OUR HISTORY
The All Saints Badminton Club was the first of its kind in Southland, beginning in Invercargill in 1930. The club first began playing in the All Saints Hall in Dee Street, founded by an exhibition game between Mr and Mrs C.H. Skelt, Mrs C.D. Cameron, and Mr F.N. Mitchell. The original purpose of the club was to provide recreation for church members, but the popularity of the sport quickly led to members from outside the church being admitted to the club. There was only one court at the church hall so in 1935, the club transferred to the Zealandia Hall in Esk Street to accommodate the increasing numbers of club members.
The first patron of the All Saints Badminton Club was the Reverend K.D. Andrews-Baxter, and along with the first President - Mr R.Y. Whyte and Mrs W. Lawrence (then Miss Esther Coutts) the first Secretary; these three were largely responsible for the success of the club in its early days. The Skelt family has also been actively involved with the club since its early days as both players and adminstrators.
During the period at Zealandia Hall, All Saints Badminton was at its peak with a membership of around 200 players. During the Second World War, All Saints along with other clubs suffered from lack of numbers and in 1942 went into recess due to a lack of members and no shuttles being available. The club reconvened again in 1945 when servicemen began returning from war and two of the earlier members of the club, Jack Wren and Jack Braithwaite, organised the resurgence of the club. Two courts were then laid down on the stage at the Civic Theatre and later the club moved to the North Hall in Windsor. As the sport grew in popularity, a need to shift to a bigger venue occurred and the club relocated to the Army Hall in Victoria Ave.
When the original six court Surrey Park Badminton Hall was built in the 1950s, All Saints was one of three clubs to have their clubrooms based at the complex. In the early 1980’s when the additional International four courts were erected, the club commenced the construction of new clubrooms which are located upstairs overlooking all 10 courts at the Surrey Park Badminton Hall. These were created by voluntary labour starting in 1981 and opened in February 1983. To this day, the clubrooms remain virtually unchanged since their establishment. The carpet is from the original Ascot Park Hotel Sportsman Bar and the original tables and chairs are still used. Where the trophy cabinet is now, a T.V. was once placed and players stayed late to watch "Dallas" on a Thursday night. Membership at club night was always 60+ players and social activities off court were numerous.
Fundraising for these new clubrooms consisted of 25 weeks of Quiz Nights at the Northern Tavern every Monday night where committee members and senior players banded together with the Invercargill Badminton Club to raise the necessary funds. No community funding was available in those days.
The club amalgamated with the Invercargill Club in the 1990s and is still attracting over 40 club players to its weekly clubnights both in the winter season and with a summer group that operates from October to February each year. In 2016 the club doubled the number of its weekly playing sessions to include a Tuesday morning group (which was orginally the Surrey Park Ladies social club). The highlight for most current members is the monthly fun club night tournaments where donated prizes are awarded and supper is provided.
​Over the years, the club has established itself as one of the most prominent badminton clubs in the South Island, producing numerous National, Island and Regional Association champions, New Zealand Representative players, New Zealand Team Managers & National Selectors and some of the country's leading sporting adminstrators.