THE badminton competition of the 2022 Pacific Mini Games has been included in the calendar of events of the Badminton World Federation.
The 2022 BWF Calendar of Events, which will start with the Yonex-Sunrise India Open in New Delhi next week, features 127 competitions spread across the globe and cover 50 weeks of badminton action. The Pacific Mini Games, which will run from June 17 to 25 with the badminton competition scheduled from June 20 to 25, is one of the five events slated in Week 24.
“The Badminton World Federation has added the Games to their international calendar, which is good news,” Badminton Oceania chief executive officer and general secretary Julie Carrel said in an email to Northern Marianas Badminton Association president Merlie Tolentino and Pacific Mini Games Organizing Committee CEO Ben Babauta.
Tolentino thanked Badminton Oceania for initiating communications with the BWF for the inclusion of the Mini Games in the loaded calendar. The NMBA president added that this will give the islands’ players the platform to showcase their skills and the CNMI the opportunity to show its ability to host a high-level competition. This is the first time that a CNMI-hosted event is included in the BWF calendar. Matches in the Mini Games will take place at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.
The Pacific Mini Games 2022 is lined up along with the Indonesia Open (June 14 to 19), the Iberdrola Spanish International (June 15 to 18), the German International (June 15 to 18), and the Croatia Valamar Junior Open (June 16 to 29). There are 11 other competitions that the BWF has scheduled for June and they will be held in Latvia, Denmark, Lithuania, France, China, Bulgaria, Malaysia, and Russia.
Besides the national championships of the different BWF-member countries, the federation’s annual calendar highlights events included in the World Tour, Future Series both for adults and junior players, and Grand Prix. These top competitions provide ranking points and prize money to players from five confederations — Badminton Africa, Badminton Asia, Badminton Europe, Badminton Oceania, and Badminton Pan-Am.
The CNMI is an associate member of BWF and full member of Badminton Oceania.
The Cook Islands, Guam, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Wallis & Futuna are the other countries or territories competing in this year’s Pacific Mini Games badminton events. The names and numbers of competitors will be determined in May.
A player is about to hit the shuttlecock during a TakeCare Badminton Open match in October last year at the Ada gym which will be the badminton venue of the Pacific Mini Games in June 2022.
