involvement. Whilst it was disappointing Caledonia for instance to take full role in that Samoa were not allowed to field a team Oceania events without question. I expect in the end, representation from Fiji, New that to include the Thomas Uber Cup Zealand and Australia did set a very high preliminaries. New Caledonia has standard. All Commonwealth countries commenced the process towards should be starting to think New Delhi now. membership. The work that was done to support Samoa in The activities that we have promoted to build getting the requisite number of teams to Oceania teams and players into events such ensure badminton is on the SPG calendar as the AYOF, the June Bevan and hopefully has been considerable. Congratulations to others to come, has been a positive all involved, including Fabien who rounded promotion for the region. It is all working up the French Territories. Hopefully we will towards building up a profile of the sport in see Tahiti amongst our numbers shortly. the region and establishing our credibility in the international scene. I have been very buoyed up by the work that Ian Williamson has put into the calendar, he The events during the year have certainly is to be congratulated. I would hope that it gone a long way towards cementing the will not be long before the calendars in the sport in each of the member countries. region are very intertwined. If we are able to Samoa held its first ever International move ahead with a ranking system as Tournament. I attended that event on behalf proposed by Corinne there will significant of Oceania and BWF and would like to benefits to us. compliment Samoa on its conduct. We were able to arrange additional external Peter Cocker has also provided sponsorship for the Fiji International. The considerable support to the organisation. His event was a resounding success and role as Technical Officials convenor has attracted a lot of media attention in Fiji. The been largely directed at co-ordinating the external sponsor was very pleased. We are international program. We have seen Jane grateful to Dato Sri Andrew Kam and his KL Wheatley elevated to International Referee Racquet Club for the financial support and status, and Richard Bramley came on board the encouragement of top players to come to as a new umpire. I am also seeing more and the Oceania tournaments. For 2007 the more line judges attending BWF events opportunity to put the 4 events together, NZ overseas. We need to find more people to Equinox, Australian International, Samoan train towards the international jobs. They are and Fijian Internationals is the start of a rewarding but equally they don’t happen process to make events down under very overnight. Succession planning is very attractive to players from Europe and Asia. important in this area. Our concession with respect to the number During the year we renegotiated the contract of international events allowed to be held in for the Development Officer, Lynne Scutt. www.oceaniabadminton.org Page : 3 Annual Report 2006 BADMINTON OCEANIA Lynne has put a lot of good work in during the year and has built a good reputation in Secretary General New Caledonia and Fiji. Whilst her resignation came as a surprise it has given Overview us the opportunity to think of different development models and start to explore This year has been very busy especially other ways of carrying out the functions that balancing two jobs which at times are both Lynne performed. We wish her well for the full time! The main task was to make the future. Oceania office as professional as possible and consolidate on the new structure that The Office in Melbourne has been was formed in 2005. The other task was to functioning very effectively. Whilst Corinne is create networks and improve on the ones notionally Secretary General two days a already established. week, she has always been available for people and that is starting to show through With great sadness I have to report that the in the communications that have been rebuilt badminton community in Australia is with many of our “inactive members”. That mourning the loss of one of its most continuing presence and Corinne’s significant figures after Roy Ward OAM commitment to the job has helped build our passed away on Tuesday 19 December in profile considerably. Her attendance at BWF Frankston. Roy Ward is survived by his wife meetings has not only educated her, but has of 57 years Mrs Joan Ward, his daughter been a factor in establishing in the BWF Julie and son Greg. Roy Ward was a school minds that Oceania is one of the Olympic teacher, journalist, union organizer, Member Rings and is to be taken seriously. of Parliament, sports administrator and community leader and a tireless volunteer I started off with mention of the event in and leader in Australian badminton. Auckland in February 2006. That event demonstrated to us that there was Robin Bryant, President of Badminton considerable talent not only in New Zealand Oceania spoke about Roy recently and Australia but in the other Members. I would also like to close on a positive note. “HR Ward OAM, Roy, was one of those bluff During the year BWF redeveloped its enigmatic personalities who made a positive Olympic selection criteria to promote the impact wherever he went. It is a tribute to possibility of getting 50 NOC’s to Beijing, up him that wherever I go in the world or who I from 32 in Athens. In part that increases the speak to in the sport, you only have to possibility of singles players from Oceania to mention his given name, Roy, and everyone get to the Olympics. It is now clear that with knows who you are talking about. an effort, Fiji and Samoa have a girl each who could get to Beijing. A lot of effort and Roy was to badminton what the carburettor time is going into making that happen. was to a car.