Social badminton players given a chance to get serious

Social badminton players have the chance to get a little more serious in a doubles-only tournament in Timaru this weekend.

About 30 badminton teams from Timaru and across the South Island are set to compete.

The tournament, now in its third year, is organised by the Aorangi Badminton Social Club and will be held on Saturday at the Southern Trust Events Centre on Morgans Rd from 9am to 4pm. The teams are divided into three categories – elite, gold and women’s.

Jino Thomas, the tournament’s organiser and club member, said they wanted to inspire people to love playing a sport that was not widely played in South Canterbury.

‘‘We organised it to bring more people to play badminton. People are interested in tournaments, but there are no competitions in Timaru,’’ Thomas said.

‘‘Twenty-eight teams signed up so far.’’

He said there were social badminton clubs in South Canterbury that had social nights but have players were looking for a challenge and something competitive.

‘‘We had seven teams from Timaru during last year’s tournament and this year we have 13 teams,’’ he said.

Thomas added that he hoped the tournament would also inspire the next generation to play the sport, whether socially or competitively.

The elite division winner will walk away with a cash prize of $300, followed by $150 for the runner-up.

The gold division’s winning cash prize is $100 and $50 for the runner-up.

The 28 teams also include a six-team women’s category. The winner in this category will receive a cash prize of $100 and $50 for the runner-up.