Olympic selection will be at the front of players' minds as Australia's brightest badminton stars converge on Launceston next week.
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With the Ede Clendinnen Shield and national champions also on the line, excitement for the tournament is high and while no Tasmanians will be in the running for Games selection, the carnival still has a special meaning for experienced North-West player Brent Munday.
"It's exciting for me as it's where I played my first carnival, which was 20 years ago now," he said.
"It's nice to be back home and play on familiar courts with a home crowd, you know what you're in for when it comes to that.
"The opportunity to play in a team situation and represent your state is the main thing that inspires me to do it each year."
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
Now 39 years of age and coaching the 11-strong side, the school teacher has seen a lot of faces come and go throughout his years and believes the team has a strong mix of both experience and youth.
"We've got a debutant in Annalea Reid and we've got people like Rowan [Henderson] and myself playing in our 19th championship.
"Then we've also got strong women in Meg [Graham] and Leesa [Grundy] that have been around for over a decade now and are in the peak of their playing abilities."
Victoria, who are gunning for their ninth consecutive Ede Clendinnen Shield, boast doubles and mixed specialist Gronya Somerville and open Tasmania's tournament schedule.
They then face Queensland and New South Wales before finishing their campaign against Western Australia, who return to top-flight competition for the first time since 2014.
Although Reid grew up in Launceston, no Northern representatives made the cut for the side, with four North-West players - Chris Barker, Stephen Gale, Graham and Munday - selected for the three-day team event.
State allegiances will then be officially stripped as, starting Wednesday, players compete in the national championships with Munday hoping himself and fellow Tasmanians will be up there battling with the best of them.
"Will Ponsonby in the men's singles will always be really strong in terms of his chances," he said.
"He always puts up a strong fight and if you can get him through the early rounds and into the quarter-finals, he's really a chance, on his day and on a home court, to push through to a semi-final.
"Our other strong chance is our women's doubles in Leesa and Meg. They made semi-finals a couple of years ago and with the right draw, they can mix it with the best."
Munday, who has also coached at an international level guiding the Fijian national side through their Commonwealth Games campaign, tipped the men's singles to be a hotly-contested affair with top competitiors Anthony Joe (ACT), Keith Edison (SA) and Seng Low (NSW) all within arms reach.
With this year's tournament marking the first of the decade, the Tasmanian badminton community will celebrate the past 10 years.
The state's team of the decade will be announced at the Gunners Arms on the carnival's penultimate day, February 28, with those interested encouraged to visit Badminton Tasmania's Facebook page.
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