THANK YOU

Kia ora koutou katoa,

It is with deep regret that I am announcing that I will be stepping down from my position as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Counties Manukau Badminton Association (CMBA). As many of you know, one of my passions is to lead the association to become one of the best in New Zealand with world-class facilities. Due to this, I have lofty goals for the association and introduced many positively professional changes to how CMBA conducts its business.

I am fiercely committed to finding ways to bring sustainability and professionalism to the association. This means that the welfare and interest of the association must be prioritised with the welfare of its members, players, and stakeholders. If the welfare of the association isn’t prioritised, this would eventually lead to the association failing to be sustainable and flourish. Without a strong and sustainable association, our badminton community will no longer be able to call CMBA their “home court”.

In the past 21 challenging months since my appointment as the CEO, I am proud to share some of the highlights of what success the association achieved and enjoyed despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included the following:

  • Increased community participation by 74% from 2019.
  • Increased memberships by 15% and membership revenue by more than 30% from 2019 to 2020. This improvement is followed by an almost 35% membership increase and more than 49% increased membership revenue from 2019 to 2021.
  • Increased grant funding by 37% from 2019 in 2020 and we are set to achieve the same numbers from 2020 if not surpassing it this year.
  • Increased the organisation’s products and services revenue by 19% in 2020 from 2019.
  • Increased sponsorship income in 2021 by over 2,000% from 2019.
  • Increased operating income in 2021 to become the highest in the last five years despite the lockdown since mid-August.
  • The reactivation and coaching of high-performance badminton with the Elite squad that included players like Courtney Trillo (current NZ number 2 in Women’s Singles & Women’s Doubles) and Ashish Singh Dangi (current NZ number 11 in Men’s Singles).
  • The reactivation of the facility extension project with world-class facilities is now pending the completion of the feasibility study report. The report should be available at the end of this month and followed by a deputation with the Papakura Local Board in November. We also received encouraging news and options on raising the required funding to complete this project.

It is a very hard decision for me to make as there is never a good time to give up a job you love. However, I feel that it is the right decision for my health and well-being. With a solid foundation laid in the last 24 months since I first joined CMBA, I believe that my successor will lead the association to great heights. It has been my pleasure to lead the team at CMBA and work with many of you along the way. I hope the positive changes introduced will be continued by my successor.

I treasure the friendships I have cultivated with many of you and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your CEO these last 21 months. I would like to express my appreciation to all CMBA staff members – past and present, volunteers and players that I have worked with. Your loyalty, commitment, and dedication in supporting the association have been exemplary and I value them tremendously. Together we have achieved some extraordinary things for our association, and I hope that you are proud of our achievements too. I would also like to thank the support provided by our various stakeholders – partners, funders, and fellow associations. I have learned a great deal from everyone that I have crossed paths.

My last day will be Thursday, 4th November 2021 and after my departure, please contact the following until an announcement of my successor is made:

Once again, thank you for your support and I look forward to staying in touch. 

Yours sincerely,

AK Yap

Chief Executive Officer

COUNTIES MANUKAU BADMINTON ASSOCIATION


Article added: Thursday 21 October 2021

 

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