Glenn Cox: North Harbour Badminton CEO on the MAXX North Harbour International

MAXX North Harbour International is a prestigious Badminton event, showcasing elite talent from three continents – including top ranked international athletes and the best players in New Zealand, with competitors from 15 countries taking part. 

The event is going down at the Badminton North Harbour centre, having begun on the 1st of October and running through till tomorrow. 

D'Arcy spoke with the Chief Executive of North Harbour Badminton Glenn Cox to find out more about the event. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Waldgrave from News Talk SEDB Max North.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Harbor International or prestigious Babminton event elite talent talent from
three continents, Todd Ringan international athletes, best players in New Zealand.
Fifteen country is taking part. It's at the Badminton North
Harbor Center. Began on the first of October, runs through
to tomorrow. Glen Cox is the chief executive of North
Harbor Badminton, is with us now to tell us all

(00:34):
about this huge event on the badminton calendar in New
Zealand for twenty twenty five. Glenn Cox, Mate, now are you.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I'm well, we're very busy, but all going well.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
Now it's a huge weekend the Max North Harbor International
and Badminton. Just give us an idea about how big
this tournament is and what it's reaches like. Glenn.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, Well, it's really exciting to have an international event
back in Zaland again and we won one each year,
so this one continues to grow and this year we've
got fifteen countries and one hundred and seventy five players
from both Zealand and around the world. Our youngest player
is one of our own, Amy Wang, who's thirteen years old,
and she managed to win her first round and get

(01:16):
through to the last sixteen which she played still played
really well and lost to an Indian girl. But once again,
a really valuable experience for our players from New Zealand
especially to be exposed to this level of competition.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Where does the quality come from as far as global?
What do you get? What do you look to touch
to get the best players over here any particular nation
or area.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
Yeah, I mean it's actually strong globally, very very strong
in the Asian nations, particularly with China and Indonesia, Malaysia,
Korea to name but a few, and then Denmark obviously
on in India are very strong on the world stage.
So it truly is a global sport and it's followed
by millions and millions of people, especially with it being
so strong in India and China.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
So what about New Zealand, spy and to the he's
starting to build a decent base of players im engine
aiming before a young player coming through, But are you
looking at some good grassroots.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Yeah, And it's programs that take many, many years, and
we've currently got a couple of our players on the
international circuits who are traveling around the world and getting
exposed to that competitive nature of sport globally, and that
proves invaluable. I mean for us obviously in the Harbor region,
our Asian ethnicity is very very strong, which which makes
our sport very very strong, has a strong participant level

(02:32):
and a strong following.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
What's the peak of badminton? Well, where do you actually go?
When can you get to the top and side of
one badminton? What are you looking at representing?

Speaker 3 (02:41):
Well, she's Olympics, So I mean that's that's where it
accumulates to both power and able body players, is to
get to the Olympic Games. In the past, we've had
Olympic representation from New Zealand and also you know Commonwealth Games,
et cetera, where where they have won medals in the past.
So that's that's the two I guess ultimate areas that

(03:02):
you want to try and get to. We've just had
two of our players compete in the World Champs in Paris,
so once again there's there's pathways and opportunities for all
those that want to want to progress.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
A huge amount of athletes clean Cox you bill at them,
where do they stay? Does that work?

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, we're really fortunate in the area we have. We
have quite a few hotels, and early on in the
piece we go and negotiate and discuss with them. And
then all these people, and it's not just the players,
we have a whole group of volunteers. We have one
hundred volunteers on this event. And then of course you've
got your your line judges, and you've got your referees,
and you've got your umpires who all come in for

(03:39):
the event that have to be accommodated throughout the week
long process.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
How many divisions for one of a better phrase do
you have? What are you running these comps across?

Speaker 3 (03:49):
So that there's five events, so you obviously have Amends
and ladies singles, you have Amends and Ladies' doubles, and
you have a mixed doubles. So that's the five events
that take place. And it's an open event, so anyone
can enter, but it's you know, either win and progress
or you lose and drop out.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Favorites. Where are they from and who are they?

Speaker 3 (04:08):
So? Yeah, very strong continue this year from Chinese Taipei
with about thirty to forty players, who've come across. We've
got India, so it's quite a wide range of countries
that become involved. And it's because it's the highest level,
Grade three, which carries prize maybe about seventy and a
half thousand US, which is which is quite large for
a small country like US. It attracts people to get

(04:28):
points and that points are all about progressing to the
next stage of qualification towards the Olympic Games, which is
the ultimate for them all.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
And facility wise, plainly, North Harbor's got a decent place
to play the game, and it's well, there'll be a
lot of people. Then you've opened the doors, so fight
like me interested in bystanders can actually come along and
have a look at what is I lead to believe
one of the fastest games in the world. The speed
that Shattle Clock moves out is terrifying.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
Yeah, I think they've they've picked it at over almost
five hundred k's now when it leaves the racket, so
it's that's certainly flying. But to come and watch doesn't
cost anything by all the means, come and watch the
high badminton, which is truly exciting. Our facility was damaged
in the floods of January twenty three, so we spent
over eighteen months without a facility and it was rebuilt

(05:15):
and we opened this time last year actually, so it
was October. We had had the tournament in October which
was opening the doors again, so we've just just clocked
away a year. But the facility is state of the
art and really appreciated, I think by the players and
by everyone involved. Some fully electronics, so there's live streaming
on two courts and basically it's a very fit for

(05:37):
purpose environment.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
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