RAINING SHUTTLES: Angus Crawford will be busy as the No2 man for Hawke's Bay's national division three badminton side this weekend. PHOTO/Warren Buckland
IT wasn't so long ago the Hawke's Bay United football franchise and the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union were copping flak for the number of imports they were bringing in for their flagship teams.
Now it's the Toll Hawke's Bay division three badminton team's turn. The side, which opens its season with fixtures against Auckland Four and Wellington at Meeanee today, has a bit of a "United Nations" look with former China Junior squad player Cici Xie from Waitakere one of four women from out of the Bay in the squad and Waitakere's Lance Newman and Bay of Plenty's Kane Spiers both out of towners.
"Yes it has created a little bit of contention. It is a goal of mine to have a competitive team of local players within the next two or three years but it is tough with many players leaving the province for tertiary education," the team's player-coach and part-time development officer for Badminton Hawke's Bay, Angus Crawford, explained.
Crawford, 23, is back in the Bay after spending three years in Wellington completing a Bachelor of Neuromuscular Therapy degree. He intends to set up a business in the Bay and fit this job around his development work.
A Hawke's Bay rep since the age of 8, Crawford said with the ammunition in the squad there is no reason why a top four finish can't be achieved in the eight-team league which will see the top team take on the top South Island team for promotion to division two. Waitakere-based Hawke's Bay age group product Thomas Ellis is the top man, Crawford, Newman and Spiers are ranked two, three and four respectively and Hawke's Bay-based Canadian Jimmy Bass will be the No5 man.
Ranked behind Xie in the women's squad are Waitakere-based New Zealand rep and Wisden Cup player Danielle Tahuri who won't be playing this weekend because of her national team commitments, Mount Maunganui's Kelly Sturn, who has been a regular Bay player in recent seasons, Wellingtonian Hazel Davies-Howard and the sole Bay player Amy Clode.
Sturn and Ellis have regularly recorded top eight finishes in all three disciplines at the North Island championship level and provincial open level in recent seasons. Both have opted to be based out of the Bay to enhance their badminton skills.
"I don't know how Kyle can get such a talented squad together but it probably takes a little bit more than his crayfish bribes," Crawford quipped referring to team manager and Badminton Hawke's Bay stalwart Kyle Tostevin.
"It's hard when we are all from different associations because we don't all train together which makes it tough to pick combinations. But I'm confident some good combinations will develop," Crawford said.
He predicted a comfortable win for the Bay against Auckland Four and a tough encounter against the Wellington team.
"Wellington's men will be tough but our women should pull us through," Crawford said.
Four men and women will play singles in each fixture which will also involve two men's and women's doubles and four mixed doubles matches. Last year Crawford, who has played at division three level since he was 16, played for the Wellington No 2 last year team so he has plenty of knowledge on the players from the capital.
Apart from this stint in Wellington colours all of his rep play has been in Hawke's Bay colours. Crawford is a son of long-serving Hawke's Bay rep June Crawford.
The former Hawke's Bay under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 rep pointed out the Hawke's Bay team's campaign will continue with three more rounds of play.
In between these fixtures he will have plenty of time to develop the code at schools throughout the province, help grow the numbers at the Bay's four existing clubs, Meeanee, Napier, Hastings and Dannevirke and help get the Waipukurau club up and running.
Crawford, who along with Wellingtonian Kevin Karati was ranked among the country top eight under-17 boys doubles combinations seven years ago, is thrilled with the number of Hawke's Bay rep teams which will be in action this winter.
"It looks like we will have three under-13 teams, an under-15 team and an under-19 team in the age groups. We won't have an under-17 team but looking at the talent in the under-15 squad we should have an under-17 team next year.
In addition to the division three team Hawke's Bay will be represented in division four, two masters, two veterans and one super veterans grade at adult level. The Bay's division four team will take on Hutt Valley and Taranaki in Tawa today.
HB team:
Men: Thomas Ellis, Angus Crawford, Lance Newman, Kane Spiers, Jimmy Bass.
Women: Cici Xie, Danielle Tahuri, Kelly Sturn, Hazel Davies-Howard, Amy Clode.