Yolla, at last count, could barely calculate a population of 198 residents among the half a million Tasmanians.
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So when its badminton star Kayden Gardiner was ready to take his game to the next level, representing the state was out of the question.
Tasmania just didn’t have the numbers, a position the coastal 15-year-old could relate to in his small-town life.
But Gardiner’s grip on geography had the Yolla District School student move out of the North West rural town – just for a few days – into new territory.
He joined the Northern Territory and ACT combine side to walk onto the Australasian under-17 championships stage in Launceston.
But Northern New Zealand and Victoria proved tough rivals for the Territories.
Gardner teamed with Hobart’s Darcy Webster-Jones – Tasmania’s other adopted Territorian – but struggled against the Kiwi pair Edward Lau and Vincent Tao in a clear-cut 6-21, 6-21 loss.
He also fell in combining with Aline Souksavat to Arisa Nagaya and Tao 9-21, 21-23, as Northern New Zealand won the rubbers 15-1.
Gardner lost 13-21, 19-21 to Ross Audley before joining Sophia Low in a 18-21, 6-21 defeat to Sabrina Chung and Dimitri Han, as Victoria went through in a 14-2 team win.
The June Bevan Trophy provided lopsided results including New South Wales sweeping to a 16-0 win over Queensland. Kiwi teams provided the closest finish, as Mainland NZ claiming a 10-6 victory over Central NZ.