The Dannevirke Sports Stadium on Saturday August 8 was a place of much exertion and sweat as adult pairs attempted to direct by means of pace and guile a small shuttlecock so that their opposition could not return it.
Yes, it was once again the Packer Tournament in which three clubs compete for the Packer Trophy in a doubles competition. The clubs are Feilding, Monrad from Palmerston North and Dannevirke and they have been competing for many years, having Pahiatua as a fourth member until the club folded.
It is a rather unusual tournament because you can compete for a club if you have played for it before, even if you belong to another now, so on tournament day a club is never quite sure how many players it has.
On the Saturday 16 men and 14 women competed, playing men's and women's doubles in the morning and mixed doubles in the afternoon. It was a taxing day with each match comprising three games to 21 points.
Each club takes its turn to host the tournament and Dannevirke laid on a very good one – well organised and well catered for.
