Fiji Badminton team's tour to New Zealand was made possible by a Sports Tour Grant received from the Youth and Sports Ministry.

It is understood that it has cost more than $30,000 to send the ten member team to Invercargill, to compete in the Oceania Championships and the Qualifying Tournament for the Badminton World Thomas and Uber Cups.

Fiji Badminton President Barry Whiteside said part of the money for the tour was given by the Youth and Sports Ministry because they will also take this championship as a build-up to the 2011 Pacific Games.

The top players in the Fiji team include Burty Molia, Andra Whiteside, Shivneil Chand and Australian based Ghee Ming Fong.

At the Oceania Badminton Championships, Fiji will compete against Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Tahiti, Samoa, Tuvalu and Kiribati.

The championship will start from the 24th to 27th of this month.