Wanganui prepare for some formidable battles

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The Wanganui Masters badminton representative team are targeting this opening Saturday of the Masters North Island Division 1 competition as their chance to cement themselves in the top league.

Wanganui won promotion with their victory in the Division 2 competition last year, but coach/manager David Berry said this weekend at home on the Springvale courts would be the start of a big step up in competition.

The team will play twice on four weekends through to August against Auckland, North Harbour 1, North Harbour 2, Waitakere, Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Waikato, and Wellington.

Berry said that in masters badminton, which was contested by players aged 35 plus, many of the opposition were former New Zealand players who had recently stepped away from international-level competition.

"We're playing class teams, so to stay in this league we've got to win one or two."

The team play four men's doubles games, four women's doubles and four mixed doubles.

If the games are tied 6-6 at the finish, there will be a countback on sets, then a countback on points if the score is still tied.

Wanganui will play Hawkes Bay at 8.30am and then Wellington at 3pm on Saturday in Badminton Hall.

Waikato and Bay of Plenty will also play those teams as well as each other.

Wanganui Badminton's senior team and two veteran teams will begin their representative campaigns later in the season.

The Wanganui team is

Men: Shane Stanfield, Ricky Clement, Kevin Ross, Kevin Robb, Andy Gill. Women: Karen Earle, Nik Budd-Clement, Eugenie Gray, Pam Geard, Sue Haden.