Great Southern Badminton Invitational set to draw strong field of competitors from across State’s south

The Great Southern Badminton Association will host the inaugural Great Southern Invitational this weekend drawing avid players from across the State to Albany.

Six doubles and mixed doubles teams from Albany, Denmark, Mt Barker, Manjimup and Bunbury will compete in the round-robin tournament at the Carnaby’s Function Centre on Saturday.

Great Southern Badminton Association’s chairperson Michelle Watson said the idea for the tournament stemmed from attempting to broaden their skills and strengthen relationships with their regional counterparts.

“We wanted a way to bring players from country areas to Albany to play as a team representing their hometown,” Watson said.

“(We also wanted) smaller communities such as Denmark to enter and for Albany players to be able to play on the same team.

“It is also another way for players to improve their skills against different opponents.

“Unfortunately numbers in smaller towns and regional centres have been dwindling in the last decade but events like these create networking and spectator opportunities.

“Our association has more than doubled in membership since its inception in 2022.

“We are thrilled to see this trend in the Albany clubs and hope to assist and expand other clubs within the Great Southern region to see more people playing badminton more often in the future.”