The Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC) are feeling a sense of relief, with a travel bubble with New Zealand less than two weeks away.
The Cook Islands Games helped fill the void during 2020.
Photo: Bank of the Cook Islands/ Creators Hype Digital Media Agency
The bubble will open on 17 May, with Air New Zealand offering flights from 18 May, allowing two-way quarantine-free travel between both countries.
CISNOC Secretary General, Owen Lewis, said federations have suffered financially because of Covid-19, and the travel bubble means competitions can now resume. These events are the financial arm of our federations to a large degree, they use it to raise funds and to sustain them for the rest of the year and I think the bubble is going to make a huge difference to our federations financially, he said.
Eight junior badminton players from the Cook Islands have travelled to New Zealand.
Photo: Badminton Cook Islands
The eight teenagers arrived in Auckland last night and will be out on court over the next three days at the North Island/Bay of Plenty U15 and U19 Championships in Tauranga.
The group will take part in a four-day training programme next week before competing in the Waikato Under 17 Open next weekend.
Badminton Oceania s Coaching and Development Manager, Robbie Thackham, was excited to welcome their first international visitors in two years. I guess we haven t had anybody competing in New Zealand since 2019 and it s been over a year since we last saw these players at Oceania Champs in Melbourne last year, right before lockdown.
Press Release – International Taekwon-Do New Zealand
It’s a busy time for Taekwon-Do New Zealand with an increased number of participants around the country and a number of accolades directed towards athletes from the sport.
Already this year two new Masters has been confirmed in New Zealand which means a Taekwon-Do athlete has reached closer to the pinnacle of their sport. There are now a total of ten Masters in New Zealand. It takes around 25 years training plus officiating, dedication and much more to achieve a Masters status.
Competition wise, the New Zealand nationals and Oceania Champs will be held in Wellington next week and have approximately 400 competitors from around the country as well as Australia. The event will be hosted at ASB Sports Centre in Kilbirnie and will feature a number of world champion Kiwis