Feathers Update
Kia Ora Feathers,
Happy New Year to all and best wishes for 2024!
We hope you all had a nice break and as we head back into another year, we just wanted to give a quick update to everyone for the year ahead.
1) Club Play & Membership
Badminton Club AGM
To run Auckland Feathers effectively and smoothly, we need support from you to manage this club. We really urge all of you to step up and help the club. Club nights are easy to run, but in order to get back to an effective running club we need HELP.
Currently we are missing a Treasurer, Secretary, Social Chair and General Committee members.
Our AGM will happen at 6pm on Wednesday 6th March as our financial year ends on the 29th February 2024. Venue will be at the Auckland Badminton Halls.
We have asked the ABA to attend our AGM, so it important that as many members of the club attend this AGM. We really need you support to showcase to the ABA how BIG our club has become in order to get the support from them.
Club Play
Currently our playdates are unconfirmed, ABA are looking at changing them.
Weekend club play will recommence on the Sunday 11th February from 1-4pm. As usual, we will be swapping between Saturday and Sunday if there are tournaments on. Please consider if you would like to make Sunday afternoon our permanent club play time and we can discuss at the AGM.
Wednesday night courts are seriously now at risk with the change of direction from the ABA possibly removing any weeknight courts for us. They are also putting our court costs up from $22 an hour to $30 an hour. Courts are currently secured on Wednesdays up until the 14th Feb.
For this, we implore you to attend the AGM to show support for the club and also to tell them why this play night is so important.
From these ABA changes and the cost increase for Wednesday nights, we will have to relook how we do membership for the club and our cost structure. This we will be discussed at the AGM.
Thanks to everyone for working with the booking system, it has made it massively easier for us to run and manage.
Firstly, our big one to announce is our Pride Month Cruise! We are chartering a 72-foot Catamaran just for us Feathers Family & Friends on Sunday 25 February to celebrate Auckland Pride Month! Please join us for a great afternoon on the harbour and bring along all your friends. Tickets will cost $85 and include the 4-hour cruise plus nibbles. More information and buying tickets HERE. Tickets are limited so get in quickly!
Auckland Feathers is also joining the Ponsonby Rainbow Parade for the first time!
We are going to march down Ponsonby Road on Saturday 17 February and show our Pride so please join us! More details to come soon but please let the Committee know if you are wanting to join. Friends and Family also welcome.
Keep an eye out for more events later on in the year.
3) Tournaments
Rainbow Games Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland 2024
Badminton is one of 14 sports at the inaugural Rainbow Games 2024. Taking place at the Trusts Arena from 5-11 April (Badminton is on from 6-8 April 2024). With social and competitive divisions available across Open and female-identifying disciplines, there truly is something for everyone. For badminton, that means the A, B, C and D grading will apply and of course, feather shuttlecocks will be used! The multisport Games promises a dazzling extravaganza with an Opening/Closing ceremony and a weeklong of arts, culture and social events too. Find out more on the official Rainbow Games website.
Auckland Feather Tournaments
This year we have three more tournaments planned:
Feathers Club Championships Tournament - July
Aotearoa Rainbow Inter-Club Tournament - August
Trans-Tasman Tournament 2024 in Melbourne - October
More details to come out soon.
PS: Congratulations again to Paul and Eddy who went all the way to Perth for the Trans-Tasman in 2023 and took home the silver in A Grade! Well done!
Thanks to everyone for a great year in 2023, we look forward to another big year!