June Bevan badminton tournament for Invercargill

The best young badminton players in Australasia are about to descend on Invercargill.

ILT Stadium Southland will host the June Bevan Trophy from April 15 to 18, followed by the Australasian under 17 championships for individuals, from April 19 to 22.

"This is the largest junior tournament in Australasia and Southland is extremely proud to be hosting it," Event director Jo Smith said.

"It is an amazing opportunity for our local players to experience top international play."

Teams attending are Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, The Territories (Northern and ACT), Northern NZ, Central NZ (2 teams) and Mainland (South Island) NZ (2 teams).

The tournament will host just over 100 players plus coaches, managers, technical officials and supporters.

"The team event is named after June Bevan, an outstanding Australian representative player, coach and selector," Smith said.

"We are extremely fortunate that June will be attending the tournament."

Southland has enjoyed success at this tournament, with current Badminton Southland president Nic Raines winning in 1993 and Southland player Ella Smith finishing runner up last year.